Dundee moved to the top of the fledgling William Hill Premiership table by capitalising on a calamitous first-half display from Hearts to run out 3-1 winners at Dens Park.
The Dark Blues found themselves 3-0 up at the break when an error from goalkeeper Zander Clark paved the way for Scott Tiffoney to open the scoring before Gerald Taylor’s own goal was quickly followed by a Luke McCowan penalty in stoppage time at the end of the half.
Hearts played with more purpose after the interval and pulled one back through Frankie Kent, but the hosts held firm for the remainder of the match to climb above Rangers on goal difference.
Both sides made one change to the teams that started their respective draws against Dundee United and Rangers on the opening day as Dundee forward Tiffoney replaced Luke Graham, while Hearts defender Daniel Oyegoke came in for Yan Dhanda.
After a low-key opening quarter in which Dundee’s Lyall Cameron and Kenneth Vargas threatened with shots from outside the box, the home side made the breakthrough in the 23rd minute after some slack goalkeeping from Clark.
Under no pressure, the Scotland international mis-kicked a routine clearance from the edge of the box straight to McCowan on the edge of the centre circle. The captain played the ball forward to Tiffoney, who drove into the box and cut in from the left before beating the back-pedalling Clark too easily with a low angled shot from 15 yards out.
In a rare first-half opportunity for the visitors, Lawrence Shankland saw a shot from the angle of the six-yard box charged down by Dundee goalkeeper Jon McCracken on the half hour after Kent headed on Barrie McKay’s corner.
The hosts almost doubled their lead in the 36th minute when Seb Palmer-Houlden raced on to Ziyad Larkeche’s long diagonal pass and saw his powerful shot beaten out by Clark before Cameron hit the rebound into the keeper’s arms.
Hearts completely imploded in the closing stages of the first half. There was a flashpoint in the 43rd minute when Taylor caught Tiffoney with a reckless challenge and was shown a yellow card. Dundee felt it should have been a red and manager Tony Docherty was booked for his angry remonstrations as the officials stuck with their initial decision following a VAR review.
Docherty would have been pleased Taylor was still on the pitch as the half entered stoppage time, however, after the Costa Rican got his attempted clearance from a Simon Murray cross all wrong and drilled the ball low into his own net from 10 yards out.
Remarkably, there was still more woe to come for Hearts before the break when Kent tripped Tiffoney as the Dundee forward tried to get himself free in the box and McCowan fired the spot-kick to Clark’s right and into the net.
Hearts boss Steven Naismith responded by making three changes for the start of the second half, with Oyegoke, Jorge Grant and McKay replaced by Malachi Boateng, Yutaro Oda and Dhanda.
Dundee thought they had a fourth in the 51st minute when Palmer-Houlden’s cutback was knocked in from close range by Cameron but – following a lengthy VAR check – it was eventually ruled out for a handball by Mo Sylla in the build-up.
After sub Dhanda went close, Hearts got themselves back in the game in the 61st minute when Kent nodded in Boateng’s cross but Dundee – despite having Larkeche stretchered off – were able to keep the visitors at arm’s length thereafter.
Interim boss Stephen Frail expects Motherwell to appoint a new manager next week and admits their first job will be to lift the players’ confidence after a 3-0 mauling at home to Ross County.A double from Ronan Hale and Connor Randall’s last-minute strike secured an impressive victory for the Staggies at Fir Park.Defeat sees the Steelmen drop into the bottom half of the Premiership tab...
Mark Hughes heaped praise on goalkeeper Gabe Breeze after Carlisle picked up a vital point in the League Two relegation battle with a goalless draw against in-form Colchester at Brunton Park.Breeze made two excellent saves from Lyle Taylor as the Cumbrians ended a four-game losing run and the former Man City boss was astounded by the 21-year-old’s performance.He said: “The game had som...
Chesterfield boss Paul Cook launched a scathing attack on his play-off hopefuls after they surrendered an early lead to lose 3-1 at Sky Bet League Two table-toppers Walsall.The Spireites enjoyed a rapid start when Jamie Grimes’ eighth-minute header put them ahead against a wobbling Walsall side, who were winless in five matches with the chasing pack closing in.However, Bim Pepple and Dylan D...
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has allayed fears of an injury scare to top scorer Erling Haaland ahead of next week’s Champions League trip to Real Madrid.Haaland went down clutching his leg in the latter stages of the champions’ 4-0 Premier League thrashing of Newcastle at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday and was immediately substituted.Losing the Norwegian would be a major blow to ...
Rotherham manager Steve Evans described Thomas Parsons’ performance as “atrocious” after the referee awarded a stoppage-time penalty from which Reading snatched a 2-1 victory in League One.Reading had led 1-0 at half-time through top scorer Harvey Knibbs but Sam Nombe levelled for Rotherham from a spot-kick in the 57th minute.With the game heading for a draw, Parsons adjudged Mil...
Michael Flynn believes his team can make a charge towards the League Two play-offs places after watching them come from 2-0 down to beat Barrow 3-2 at home.Matty Taylor scored twice before fellow substitute Ashley Hay hit the winner as the Robins continued their perfect home record in 2025.Cheltenham climbed to 13th in the table and sit eight points off seventh-placed Crewe with two games in hand....
Birmingham manager Chris Davies praised Jay Stansfield’s work ethic after he lit up St Andrew’s with the only goal of a 1-0 win to sink play-off chasing Charlton.Stansfield’s 23rd-minute strike stretched City’s lead to nine points ahead of second-placed Wycombe, with Blues boasting a game in hand.Victory was City’s 30th in all competitions as they extended their unbea...
Andoni Iraola refused to get carried away after Bournemouth fans were left dreaming of a potential Champions League adventure following a first league double over south-coast rivals Southampton.Travelling Cherries fans chanted of playing in European football’s premier competition next season after their side soared to fifth spot in the Premier League table thanks to a deserved 3-1 success at...
Norwich head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup praised his side for fighting back to draw 1-1 at Hull after he demanded “I want to see my football team back”.The Norwich boss had some tough words for his team as they trailed 1-0 at half-time to the relegation-threatened side, including for Kellen Fisher – but the player then delivered the assist for Josh Sargent’s equaliser.The Un...
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers says Jota has a chance of starting against Bayern Munich after scoring and impressing in a 3-0 victory over Dundee United.Jota earned the club’s man-of-the-match award after cutting in from the left and curling home from 18 yards to double the lead given to the hosts by another impressive finish from Callum McGregor.The Portuguese winger has now started two gam...
