Charlie Adam: Dream first goal for Dundee means nothing after Hearts hiding

Charlie Adam beat four opponents before drilling a left-footed shot beyond former international teammate Craig Gordon.

Dundee midfielder Charlie Adam scored his first goal for the club in Friday's 6-2 defeat by Hearts (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

The Dundee midfielder’s celebration after scoring against Hearts on Friday night included a poignant glance to the heavens – a gesture acknowledging his late father Charlie Adam junior, who was himself a Dundee fan before going on to play for several clubs, among them Dundee United.

Adam has waited a long time to score his first competitive goal for his boyhood club. In terms of quality, it was everything he could have dreamt of, and more. But he says he cannot take any joy from what should stand as a special moment in the 34-year-old’s long and distinguished career.

If the goal had spurred a Dundee comeback, he would likely take a very different view. The Dens Park side were rocked by a whirlwind start from Hearts, who scored twice in the opening 25 minutes of the televised Championship curtain-raiser. Adam’s superb solo goal gave Dundee hope of retrieving something from the trip to Tynecastle and a game between two sides expected to joust for the title.

Another two goals from the hosts before half-time extinguished this aspiration and two further goals late in the game – Dundee replied once more through Danny Mullen – made it 6-2 to Hearts on an embarrassing night for the visitors, from whom much more had been expected. Adam was firm with his answer when asked if the goal he scored had provided some consolation for him personally – he had scored twice for Dundee previously, both times while playing as a guest in testimonials.

“No, none at all,” he said. “Because I hate getting beat. It is frustrating when you get beat. Winning is all that matters and the team is the most important thing. Hopefully come the next game at home to Morton we will be ready because we have looked at it back many times and picked the bones out. We will have to be ready for that first home game.”

Adam did draw some comfort from his league debut for Dundee. “Well, we can’t get even worse,” he said.

“We have come to Hearts and been beaten 6-2. It can’t get worse. But it is only us who can stop that. Fair play to Hearts, they have set the tone from the get-go. We just never reacted to it. And when we get to 2-1, a bad penalty goes against you but listen, what I keep saying is that it’s not good enough. It is a huge disappointment from where we thought we were. Maybe it is the reality check we needed.

"We knew Hearts would come out of the traps we just never dealt it. It is nothing to do with them playing ten pre-season games and we have played four. That is no excuse. We just never got going from the get-go.

“We felt we had good momentum and were in a good headspace but that was not the level we expect from this group of players and this football club,” he added. “Disaster, really, right from the start. Listen, they have set the tone for the rest of the season. We have to be good enough to try and track them.”