Hearts clinched a 2-1 victory over Dundee in dramatic fashion at Tynecastle Park on Sunday.
Trailing for most of the match despite dominating, Claudio Braga’s late penalty looked to have secured a point following Bradley Fink’s first-half opener. But with less than a minute of stoppage time remaining, Sabah Kerjota fired into the bottom corner for his first goal in maroon and all three points for the Jambos.
Head Coach Wouter Vrancken made one change from the side that emerged victorious in Thursday’s Edinburgh derby. Blair Spittal missed out through injury and was replaced by Tomas Magnusson.
The game’s opening goal came after 17 minutes and it was for the visitors. A long ball over the top got past the Hearts defence with Fink running on to it to get into the box and chip the onrushing Beau Reus to give Dundee the lead.
Ethan Hamilton picked Magnusson’s pocket five minutes later to advance deep into the Hearts half, pulling the trigger early but dragging it wide of Reus’ left-hand post.
The Jambos looked dangerous down both flanks, searching for a way back into the game. Braga tired his luck from distance on the half hour mark but curled his effort around the post.
It was nearly the perfect start to the second half when Magnusson’s clever pass played Josh McPake into the box and he drilled low across goal only for Owen Goodman to get down to his left to claw the ball away.
Dundee went straight up the other end and nearly doubled their lead. Substitute Jack Moorhouse ran through the defence to get to the edge of the box but he lifted his shot narrowly over the target.
Hearts kept pushing for the equaliser. Laurent Mendy was flattened by the Dundee keeper but as play raged on, McPake sent one into the side netting.
Soon after, James Wilson got on the end of substitute Christian Borchgrevink’s cross but his diving header flew wide at the near post.
Braga was knocking at the Dundee defence’s door, first sending an ambitious overhead kick over the bar then heading into the side net at the back post.
He went close again on 70 minutes, playing a one-two with sub Sabah Kerjota before flicking an effort towards the bottom corner but Goodman pulled off a great diving save, and the ball made its way back into the box for fellow sub JJ Williams to nod goalwards but again Goodman was on hand to collect.
McPake was next up, cutting in from the left to curl a right-foot shot over the bar.
With eight minutes remaining, Hearts were handed a lifeline. Borchgrevink’s cross inside the box was stopped by the hand of Owen Bevan, and following a VAR review the ref pointed to the spot. Braga stepped up and duly dispatched, sending the keeper the wrong way to make it 1-1.
There was a late red card for Dundee’s Zan Besir following a VAR review, and a fantastic diving Goodman save denied Braga’s header five minutes into stoppage time looked to have denied Hearts all three points.
But in the 96th minute, a corner was worked back to Kerjota at the edge of the box and he expertly arrowed a low shot into the far corner to give the Jam Tarts a 2-1 victory in a day of drama at Tynecastle Park.
Hearts: Reus, McCart, McEntee (Milne, 45’), Miller (Kerjota, 59’), Braga, McPake, Findlay, Wilson (Williams, 65’), Magnusson, Altena (Borchgrevink, 59’), Mendy.
Subs: Fulton, Kabore, Guendouz, Mato, Ba-Sy.
Dundee: Goodman, Astley, O. Bevan, Wright, Finnigan, Robertson (Besir, 76’), Samuels (Reilly, 86’), Forrest (J. Bevan, 65’), Westley (Wales, 9’), Fink (Wright, 65’), Hamilton.
Subs: O’Hara, Halliday, Odutayo, Moorhouse.
