Dundee pile on pain for Cathro
DUNDEE produced a stunning comeback against Hearts last night as new Tynecastle boss Ian Cathro watched his side throw away a two-goal lead. Marcus Haber grabbed a 90th-minute winner to leave Cathro without a win since taking over
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IAN CATHRO is being taught some tough lessons and being forced to face up to some harsh truths of what it means to be a manager. He has now taken charge of three matches as the new head coach of Hearts and the 30-year-old has yet to taste victory.
He suffered a 2-0 defeat at Ibrox on his debut. Hardly a result to sound the alarm bells, you might say. But what has followed after that has certainly given Hearts fans cause for concern.
After drawing at home to Partick Thistle last weekend and being booed off the pitch, Cathro, back in his home city of Dundee, saw his side surrender a two-goal lead at Dens Park last night.
Hearts looked to be cruising when Callum Paterson’s 47th-minute header added to Jamie Walker’s third-minute penalty to put them on course for their first victory under their new boss.
But second-half goals from Darren O’Dea and Paul McGowan set the scene for Marcus Haber to score an injury-time winner.
Dundee had McGowan back from suspension but the midfielder had to settle for a place on the bench.
Mark O’Hara, replacing Danny Williams, started in midfield after coming on as a substitute to mark his comeback from a long-standing hernia problem in last weekend’s 2-1 defeat away to Celtic.
For Hearts, they handed a debut to 22-year-old Polish central midfielder Krystian Nowak, while Prince Buaben missed out through injury.
In the corresponding fixture back in October, Dundee hit the woodwork four times, only to leave Tynecastle nursing a 2-0 defeat.
Neither side had achieved victory in their last three outings. Hearts, clearly determined to put an end to that sequence, sprung ahead after just three minutes.
Bjorn Johnsen cut the ball back for Walker, who nipped past Kevin Holt. The Dundee full-back stuck out a leg and tripped the Hearts winger.
There was no hesitation on the part of referee Kevin Clancy in pointing to the spot, and up stepped Walker to roll the ball into the far corner of Scott Bain’s net.
It was a perfect start for the visitors had wanted and, only a few minutes later, they came within inches of increasing their lead when Nowak unleashed a shot from 20 yards which whistled narrowly wide.
From that point, they began to dominate. On ten minutes, John Souttar weighted a pass over the Dundee defence for Walker to run on to, and the 23-year-old’s volley was well saved low down by Bain at the expense of a corner.
As the midway point of the first half approached, Don Cowie found space amid the home side’s static defence and his cross gave Liam Smith a free header, but his skewed effort didn’t seriously trouble Bain.
Dundee had barely been seen in an attacking sense up until this point, with Canadian striker Haber being forced to feed off a series of aimless long balls.
However, on 23 minutes, one such hopeful punt forward set Craig Wighton free. The youngster jinked past a couple of challenges before drilling his shot from a tight angle narrowly wide of the far post.
That gave the hosts something of a lift. Shortly after, Wighton weaved his way into the Hearts penalty area to cut the ball back for James Vincent. On his weaker left foot, though, Vincent lashed his effort high into the large travelling support behind Jack Hamilton’s goal.
But Hearts remained well on top, as shown in the 34th minute when they should have gone further ahead.
Cowie’s corner was met by Paterson, who went unchallenged inside the box but was defied by Bain’s brilliant one-handed save.
It seemed like a matter of time before the Edinburgh side would strike again. Johnsen was next to force his way through, but couldn’t get enough purchase on his shot to beat Bain.
And Dundee fell further behind on 47 minutes in such simple fashion.
Cowie’s free-kick deep into the box had only one intended target. Paterson gratefully accepted the opportunity and the Scotland international was unchallenged as he headed home from 10 yards.
There seemed no way back for Dundee. Yet, to their credit, they grabbed themselves a lifeline with a 54th-minute goal.
For once, the Hearts rearguard were unable to clear their lines, and skipper O’Dea smashed a shot low past Hamilton from 12 yards.
Walker, at the other end, had the chance to grab his second of the night on 56 minutes after forcing his way into the box, but his shot went way over the bar.
Then, a minute later, Hearts had to deal with the loss of Cowie on a stretcher after he was caught by Dundee pair Holt and Bain while sprinting on to Walker’s pass.
The visitors appealed for a penalty, but harder to take was the sight of Cowie being carried off after the game had been stopped for several minutes to administer treatment.
However, worse was to follow for the Tynecastle outfit on 71 minutes as Dundee struck the equaliser.
Wighton dispossessed Hearts leftback Liam Smith before feeding Vincent who, in turn, drove forward to tee-up McGowan.
Having come on for O’Hara 20 minutes earlier, McGowan proved he was right up to speed with a textbook finish into Hamilton’s far corner to send the home fans wild. But that was only a taster of what was to come, as Haber headed a last-gasp winner.