Hearts boss Derek McInnes hailed Craig Gordon for the marvel save which secured the Premiership leaders’ ‘finest three factors of the season’.
The 43-year-old got here off the bench simply earlier than half-time at Dens Park for his first league look of the marketing campaign following No1 Alexander Schwolow’s dismissal.
And he got here to the rescue within the closing seconds with an impressive cease from Emile Acquah which clinched a 1-0 victory and consolidated the Tynecastle aspect’s three-point lead on the prime of the desk.
Claudio Braga’s first-half strike was finally the distinction between the edges, however Gordon stole the headlines courtesy of his last-gasp heroics.
‘I assumed it (Acquah’s header) was previous him, I actually did,’ admitted McInnes. ‘I feel it beats nearly all of keepers.
‘It could have been harsh on us contemplating how effectively we defended, however clearly we’re lucky to have Craig – his expertise, know-how and skill at 43 years of age.
Hearts goalkeeper Craig Gordon is congratulated by team-mates after their win at Dens Park
Gordon pulls off a shocking stoppage-time save to earn all three factors for 10-man Hearts
‘I feel he’ll at all times make these saves for so long as he retains going.
‘There’s lots of motivation for him this season with the World Cup and wanting to remain a part of one thing particular right here at Hearts.
‘However to rise up each morning at that age, go to work, food regimen correctly, throw your self a couple of coaching pitch and nonetheless be prepared – that claims every part about him.
‘With some keepers approaching chilly like that, having not performed loads, you’d be a bit involved. However, like he was for Scotland, the expertise is large.
‘The reflexes are firstclass and that save was instinctive. He’s at all times been able to that sort of save, and to do it at that second was magnificent.
‘For me, that appears like the very best three factors of the season. We’ve had plenty of highs, however I feel lots of people would have been questioning us at half-time, pondering this is perhaps the place Hearts run out of steam. We had to take action a lot proper.
‘We’ve had some actually good afternoons, some sensible away-day journeys and a few massive performances, nevertheless it does really feel like that’s the very best one but for a great deal of causes.’
McInnes additionally reserved particular reward for defender Jamie McCart, who made his first begin of the season at left-back following accidents to Harry Milne and Stephen Kingsley.
‘Jamie deserves enormous credit score. He wasn’t enjoying in his pure place, got here up towards (Cam) Congreve – arguably one among Dundee’s finest gamers – and handled it brilliantly,’ mentioned the supervisor.
‘His expertise was important. It’s not typically each your left-backs are out, however fortunately we had Jamie.
‘Harry twisted his ankle innocuously – he simply misplaced his footing. The scan didn’t look nice, however Harry mentioned he felt positive. He ran yesterday and felt okay, however we didn’t need to threat making it worse.
‘He’ll see a specialist tomorrow and hopefully it’s not something critical. He was determined to be concerned.
‘With Stephen Kingsley, we have been practising set performs and he felt one thing in his groin on his second final one. He’s pissed off and we’re pissed off.’
With Rangers and Celtic each choosing up most factors over the weekend, McInnes is aware of his gamers can’t afford any slip-ups of their pursuit of a primary top-flight title since 1960.
Hearts supervisor Derek McInnes celebrates a victory he describes as their better of the season
However the supervisor claimed he’s paying no consideration in any respect to the chasing pack.
‘I genuinely don’t care what others are doing. We knew that if we gained right now it might strengthen our place on the prime of the league, and that’s all we give attention to – ticking video games off.’
Dundee boss Steven Pressley felt his aspect have been unlucky to not take one thing from the competition.
‘Even 11 v 11, I felt we have been the higher workforce,’ he mentioned. ‘We have been actually aggressive in our play, actually aggressive in our stress. Except for the purpose, we by no means seemed in peril.
‘So there was loads to be grateful for. After which, within the second half, in fact, they’re right down to 10 males. It’s typically troublesome to play towards 10 males. However I assumed we dominated the sport.
‘We did what we needed to do, which was to get into extensive areas, cross and actually ask questions of them. However, , credit score to them.’
