'Best of the season' - Hearts' sheer defiance and Craig Gordon's brilliance at Dundee
Scottish Premiership leaders earned a huge win after Alexander Schwolow’s red card
Derek McInnes acclaimed Hearts’ defiance and Craig Gordon’s brilliance after a gutsy 1-0 win at Dundee. The Scottish Premiership leaders played the second half with 10 men after Alexander Schwolow’s red card but won three huge points thanks to Claudio Braga’s first-half winner.
Gordon came off the bench on 45 minutes after Schwolow was dismissed for denying Tony Yogane an obvious goalscoring opportunity. He produced some vital saves, including from Cam Congreve’s free-kick seconds after entering the field. Then came a quite breathtaking late stop from Dundee substitute Emile Acquah. The striker’s header was bouncing into the bottom corner until 43-year-old Gordon - playing his first Hearts game of the season - sprung to his left to push the ball away. It was a match-winning contribution which McInnes praised at full-time.
“I thought it was past him, I really did,” said McInnes. “I think it beats the majority of keepers. It would have been harsh on us considering how well we defended, but obviously we’re fortunate to have Craig, his experience, know-how and ability at 43 years of age. I think he’ll always make those saves for as long as he keeps going. There’s a lot of motivation for him this season with the World Cup and wanting to stay part of something special here at Hearts. But to get up every morning at that age, go to work, diet properly, throw yourself about a training pitch and still be ready – that says everything about him.”
Gordon’s last competitive outing was for Scotland against Denmark on 18 November, but he looked determined to prove himself after sitting on the bench watching Schwolow for months. Jamie McCart stepped in at left-back for Hearts following injuries to Harry Milne and Stephen Kingsley. He also drew praise from McInnes.
“Craig has been really supportive from behind, along with people like Jamie McCart who’s had to watch the team win games but still comes in every day and trains properly. Jamie trains at such a high level that he can step straight into the pace of the game. With Craig, some keepers coming on cold like that, having not played a lot, you’d be a bit concerned. But like he was for Scotland, the experience is huge. The reflexes are first-class and that save was instinctive. He’s always been capable of that type of save, and to do it at that moment was magnificent.”
McInnes celebrated at full-time in front of more than 4,000 Hearts fans who roared their team off the Dens Park pitch. “For me, that feels like the best three points of the season,” added the manager. “We’ve had lots of highs, but I think a lot of people would have been questioning us at half-time, thinking this might be where Hearts run out of steam. We had to do so much right. By and large we defended well, made them go round us time and time again, and had excellent penalty-box defenders.”
Hearts introduced substitutes during the second half to see the game out and ended up with five centre-backs strung across their back line. “I thought Craig Halkett, Frankie Kent, Stuart Findlay, Michael Steinwender and McCart were magnificent, and the energy everyone else put in was first-class,” said McInnes. “We were down to 10 men on a heavy pitch, everyone had to do one-and-a-half jobs. We spoke about that at half-time and everyone did it to the letter. We got our reward. Braga’s goal felt like an eternity ago, but Claudio’s goal gave us something to hang on to. I don’t think anyone could deny us the win, and the big moment was Craig’s save.”
Dundee head coach Steven Pressley felt his team were unfortunate not to force an equaliser as they attacked relentlessly towards the end of the match. “Even 11 v 11, I felt we were the better team within the game,” he said. “We were really aggressive in our play, really aggressive in our pressure. We carved out the best opportunities within the first half. With the exception of the goal, we never looked in danger. There was a lot to be pleased about.
“In the second half, of course, they're down to 10 men. It's sometimes difficult to play against 10 men. I thought we dominated the game. We did what we wanted to do, which was to get into wide areas, cross and really ask questions of them. But, you know, sometimes credit to them. We didn’t, at times, get the final cross of the player across the near post like we wanted. And a few moments within the box we can do better on. But equally, I thought they defended exceptionally well and made it very difficult for us to get the outcome we wanted.”
Pressley played in front of Gordon for Hearts and Scotland during his playing days and was not surprised at the veteran goalkeeper’s reaction stop from Acquah. “I've obviously seen it back. An exceptional save,” said Pressley. “You know, a real top-class save. I think it says everything you need to know about the individual. He's been sitting on the sideline for a long time. He's been called on and he reacts in typical fashion, like he's been a constant in the team.
“I’m really disappointed because I think for everybody you can see the progress the players are making. I think you can see the confidence in the team. But I think our performance deserved more than we got.”
Asked if he had any complaints about Hearts’ goal, which stemmed from a Cammy Devlin free-kick taken further forward than where the foul occurred, Pressley gave a diplomatic answer. “Plenty,” he said. “But I don't really want to go there just now. You know, I think it was really their only real opportunity within the first half. I was disappointed about that. I think I really would like to concentrate just on the good things that we did in the area so that we can get some improvement.”
Hearts introduced Gordon once referee Ryan Lee dismissed Schwolow for pulling down Yogane. “As soon as we saw the referee going to VAR, Craig was ready to go,” explained McInnes. “You’ve got to trust the referee has got the decision right. It’s harsh on Alex. I thought he [Yogane] was offside at first, but having seen it again I can see why the referee was called to the monitor. Craig was ready, just like Jamie and others who’ve had to watch from the outside.
“I thought he was clearly offside initially when he won the flick, so I was surprised when it went to a long check. The longer it went on, the more you start to fear the worst. I don’t know how far back they look, but we had to deal with it. I really do think these are massive three points, one of those pivotal moments in a season. This one feels huge. We’ve had brilliant away days and big performances, but this feels like the best one yet for a lot of reasons.”
The Hearts manager also explained his decision to switch to a back five full of centre-backs. “It was as soon as Simony Murray came on,” he admitted. “We wanted to make them go round us. When it is two-v-one in the box, you feel comfortable but we told Frankie Kent that if Simon Murray came on to get ready. We had to use a stoppage to get Braga off after the red card, and you don’t want to be left with just one stoppage with so long to go. So we made the double sub then [Kent and Landry Kabore].
“That gave us essentially five centre-backs. We kept a flat three in midfield, so Cammy Devlin and Tomas Magnusson had to keep jumping out to the sides, which takes a huge amount of work. It meant Dundee had to move the ball really quickly to get overloads, and I don’t think they managed that. Kabore came on and helped us stretch the game and gave us some presence. Everyone played their part and more. It was a heavy pitch, but the lads should be feeling top of the world. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”