A new exhibition of photographs at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery claims to find the beauty in football, but they would have been hard pressed to identify any at Tannadice yesterday.
In a niggly, petulant affair that included eight yellow cards, one red and so many injuries that the teams were scarcely able to see out the six minutes of stoppage time, Heart of Midlothian dug out three points courtesy of Juanma’s first-half penalty.
They say it is all in the eye of the beholder. From where Robbie Neilson is sitting, it looks pretty good. This was his team’s first league victory since August, a result that propels them to third in the Premiership, just four points behind second-placed Aberdeen.
For the rest of those inside Tannadice it was sore on the eyes. United followed the instructions of their new manager, Mixu Paatelainen, and got stuck in but they did not have a single clear-cut chance to show for their efforts, which manifested itself only in the card count. United had five players booked and Blair Spittal was sent off in the closing stages for a second yellow in the space of three minutes. John Rankin was fortunate not to go the same way after a two-footed tackle on Juanma. Commitment alone will not lift them from the bottom of the table, where they trail Partick Thistle by four points.
United were short of ideas, especially in the final third, where they encountered two defensive rocks in Błazej Augustyn and Igor Rossi. Jordan McGhee was also a trooper for the visitors, hobbling to the end with an injury because Hearts had used all their substitutes.
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Paatelainen, who received a warm reception before kick-off, said that his first priority was shoring up the team’s leaky defence, but the goal exposed some of their old frailties. Augustyn’s long, diagonal ball after only 15 minutes picked out Sam Nicholson, who darted into the box and tumbled over Spittal’s half-hearted challenge. Juanma stroked his penalty into the bottom left-hand corner for his sixth goal of the season.
The home side adopted a midfield diamond, with Spittal and Rankin playing either side of Aaron Kuhl and the more advanced Scott Fraser, but they made little headway during a dour first half. Danny Swanson, the former United midfielder, was the likeliest source of another goal and Mark Durnan’s mistake allowed him to test the goalkeeper with a snapshot. Then, after Kuhl brought down Miguel Pallardó just outside the box, Luis Zwick had to tip Swanson’s dipping shot over the bar.
Paatelainen showed his dissatisfaction at half-time by introducing Adam Taggart at the expense of Darko Bodul, the Croatia forward who has not scored for United in any of his nine appearances since joining them in the summer.
That invigorated United, who even managed a shot at goal, but much more was required to enhance a match that had no discernible pattern. Hearts might have grabbed a second when Osman Sow shrugged aside Durnan, but his square ball to Juanma was followed by a scuffed shot that Luis Zwick was able to bat away.
The United goalkeeper did not exactly breed confidence in his back line. In the first half a bad first touch forced him to skew his kick out of the park. In the second, another hesitation meant that Sow was able to charge down his clearance.
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It was a scrappy, error-strewn affair punctuated by misplaced passes and mistimed tackles. In one bizarre moment that typified the exchange the pitch seemed to be strewn with writhing bodies, two of which were substituted. Pallardó and Juwon Oshaniwa made way for Morgaro Gomis and Liam Smith respectively.
United were willing enough but they never made it behind Hearts’ back four.
Kuhl flicked up a short free kick by Fraser and lobbed his volley over the bar then Billy McKay chested down a long ball, spun on the edge of the area and fired in a shot that was United’s first on target. Neil Alexander saved comfortably.
RATINGS
Dundee United (4-4-2): L Zwick 5 — J Souttar 6, R McGowan 7, M Durnan 6, S Dillon 6 — B Spittal 5, A Kuhl 6, S Fraser 6 (sub: A Connolly, 77min), J Rankin 6 — D Bodul 4 (sub: A Taggart 46), B McKay 6. Substitutes not used: M Szromnik, S Murray, C Telfer, C Donaldson, H Souttar.
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Heart of Midlothian (4-4-2): N Alexander 6 — J McGhee 6, B Augustyn 7, I Rossi 8, J Oshaniwa 5 (sub: L Smith 70min, 5) — D Swanson 6 (sub: J Walker 52, 6), P Buaben 6, M Pallardo 6 (sub: M Gomis 70, 5), S Nicholson 6 — Juanma 6, O Sow 7. Substitutes not used: J Hamilton, B King, A Djoum, D Zanatta.