Lightning strikes twice as Smith's men double win tally

THE euphoria among the Dundee fans wasn't quite replicated in the home dressing-room, despite the satisfaction felt by the players and manager Barry Smith at securing their first home SPL win if the season.

Indeed, Smith was rather subdued at the end of a compelling game in which his team put Hearts to the sword for the second time this term, thanks to a thrilling dead-ball strike from left-back Matt Lockwood in the first half.

Lockwood said he "fancied it" when he saw the position of the free-kick and he was pleased that his strike was enough to earn the Dens Park outfit only their second victory of the campaign.

"I thought we created the most chances we've done in any game this season," the defender said. "We probably could have scored a few more, but our problem has been getting that first goal.

"It was the same as when we beat Hearts earlier, getting that first goal then hanging on and they couldn't break us down. They are probably sick of the sight of us, we're definitely their bogey team.

"We've only got seven points and six have come from playing them, so they're probably not wanting to face us too often. This could be a turning point for us and there's certainly a belief among the players that we can come good."

Colin Nish had a couple of early chances for the hosts, one of which might have yielded a goal had he not dallied too long on the ball in the Hearts area, allowing Marius Zaliukas to recover from being dispossessed by the big striker. Soon afterwards, Hearts keeper Jamie MacDonald was forced to scoop away a Declan Gallagher effort.

While the home side displayed early belief, the visitors remained composed and patient in their approach to cracking a solid Dundee defence.

Lockwood's goal, a blistering 18-yard free-kick from his left foot, allowed Dundee to take the lead against the run of play, after Zaliukas felled Gary Irvine on the edge of the penalty box.

Hearts refused to be rattled and tried to pass their way towards goal, but on each occasion found the home rearguard's resilience a tough nut to crack. Arvyudas Novikovas attempted to find the net with a sizzler of a long-range free-kick, but it was turned away by Rab Douglas.

By the time Nish failed to capitalise on a one-on-one with MacDonald at the other end just before the break – the striker allowing Zaliukas to recover from a defensive error and block his shot – the visitors were rattled.

John Baird's introduction for Nish early in the second half boosted Dundee's energy levels and the former Raith Rovers frontman used his fresh legs to great advantage, running at the Hearts defence and forcing MacDonald into an important stop as the home side seemed to find an extra gear.

Predictably, it was backs to the wall for Smith's side as their opponents sought parity, a period of the game in which heroism and courage were demanded, although such qualities would have been irrelevant had Zaliukas's bullet of a header from Ryan McGowan's cross in the closing moments been a few inches lower.

From Hearts manager John McGlynn there was an acceptance that his side's performance fell short of that required to effect a win and he admitted they did not do enough in any department of the team. It's the second game where we've given Dundee all the encouragement they needed to get a goal," he conceded.

"After they did, they had something to fight for and to defend well, which they did. We never got going. We have been playing well, but today that wasn't the case."

Taken from the Herald