Lawrence Shankland ended his 12-game scoring drought with a first-half double as Hearts defeated mid-table Dundee 2-0 at Tynecastle to move off the bottom of the William Hill Premiership.
Having struck 59 goals in his previous two seasons with the Edinburgh club, the beleaguered Scotland international had come under fire after notching just once in all competitions as he and his team endured a miserable start to the current campaign.
But Neil Critchley’s unwavering faith in his misfiring skipper was rewarded when Shankland found the net twice in a one-sided first half to help Hearts end a run of five games without a win and leapfrog city rivals Hibernian to move up to 11th in table.
The Edinburgh side made four changes to the team that started the 1-1 draw with Aberdeen the previous Sunday as Alan Forrest and injured trio Frankie Kent, Stephen Kingsley and Beni Baningime made way for Craig Halkett, James Penrice, Malachi Boateng and teenage striker James Wilson, who was given his first start.
Dundee made two changes to the side that started Wednesday’s 4-1 win over Motherwell as Scott Tiffoney and Simon Murray were replaced by Fin Robertson and Seb Palmer-Houlden.
Hearts started strongly and signalled their intent in the seventh minute when Musa Drammeh volleyed just wide from a Penrice cross.
Blair Spittal then trundled a shot just wide from close to the half-way line after Dundee keeper Jon McCracken had raced from his goal to make a clearance.
Hearts made the breakthrough in the 21st minute after Spittal’s low shot from the edge of the box was pushed out by McCracken. The loose ball was picked up by Penrice on the left was sent looping into the net from the head of Shankland on the edge of the six-yard box. It was the forward’s first goal since scoring against Ross County on 28 September, and his relief was evident.
The hosts were well on top and Halkett headed over from a Penrice corner before Shankland was denied by the legs of McCracken from close range after being set up by a Wilson cutback.
Having waited more than two months for a goal, Shankland bagged himself a second within the space of six minutes when he pounced in the 31st minute to force home the loose ball from eight yards out after Penrice’s ferocious low cross from the left was pushed into his path by McCracken.
Dundee had barely threatened in the first half and manager Tony Docherty responded by sending on Murray and Ethan Ingram for the start of the second half.
Hearts maintained good control of the second half, however, and despite seeing a Drammeh goal chalked off for offside in the 70th minute, they never looked in any danger of letting the Dark Blues back into it.
