Dundee went down to a 4-0 defeat against Hearts in Edinburgh this afternoon. The Dark Blues contained Hearts for the first half hour but the outcome was never in doubt after Lawrence Shankland put the Jam Tarts ahead. Landy Kaboré scored twice either side of half time and substitute Tomas Magnusson completed the scoring with a late fourth.
The only change to the Dundee team was Billy Koumetio, starting a league game for the first time this season, in the place of Luke Graham, who was on the bench.
The first quarter of the game was remarkably free of incident as the Dark Blues stifled Hearts’ attacks effectively and kept the home support quiet.
It took fully 20 minutes before Hearts launched a worrying attack. Harry Milne got free on the left and his low cross was cleared for a corner.
Hearts started to increase the tempo without giving the Dee defence great problems. The home attacks often broke down with hurried, misplaced passes but the faster pace eventually told and Hearts’ moves started to come together.
Everything changed within a couple of minutes of the half hour mark. Cameron Congreve cut in from the left and his 20 yard shot took a deflection and flicked off the top of the home crossbar. It was the only time in the whole game that Dundee came close to scoring.
Less than two minutes later Hearts were in front after a quick break sent Milne away on the left again. He passed inside to Lawrence SHANKLAND in space and he took a couple of steps befoe scoring with a low shot from 20 yards across Jon McCracken and off the far post. It was all worryingly simple. Dundee were cut open far too quickly.
The goal transformed the mood in the stadium and the home side started to play with greater conviction and purpose. Seven minutes later Hearts made it 2-0. A corner from was headed down by Oisin McEntee and Landry KABORÉ scored from close range.
Hearts were now firmly in control and the Dark Blues were pinned back for the remainder of the first half.
Hearts continued to dominate after the restart. When Dundee did have the ball they couldn’t hold it for long enough to build worthwhile moves. They were dependent on occasional breaks from defence but none of these led to anything close to a chance.
After 10 minutes of Hearts pressure the third goal arrived. McCracken pulled off a fine save to turn Blair Spittal’s shot from 18 yards onto the bar. But the keeper was helpless when KABORÉ tapped the rebound into the net.
Dundee had their best spell of the match over the next 20 minutes, getting forward regularly and making the home defenders earn their wages. Although Dundee didn’t create any significant danger the Dark Blues did at least ensure that Hearts didn’t run away with the game after the third goal.
As the minutes ticked away, and with Hearts firmly in charge, the Jam Tarts picked up the pace once again and threated to score with every attack. In the 79th minute they made it 4-0. A corner flew into the Dee goalmouth at an strangely low trajectory causing chaos, and substitute Tomas MAGNUSSON forced the ball over the line.
After that it was simply a matter of whether the Dark Blues could stop the scoreline getting any worse. Fortunately there was no further damage although Claudio Braga almost nicked a fifth goal at the death.
There was little for the travelling support to enjoy today. Hearts were the better team in every area and they made their superiority count after the first goal.
It was disappointing that Dundee allowed Hearts, within a few minutes of putting their game together, race into a two goal lead that looked sure to guarantee them full points. It was also particularly frustrating that two goals were lost at simple corners.
The defence had a game to forget, but the rest of the team didn’t have a happier time. The midfield couldn’t build dangerous attacks and the forwards didn’t manage to force the goalkeeper to make any saves. In summary it was a poor performance all round by the Dark Blues in the capital today.
Hearts 4-4-2
Schwolow
McEntee, Steinwender, Findlay, Milne (Kingsley 70)
Kyziridis, Devlin, Baningime (Kerjota 83), Spittal (Magnusson 70)
Shankland (Kabangu 85), Kaboré (Braga 70)
Unused subs: Gordon (gk), Halkett, Borchgrevink, Forrest.
Goals: Shankland (31), Kaboré (38, 56), Magnusson (79).
Booked: none.
Dundee 3-4-3
Jon McCracken
Ryan Astley, Clark Robertson, Billy Koumetio
Drey Wright, Paul Digby (Callum Jones 61), Ethan Hamilton, Imari Samuels
Cameron Congreve (Charlie Reilly 81), Simon Murray (c) (Ash Hay 81), Joe Westley (Tony Yogane 61)
Unused substitutes: Kieran O’Hara (gk), Ethan Ingram, Emile Acquah, Fin Robertson, Luke Graham.
Booked: Murray (foul on Spittal), Hamilton (foul on Shankland).
Attendance: 18,767.
Referee: Kevin Clancy. Assistants: David McGeachie, Craig Ferguson. VAR: Grant Irvine. Assistant VAR: Duncan Nicolson.
Report: James Christie.
