Hearts squander a golden opening
Late Dundee leveller wounds Gorgie men
THEY made it back to the top of the table, as intended, but the body language from the Hearts squad at the final whistle reflected the fact this was nothing to celebrate.
Stephen Kingsley’s exasperation was clear, punching the air in fury when referee Gavin Duncan blew for time. Michael Smith put his hands on his knees and stared downwards.
Armand Gnanduillet was first off the park. Perhaps most worrying of all for Hearts fans, though, was the sight of the man he replaced, Liam Boyce, going straight up the tunnel behind him — hood of his jacket raised and his limp unmistakeable.
Boyce had been taken off on the hour-mark with a tightness in his calf, an attempt to make sure he is all right because he is such a key player, according to manager Robbie Neilson. Gnanduillet put in plenty of effort in his place at the centre of the forward line, but to relatively little effect.
Boyce will be inspected by the medical team tomorrow morning and there is no question that his loss for any length of time would be yet another negative from a day full of them.
Hearts blew it here. They ran the game throughout, dominated possession, hit the woodwork twice, had 19 shots on goal to Dundee’s six, got themselves in front just before the break thanks to an exquisite finish from John Souttar.
However, when it all came down to it, they couldn’t hold out at the end despite several warnings and put clear daylight between themselves and Rangers at the top of the Premiership instead of sitting in first place, having played a game more, thanks to goal difference.
That they conceded two points as a result of such a late, basic, simple goal was no doubt galling. That it was scored by an ex-Hibs man just made it worse.
Cammy Kerr hurled in a long throw more in hope than expectation from the right, you felt, with seven minutes to play. Yet, no one in maroon was capable of getting in there first ahead of substitute Jason Cummings — and his glancing header found its way into the net.
‘We limited them to very, very few chances,’ reflected Neilson. ‘They got a throw-in, we didn’t make first contact on it and, when you do that, you leave yourself open to losing a goal.
‘But if you look at the bigger picture, we are sitting top of the league after 10 games. Yes, we are disappointed not to have taken maximum points after the way we played and the amount of chances we created, but I can’t fault the players. We are getting into really good areas, having shots. Some days, it just doesn’t go in.
‘No matter who we play here, we are expected to win. We didn’t win today, but we had the chances to win it and the performance to merit it, so we have to accept the point.’
In terms of the possession statistics, this was, indeed, a rout. Yet, the visitors, despite everything, still managed to present the odd little flash of danger here and there.
Shortly after Ben Woodburn had fizzed an early effort wide, Leigh Griffiths got on the end of a Luke McCowan cross at the other end and clipped the bar — only to find he’d been flagged offside.
McCowan then saw an effort saved by Craig Gordon, a shot from a decent position fired right down the goalkeeper’s throat, before Hearts really got the game in a headlock.
Boyce saw a header from a Smith corner come off the bar before being nodding over on 24 minutes and a spell of incessant pressure delivered the opener before the interval.
An initial shot from Boyce had been deflected to Smith. A Dundee shirt got in the way of his effort, too, with the ball making its way to Woodburn. He showed good presence of mind, though, to lay it off to Souttar over 20 yards out — and he beat keeper Adam Legzdins to his right with a beautiful, curling effort.
The second half carried on with Hearts absolutely on top. If anything, Dundee were less of a threat in trying to strike on the counter until former Hibs and Celtic striker Griffiths, barracked mercilessly by the home support, was removed in favour of Cillian Sheridan for the final quarter of the game.
Woodburn, who could have been sent off for a first-half tackle on Jordan Marshall that resulted in a booking, came desperately close on 62 minutes.
Beni Baningime robbed Dundee captain Charlie Adam midway inside the visiting half and forced it on to Gary Mackay-Steven, who, in turn, fed Smith on the right. His low drive was parried out by Legzdins to Mackay-Steven, whose shot cracked off the outside of the post and spun to safety.
Kingsley then sent a header over the bar from a promising position before Gordon, with 10 minutes to go, pulled off a good save from a Sheridan half-volley before smothering the ball at the Irishman’s feet.
Unfortunately for the home side, they never switched back on. Didn’t take heed of the warnings. They’re top. Still unbeaten. But they know they should be sitting even prettier than this.