Club
SUMMER REGENERATION WORK UNDERWAY
20th May 2024
United went down to a heavy 3-0 defeat against an impressive Hearts side at a jam-packed Tynecastle. An early goal from Paul Hartley followed by a Rudi Skacle strike on the half hour mark had Hearts two up at half time. Michal Pospisil put the game out of reach after 59 minutes with the third. The closest United went on an extremely disappointing afternoon was when Barry Robson had a penalty saved.
Gordon Chisholm made three changes to the side that lost 4-2 against Celtic. Lee Miller made his first start for several weeks against his former club and there were recalls for David Fernandez and David McCracken. Dropping to the bench were Garry Kenneth, Jim McIntyre and perhaps most surprisingly, Mark Wilson. Hearts made two changes following the defeat against Hibs. Mikoliunas replaced his suspended countryman Jankauskas and young Calum Elliot came in for Samuel Camazzola.
The match began at a very high tempo in front of a vocal home support and United got off to the worst possible start. After only three minutes Mikoliunas played through Hartley who beat the offside trap and shot low past Derek Stillie. United almost hit straight back after six minutes when Robson's cross was headed wide by Lee Miller. It was the home side that were the more lively and they went close again through efforts from Fyssas, Elliot and Skacel. United fell further behind on the half hour in bizarre circumstances. Rudi Skacel played a dangerous free kick into the penalty area which was missed by everyone, including Derek Stillie and sent the home crowd wild. The visitors did manage to hold on until half time as Hearts kept up the momentum.
The home side made the game safe after 58 minutes when Hartley dispossessed Alan Archibald and surged forward. His inch perfect cross picked out Pospisil who stroked the ball home. There was a perfect opportunity for United to get back in to the game when they were awarded their first penalty of the season but Robson fired his spot kick straight at Gordon. The rebound fell perfectly for the United man but his header was brilliantly saved by the Scotland keeper. The game was played out with no further scoring but in the dying minutes Pospisil hit the underside of the bar with a header.
Summing up: A poor performance from United who were well beaten by the better side,
Man of the match: Mark Kerr was United's best performer on the day and he did try to get things going in midfield.
Teams:
Hearts: Gordon, Neilson, Fyssas, Pressley, Webster, Skacel (McAllister 80), Hartley (Wallace 71), Mikoliunas, Pospisil (Simmons 85), Elliot, Brellier
Subs not used: Banks, Cammazzola, Cesnauskis, Tall
United: Stillie, McCracken, Archibald, Canero, Kerr, Brebner (McInnes 32), Miller, Robson, Fernandez (Wilson 67), Samuel, Ritchie
Subs not used: Samson, McIntyre, Duff, Kenneth, Robertson
Referee : Craig Thomson
Attendance : 15,617
Click here for the full match report by Gareth Scott.
Gordon Chisholm made three changes to the side that lost 4-2 against Celtic. Lee Miller made his first start for several weeks against his former club and there were recalls for David Fernandez and David McCracken. Dropping to the bench were Garry Kenneth, Jim McIntyre and perhaps most surprisingly, Mark Wilson. Hearts made two changes following the defeat against Hibs. Mikoliunas replaced his suspended countryman Jankauskas and young Calum Elliot came in for Samuel Camazzola.
The match began at a very high tempo in front of a vocal home support and United got off to the worst possible start. After only three minutes Mikoliunas played through Hartley who beat the offside trap and shot low past Derek Stillie. United almost hit straight back after six minutes when Robson's cross was headed wide by Lee Miller. It was the home side that were the more lively and they went close again through efforts from Fyssas, Elliot and Skacel. United fell further behind on the half hour in bizarre circumstances. Rudi Skacel played a dangerous free kick into the penalty area which was missed by everyone, including Derek Stillie and sent the home crowd wild. The visitors did manage to hold on until half time as Hearts kept up the momentum.
The home side made the game safe after 58 minutes when Hartley dispossessed Alan Archibald and surged forward. His inch perfect cross picked out Pospisil who stroked the ball home. There was a perfect opportunity for United to get back in to the game when they were awarded their first penalty of the season but Robson fired his spot kick straight at Gordon. The rebound fell perfectly for the United man but his header was brilliantly saved by the Scotland keeper. The game was played out with no further scoring but in the dying minutes Pospisil hit the underside of the bar with a header.
Summing up: A poor performance from United who were well beaten by the better side,
Man of the match: Mark Kerr was United's best performer on the day and he did try to get things going in midfield.
Teams:
Hearts: Gordon, Neilson, Fyssas, Pressley, Webster, Skacel (McAllister 80), Hartley (Wallace 71), Mikoliunas, Pospisil (Simmons 85), Elliot, Brellier
Subs not used: Banks, Cammazzola, Cesnauskis, Tall
United: Stillie, McCracken, Archibald, Canero, Kerr, Brebner (McInnes 32), Miller, Robson, Fernandez (Wilson 67), Samuel, Ritchie
Subs not used: Samson, McIntyre, Duff, Kenneth, Robertson
Referee : Craig Thomson
Attendance : 15,617
Click here for the full match report by Gareth Scott.
