Sam Dalby's goal was his 14th this season in the Scottish PremiershipSNS

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06/05/25

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Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland at Tynecastle

Dundee United took a significant step towards a top-five Scottish Premiership finish and reignited their hopes of finishing third with victory over 10-man Hearts.

Sam Dalby's cute second-half header was enough to move Jim Goodwin's side back within three points of Hibernian and two behind Aberdeen.

It also opened an eight-point advantage for the promoted side over their hosts, who now face a nervy trip to Motherwell with the final place in the top six at stake.

Neil Critchley's side are just one point ahead of the Fir Park men and St Mirren with one game to go before the league cleaves in two.

Victory here would have sealed their place in the upper half - and set up further fixtures against Celtic, Rangers, Hibs, Aberdeen and United - but James Wilson's first-half red cost them.

The 18-year-old Scotland striker lunged into a challenge with Luca Stephenson and Nick Walsh brandished a red card. The VAR officials, as ever, checked it but did not see enough to overturn the decision.

Had Walsh shown yellow, there is every chance it would not have been upgraded but Hearts had more to rue than just misfortune.

They missed a series of decent chances in the first half especially, and failed to truly test United goalkeeper Jack Walton.

The visitors - robbed of Ross Graham in the warm up and forced to give a debut to 19-year-old defender Sam Cleall-Harding - defended admirably, even if they did not carry a huge threat on the break.

What they did have, though, was the ruthless Dalby.

The English striker's adriot header from a teasing Glenn Middleton cross brought a rare moment of sparkle to a drab contest and moves him within one of the division's top scorers Daizen Maeda and Simon Murray.

It also strengthens United's position in the top-five, with fifth place potentially enough for a Conference League place depending on who wins the Scottish Cup.

United continue to confound

This season just gets better and better for United.

Not many gave the newly-promoted side a real chance of achieving a top-six place but they have done so with plenty to spare.

And now the race to catch Aberdeen, Hibernian - or both - and claim an even more unlikely European place is very much on.

Goodwin has built a squad whose originally remit was to survive, but now the goal is much greater than even the most ardent United fan might have thought possible last summer.

Nervy Saturday awaits Hearts

Wilson has made a huge impression this season for Hearts and duly received praise from many. But his sending off will be a lesson he will have to learn from.

This defeat also means next week's match at Motherwell becomes decisive as the battle for the final top-six place goes to the final game.

The scenario for Hearts is simple. Win at Fir Park, and its in the bag. Draw, and they have to rely on St Mirren dropping points at home to Ross County.

A nervous Saturday afternoon awaits fans of all three clubs.

What they said

Hearts head coach Neil Critchley: "Disappointed with the outcome, not with the way we played the game.

"I thought we were by far the better team with 11 men, arguably the better with 10 men. We created more chances and our quality let us down.

"My initial reaction is it wasn't a red card. You could say it's a bit high and mistimed, so I can understand the decision. James has to take his medicine and learn from it."

Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin: "I knew it was going to be a game decided on who defended the best, and thankfully, we did with another clean sheet.

"I'm disappointed with how we managed the game, but I can't be too critical of the players. At this stage of the season, it's about getting results.

"It's such a tough place to come with everything Hearts are still playing for."