HEARTS may have stumbled in recent weeks, but when it came to the crunch they put in one of their most surefooted displays of the season to claim third place in the SPL. In terms of results, the only important match for them now is the Scottish Cup final, the outcome of which will determine at what stage they enter the Europa League.
All the same, they will take a full-strength side to Celtic on Sunday for their own final league game, and, unencumbered by any pressure, will try to replicate the gusto they showed against a disappointing Dundee United team whose own fourth place is
now under threat from Aberdeen.
Having gone five games without a win, and scored only one goal in that quintet of fixtures, Hearts needed an improvement against United. Those who thought they would not find such an transformation so late in the season after such a stale spell were quickly proven wrong, as they tore into their opponents.
United looked lively in midfield at first, with Morgaro Gomis and Prince Buaben linking well. But as the match wore on, it became clear that they had little to add to their impressive approach work, and for all David Goodwillie's bustling in and around the penalty box, they had nothing to rival Hearts' cutting edge.
That sharpness from the home side was on display as early as the second minute, when an incisive run by Lee Wallace ended with the left-back crossing low to Bruno Aguiar. The Portuguese playmaker should have done better than shoot tamely straight at Lukasz Zaluska, but the ease with which the opening was made was a foretaste of what was to follow.
Minutes later a David Obua shot from a Ruben Palazuelos cross was deflected for a corner, and while United cleared that danger it was not long before they fell behind. Wallace did the damage himself this time, bursting into the box, skipping past Sean Dillon, and firing a low shot across the face of the goal and into the corner.
Hearts went two up when Aguiar dinked in a cross from Calum Elliot, and a match which had been expected by many to be tense and tightly balanced had now tipped firmly in favour of the home team before half an hour had been played.
That was time enough for a comeback, of course, but United's despair was in evidence when Francisco Sandaza was booked for simulation in the box, an offence for which Goodwillie had already been spoken to about by the referee.
There was a certain logic to the strikers' attempts to win a penalty, as their team were finding it hard to create scoring chances any other way. David Robertson and Goodwillie both sent long-range shots over the bar before half-time, while in the entire second half the closest Craig Levein's side came to netting was when Hearts goalkeeper Marian Kello prevented a teasing Garry Kenneth cross drifting into the net by tipping it behind for a corner.
There have been several games at Tynecastle this season in which Hearts have suffered a prolonged attack of nerves after taking the lead, but there was no sign of it in a second period in which they always looked dangerous on the counter-attack. Eventually, though, it was from a spot-kick that they wrapped up the victory, Eggert Jonsson scoring after Paul Dixon was ruled to have unfairly impeded Elliot.
The only significant action after that was the stoppage-time substitution of Christos Karipidis to enable the home support to afford a standing ovation to the centre-back. This was Karipidis' last match at Tynecastle after three years with Hearts – he moves to Omonia in Cyprus in the summer – and he was in tears as he walked off the pitch.
"This is my best day in Edinburgh," the Greek defender said later. "I've made the best decision for my family, moving nearer to them, but I'm also very sad."
Karipidis should play in the last game of the season against Celtic, and he believes his team will play better there because of the lack of pressure. "It's good timing to go there, to enjoy the game, and to get a good result," he said.
"Normally after you have hit your target it's difficult to concentrate, but we go there, to a big stadium, and enjoy it. I think we are more dangerous now we don't have pressure."
Karipidis will be a big loss to Hearts, who lost another key centre-back in Christophe Berra midway through the season, but manager Csaba Laszlo remains hopeful he can hang on to Aguiar and bring in some experienced players in the close season.
"For me personally it was a great season to reach third place with a young team," he said. "I'm very sad to lose Christos. I would like to keep Bruno, definitely. I hope the team I have here can be extended. We must definitely bring in some quality players to keep the team together."
MAN OF THE MATCH
Bruno Aguiar (Hearts)The dead-ball expert put in one of his most impressive open-play performances of the season, frequently wrong-footing his opponents with some delicate touches. He displayed impeccable timing to get into the right position to score his team's second, and later on created an excellent scoring chance for Calum Elliot which the striker blasted over.
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