Lawrence Shankland ended his 12-game scoring drought with a first-half double as Hearts beat mid-table Dundee 2-0 at Tynecastle to move off the bottom of the Premier League.
After hitting 59 goals in his previous two seasons with the Edinburgh club, the beleaguered Scotland international has come under fire after scoring just once in all competitions as 'he and his team suffered a poor start to the current campaign.
But Neil Critchley's unwavering faith in his rogue skipper was rewarded when Shankland found the net twice in the first half to help Hearts end a run of five games without a win and move city rivals Hibernian up to 11th in the table.
How Hearts beat Dundee
Lawrence Shankland celebrating his first match with James Wilson
The Edinburgh side made four changes to the side that started the 1-1 draw with Aberdeen the previous Sunday as Alan Forrest and the injured trio of Frankie Kent, Stephen Kingsley and Beni Baningime made way for Craig Halkett, James Penrice , Malachi Boateng and teenage striker James. Wilson, who got his first start.
Dundee made two changes to the team that started in Wednesday's 4-1 win over Tobarna Mather with Scott Tiffoney and Simon Murray replacing Fin Robertson and Seb Palmer-Houlden.
Hearts started strongly and showed their intent in the seventh minute when Musa Drammeh headed just wide from a Penrice cross.
Blair Spittal then fired a shot just wide near the halfway line after Dundee goalkeeper Jon McCracken raced from his goal to make a clearance.
Hearts went ahead 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 who was headed into the net by Shankland on the edge of the six-yard box. It was the striker's first goal since joining Ross County on September 28, and his relief was palpable.
The visitors were well on top and Halkett headed over from a Penrice corner before Shankland was denied by McCracken's legs from close range after being set up by Wilson's cutback.
After waiting more than two months for a goal, Shankland gave himself a second within six minutes when he pounced in the 31st minute to head home the loose ball eight yards out after Penrice's fierce low cross from the side left to be pushed into his ball. track by McCracken.
Dundee had barely threatened in the first half and manager Tony Docherty responded by bringing on Murray and Ethan Ingram at the start of the second half.
Hearts maintained good control in the second half, however, and despite Drammeh having a goal disallowed for offside in the 70th minute, they looked to be in no danger of the Dark Blues let back into it.
What the managers said…
Heart leader Neil Crichley: “I thought we deserved to win the game.
“I would have liked to have seen us play a bit better with the ball in the second half, to be honest, but I thought we were excellent in the first half.
“If anything we could have got one or two more today. “
Dundee leader Tony Docherty: “The main feeling is frustration, because for whatever reason I think we were nothing in the first half, we weren't competing. I thought we did that in the second half when we faced him.
“Whether Wednesday night's work (against Motherwell) comes into play because of that Hearts haven't had a game, but some of our decisions were poor, and sometimes in my mind when you tired you make poor decisions.
“Together in that first half we made too many poor decisions and allowed Hearts to get a foothold and get the upper hand in the game.”
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