United win the ballot for all three William Hill Premiership points!

Heart of Midlothian 0

Dundee United 1 (Graham 76')

3pm Sunday 1 September 2024

Tynecastle Park

William Hill Premiership

Attendance: 18,648 (610 away)

Team News

Jim Goodwin named the same starting XI for the third match running as we clashed with Hearts in the capital. 

There was movement on the bench as Kai Fotheringham missed out, being replaced by our deadline-day arrival, Sam Dalby. 

Two DUFC Academy Graduates were involved in this afternoon's matchday squad. 

Early Sightings

Our opening chance of the match fell inside three minutes and really should have amounted to more.

Clever hold-up play from Jort van der Sande won an offensive free-kick which David Babunski lofted into the area. It was met in the air by Emmanuel Adegboyega but with the space of the penalty area afforded to him, his header was way off the mark.  

Hearts went close through James Penrice in the aftermath, but the full-back could only drag his shot wide of the far post. 

Jack Walton was then on hand to deny Kenneth Vargas with a downward header at the far post as the clock struck 10 minutes. 

Chances came few and far between in what remained of the opening 45. 

Hearts went closest to rippling the net, Penrice again let fly with a wild effort that was heading high and wide of the mark before a deflection left Walton scrambling as it flew just past the post. 

Lawrence Shankland was on the end of the following corner, but again Walton was there to intervene. 

Tempers Flare

Ten minutes out from the break, we were forced into a change as Kevin Holt pulled up off the ball. Vicko Ševelj was the man to take his place and was involved almost immediately as Shankland went in with a high boot.

Will Ferry was the first United man on the scene, resulting in cautions for both him and the Hearts captain.

On The Front Foot

It was the men in white and tangerine who enjoyed the opening second-half chances. 

Just minutes after the restart, Trapanovski found himself racing clear, but couldn't shift the ball to Babunski quick enough and the opportunity was squandered. 

Ross Graham then went close with a back post header following Babunski's corner, but his effort landed just over Craig Gordon's crossbar. 

On 55 minutes, there was a quick VAR check for a Hearts penalty as Ferry blocked the ball with Jorge Grant looking to bundle his way into the box, but it was rightly waved away. 

Making Moves

Dalby was handed his United debut as we made a triple switch on 65 minutes. 

ON: Moult, Dalby and Docherty

OFF: Trapanovski, van der Sande and Babunski

Twice Ross Graham forced Gordon into action, meeting the ball in the air from two United corners but it was no cause for concern for the former Scotland number 1. 

Sparking the Fuse

After some consistent pressure in and around the Hearts area, we eventually found the breakthrough. 

A clever backheel from Ferry carved the opportunity as Graham picked up the pieces 20 yards from goal. Looking up, he let fly with what appeared to be a relatively tame effort, with a deflection enough to wrong-foot Gordon and find the near corner!

What remained was a showcase of how to defend a lead, scrapping for every ball as the clock ticked on into six additional minutes before Nick Walsh brought the curtains down. 

Jim Goodwin's side now sits undefeated and third in the table as we head into the international break! 

TEAMLINES
Heart of Midlothian

Starting XI: Gordon, Kent, Kingsley, Halkett, Grant, Shankland (c), Oda, Spittal, Boateng, Penrice, Vargas

Subs: Clark, Oyegoke, McKay, Devlin, Rowles, Forrest, Dhanda, Pollock, Salazar

Dundee United

Starting XI: Walton, Holt, Graham, Trapanovski, Babunski (c), Ferry, Sibbald, Adegboyega, Stephenson, van der Sande, Gallagher

Subs: Richards, Ševelj, Moult, Odada, Middleton, Dalby, Docherty, Thomson, Meshack

POST-MATCH THOUGHTS
NEXT UP

Rangers are the visitors to Tannadice following next weekend's international break.

Home tickets will be available in due course.

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