Hart of Midlothian beat Dundee 2:1 in the Scottish Premiership's sixth round of fixtures on Saturday. The hosts moved into second place, while the visitors dropped further into the middle of the table. We had backed the home side from the start and the 66 per cent confidence we attached to a win now looks justified.
Bradley Fink opened the scoring in the seventeenth minute, and Hart of Midlothian held their nerve through a second half that grew increasingly ragged. Claudio Braga came on in the sixty-fifth minute and took his penalty in the eighty-fourth after Christian Dahle Borchgrevink was brought down in the box. Sabah Kerjota added a late goal in the ninety-sixth minute, giving the match a final twist that Dundee could not answer.
There were plenty of interruptions to the flow. Josh Mcpake and Ryan Finnigan picked up yellow cards before the break, while Ethan Hamilton and Imari Samuels joined them after the interval. Zan Besir was sent off in the ninety-first minute, and Sabah Kerjota received a second booking just after his goal. By then the game had already been decided, but the red card changed the shape of the closing minutes.
And here's the thing about the numbers: Hart of Midlothian had 72 per cent of possession and 62 attacks to Dundee's 19. They took 18 shots, 7 on target, against 4 for the visitors, 1 on target. Dundee's goalkeeper made five saves, Hart's none. The shots accuracy figures—26 per cent to 25 per cent—tell you the same story in a different way: many attempts, few finishes.
Hart of Midlothian now sit second with twelve points from five games, one behind the leaders. Dundee remain sixth on seven points after six matches, with three defeats already. The hosts pulled the strings for most of the ninety minutes and paid the price only in stoppage time when Branislav's red card let Dundee back into the conversation.
