Dundee 0-1 Hearts: Tannoy announcer's naughty 1986 barb, Liverpool loanee continues to frustrate, Willie Collum watch

Hearts Craig Halkett during a cinch Premiership match between Dundee and Heart of Midlothian at the Kilmac Stadium, on December 18, 2021, in Dundee, Scotland. (Photo by Paul Devlin / SNS Group)

Man of the match: It’s not often that a player who only played 35 minutes get the man-of-the-match award, but Jamie Walker has the virtual champagne clasped in hands. This probably says as much about this game before his introduction as it does Walker himself, as while the 28-year-old made a telling impact with his forward-thinking play, vision and winning goal, the rest of the players on the pitch really struggled to find attacking quality. But let’s make this about Walker, a player who has not had much game-time this season. He has the creativity that many of his team-mates lack, and is clearly still a darling of the Tynecastle faithful even with his limited minutes. One wonders if Robbie Neilson will turn to him again next weekend against Ross County.

Letdown: It would be easy to single out Leigh Griffiths but given this was his first 90 minutes for nearly two months, he did well to finish the match. Hearts’ loanee Ben Woodburn continues to perplex, though. He arrived at Tynecastle with a good reputation from Liverpool, but the Wales internationalist was unable – once again – to influence the match. For a man with such clear ability, he has been disappointing since arriving in Scotland.

Turning point: It has to be Hearts’ goal. This felt like a match where one strike would seal it. Dundee will bemoan the misfortune of Liam Fontaine’s deflection hitting the post and rolling plum into Walker’s path, but the reality is that Hearts had taken control of proceedings by this point.

Referee watch: Willie Collum threw in a couple of trademark gestures and while Dundee manager James McPake was irritated at the award of a Hearts throw-in in the build-up to the goal, the referee had a good game in all.

Gave us a giggle: The Dundee tannoy announcer is a naughty boy. When reading out the attendance, he announced the travelling support number as 1986 – a clear reference to Hearts losing out on the title on the final day of the 85/86 at Dens Park – before quickly correcting himself and giving the total as 1386. In the end, it was the Hearts fans who had the last laugh.

Dundee 0-1 Hearts: How the players rated at Dens Park

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