For those who thought Jim Duffy would stifle any flair there was in the team and try to play to a rigid system the answer was there for most of this game against Hearts. He stuck by 3 up front the entire game and though we had to come from behind to gain a point had we taken our chances in both halves and there were a few, Dundee could easily have won by a couple of goals. The football still flowed at times and there was much to savour in an exciting game that flowed from end to end.
The only bad mark was, I felt the refereeing of Dougie McDonald who seemed hell bent on allowing all sorts of devious fouling, pushing, shirt pulling and hand balls, even, to go unpunished on both sides and the fact that there was only one booking in the entire game was rather bizarre to say the least.
Dundee pressed right from the start with Caballero and Novo looking prominent in the early exchanges. In the 4th minute Nacho Novo could and should have scored and I would have been £30 richer with a fiver bet at 6/1 on his scoring the first goal. When Caballero set him up he raced in from the right only to fire his low shot narrowly past the far post. But the young Spaniard was looking bright out on the right.
In the 9th minute Speroni has to look sharp to save from a bending shot from a very tight angle that almost sneaked inside the left hand post.
Nacho delights the 7,000 plus crowd with a touch of class. He deftly back heels the ball round his man then races on to the ball before starting another promising move.
Nemsadze shows great skills after a neat 3 man passing movement but dallies in front of goal when a sharper finish was required.
Hearts are not taking kindly to the skills of Novo and when he is blatantly pushed off the park in front of the Dens Road fans the referee awards a foul but takes no action. 4 minutes later the same players is again hacked to the ground when in full flight and again a foul but no further action taken by the referee. So much for protecting ball players.
In the 23rd minute Dundee win two corners in succession but both are cleared without too much danger to the Hearts defence. Two minutes later a delightful stabbed cross from the left foot of Hernandez is met by the head of Sara but he’s off balance and his effort goes wide of the post.
For the last 15 minutes of the first half Hearts begin to take control and there are some niggly fouls by both sides with the Referee still refusing to look for a card to try to stop the game turning nasty.
With 34 minutes on the clock the breakthrough comes and it’s for Hearts. The simplest of crosses to the far post sees Kirk unmarked and when he nods the ball across the face of the goal first to react is GARY WALES whose header rockets into the net to give the Edinburgh men the lead. Hearts celebrate by running towards the Dundee support, arms raised, and still the referee takes no action.
Dundee almost equalise in the 40th minute when a breathtaking move involving Novo and Nemsadze sets Sara in on goal. His fiercely struck shot is brilliantly saved by Niemi in the Hearts goal.
Just on half time at last a yellow card is shown when Boyack lashes out at Hernandoz then throws himself down when the big man remonstrates with him.
An incredibly long throw in by Hernandoz is cleared desperately and Hearts hold on to their lead as the half time whistle goes.
Summing up, Dundee had began very well, the football was great and we were creating chances. Hearts were hitting on the break and scored during a long spell of control during the last 15 minutes of the half. A draw would have been a fair result at this stage.
The second half begins where the first left off with Hearts doing most of the attacking and in the 49th minute Hernadoz has to clear off the line with Speroni well beaten as Hearts look for the second goal that would kill off Dundee.
Hernandez is brilliant going forward but at times he gets caught upfield and Hearts are trying to exploit this by hitting down that side on the break.
Then Dundee take control of the game again and with half an hour to go Lee Wilkie heads narrowly over from a Nemsadze corner.
The 64th minute sees an incredible miss by Juan Sara. Nacho Novo is sent clear and as Niemi narrows the angle the youngster either mishit his shot completely or squared the ball to the far post where Sara had only to tap it in. Somehow he didn’t seem to expect the pass and managed to screw the ball straight into the arms of a relieved Niemi.
25 minutes and Dundee finally get the goal their play had so richly deserved. A great 3 man triangular passing movement ends with a fine Rae pass to FABIAN CABALLERO clear on goal. He draws Niemi and places the perfect of finishes into the far corner to make it 1-1.
Dundee take complete control after this and should have scored at least 2 more goals in the latter stages of the match. First, Juan Sara is sent clear in the box by Novo with only Niemi to beat but he fires his shot well wide of the target when scoring looked easier.
20 minutes to go and a clear hand ball in the box by a Hearts player is completely ignored by the Referee. A low Hernandez cross sees Sara stretching for it in the penalty area. The merest of touches would have sent it past Niemi but Juan fails to make contact and yet another good opportunity goes begging.
4 minutes left, Fabian Caballero one on one with Niemi. Chased by a defender he seems to take too many touches when a first time shot might have done the trick. With the far corner gaping he tries to beat Niemi at his near post but fires inches wide. For the last few minutes Wilkie is urged forward as Dundee try everything to grab the 3 points but Hearts clung on to a point they will be grateful for in a game they should have lost.
SUMMING UP: It’s shooting practice Duffy has to work on in the week ahead. As a team Dundee played well, Hearts had perhaps half an hour of superiority whilst we were in charge for the other hour. The sad thing was that some of the chances missed were in the fairly easy category. Having said that we were creating them, plenty of them. How long is since we’ve came close to dominating a match against Hearts. Top men for me were Nacho Novo and Lee Wilkie. But a promising start to the Duffy campaign. For once we had battling powers to add to the flair we all know is there and Hearts had to resort to some niggly fouls to hold us at bay. Dundee made no substitutions and seemed to pick up no injuries.
JULIAN SPERONI: Didn’t really have a lot of saves to make, one early one and some clever catches off his line. DAVE MACKAY had a great game, this youngster’s much more mature than the raw kid who made his debut last season. Was involved in a lot of good build up and linked well with Novo. BARRY SMITH was another fine performer who made some gutsy tackles to keep Hearts at bay and was barking out more orders than I’ve seen for some time. LEE WILKIE was simply majestic in central defence. Great tackling, good in the air, composed and cool under pressure. JONAY HERNANDEZ is a great player, no doubt about that. He overlaps superbly and his left foot crosses seem to hang in the air. But when he’s upfield Dundee have to work out how to counteract this when the opposition hit us on the break. GAVIN RAE blew hot and cold. Some very good surging runs forward and good tackling in midfield but too often his final ball left a lot to be desired. GIORGI NEMSADZE still seems to be a yard short of full match fitness but he’s getting there. Some great skills and passes but still has that tendency to want to walk the ball into the box instead of having a shot. LEE MAIR had a steady game, worked his socks off and played his part in a fairly good team performance. Seemed to tire near the end and might have been replaced then. NACHO NOVO was electrifying and so many Dundee attacks hinged on his fine play down the right. Should have scored on two occasions, the second when he squared to Sara. But certainly looks a fine prospect with a huge heart. He never gives up on any ball. JUAN SARA was lacking that little bit sharpness that could so easily have had him displaying his t shirt on more than one occasion. But worked hard and did a power of running. FABIAN CABALLERO took his goal well but missed an even easier chance near the end that should have given us the full points. Looked better than the player who finished last season, there was a fair bit of craft in his play, but still looked a tad lazy at times when the ball didn’t come to feet.