Tuesday night’s victory over Dundee was a roller-coaster for Heart of Midlothian supporters. Optimism, angst, frustration, incredulity, despondency, hope, belief, ecstasy – those who braved Storm Jocelyn to attend this match at Tynecastle Park experienced a full range of emotions on a remarkable night in Gorgie.
It was the first time that Hearts had overturned a two-goal deficit at home at half-time and ultimately claimed the three points in over two decades. It was a poor first-half display followed by a rousing performance after the interval, and Yutato Oda’s 85th-minute winner was no less than the men in maroon deserved.
So, what sparked Hearts’ turnaround? Why were the team so slow out of the traps, and what steps did Naismith take to address it? Who stood out, and why? Let’s take a look.
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Lembisika a bright spark in dull first half
The opening 45 minutes were nothing to shout about from Hearts – quite the opposite, in fact. Both of Dundee’s goals were entirely preventable and were the result of some uncharacteristic sloppiness at the back, and things weren’t much better in possession either.
Hearts were once again toiling in the final third. The effect was most pronounced down the left-hand side. Aidan Denholm was faring pretty well until his evening was cut short by injury but once he was replaced, Hearts struggled to make any inroads down this side of the pitch. Whether the ball was worked to Alex Cochrane, Alan Forrest or Kenneth Vargas, the result was the same: a safe backward pass. Hearts couldn’t get in behind at all.
That wasn’t the case on the opposite flank, though. Dexter Lembikisa, making his first start, was electric from the get-go. His cameo off the bench against The Spartans raised supporters’ expectations of the Wolves loanee, and he completely surpassed them on Tuesday night.
Happy to drift infield or drive up the wing, and equally adept at crossing with either foot, Dundee simply didn’t know what to do with Lembikisa. The Jamaican gave his opposite number Dara Costelloe a torrid time, and he was front and at the heart of everything the home side did well during an underwhelming first half. Below are a couple of typical examples.
Lembikisa receives the ball out wide and has lots of space to advance into. He drops the shoulder and drives down the byline before swinging in a cross. It doesn't find a target, but it’s an early shot across the bows.
In the example below, Lembikisa again gets the ball and has one thing on his mind: attack the space. He does just that before dummying a cross and dragging the ball back, drilling a left-footed cross along the edge of Dundee’s six-yard box. Unfortunately for him, there are no takers on this occasion.
Lembikisa was the only player in maroon who was trying to make things happen and was one of the few who could be happy with his first-half performance. He would continue bombing forward when Naismith changed the shape to a 4-3-3 after the break and was richly rewarded with a goal on his home debut. That’s not to say it was perfect, though. He didn’t cover himself in glory for Dundee’s second, and some of his passing was questionable to say the least. Below are a few of the more egregious examples.
It’s an area of his game that requires improvement, but Lembikisa was a worthy winner of the Man of the Match award nonetheless. His relentless energy and drive were absolutely crucial to Hearts’ turnaround, and his forward-thinking approach has been sorely lacking at times for Naismith’s side this season. The 20-year-old showed supporters what he was all about – and he wasn’t the only one to grab the attention.
READ MORE: Hearts analysis: Huge comeback, formation switch, defence issues, Lembikisa
Tait stakes his claim
When half-time rolled around, it was abundantly clear to everyone in the stadium that something had to change. Naismith s unafraid to be proactive and make sweeping alterations to the team’s set-up if things aren’t going well. The team came out for the second half in a 4-3-3 formation – Jorge Grant replaced Cochrane, who had an off-night – as Hearts attempted to seize the initiative. Boy, would they do just that.
The change in shape provided Hearts with fresh impetus, and the effect was almost immediate. Dundee stuck with the 5-3-2 that proved so successful in the first half (as shown below), but it left the visitors with a problem. The wide central midfielders found themselves having to step up to close down Hearts’ full-backs whenever they were on the ball, leaving a gap between the midfield and defensive lines. Naismith’s side would exploit it time and time again.
It was in the 57th minute that the game truly changed. Beni Baningime went down clutching his calf and was replaced by 18-year-old Macaulay Tait. Instantly, Hearts were a different animal. For all his qualities, Baningime isn’t the most useful player to have on the park when you’re 2-0 down at home and chasing the game. Tait, on the other hand… well, he was everywhere.
Within seconds of his introduction, the teenager was picking up little pockets of space in front of the Dundee defence and demanding the ball. He was always making sure he was an available option for the man in possession and when he was on the ball, he quickly started dictating the game. In the example below, he’s been on the park for a grand total of three minutes.
He plays a first-time pass back to Lembisika, and the ball is then worked inside to Calem Nieuwenhof. The Aussie drives forward while Tait screams for the ball. With good reason, too: look at how much space he has.
He works the ball out to Forrest on the left next, before dropping deeper to receive it again. He draws the Dundee player, and spots Nieuwenhof next to him in acres of space. There’s a man bearing down on the 22-year-old but if Nieuwenhof can get past him, then he’s in a great position. That, of course, is exactly what he does before drilling a low shot into the bottom corner to kick-start Hearts’ comeback.
Tait wasn’t shy at taking on his man, either. On more than one occasion, he coolly shifted the ball past an onrushing opponent, and he was comfortable driving forward too. And, crucially, he knew when to release it.
Here he is beyond the halfway line, with no obvious passes on. He decides to drive forward to get a Dundee player to commit, and initially, there’s a hesitancy about who should pick him up. Tait takes full advantage, motoring to the edge of the Dundee area before playing it out to the unmarked Lembikisa.
Tait’s urgency in midfield was most welcome, and the Hearts academy graduate showed a remarkable amount of composure on the ball. Of the 25 passes he played, 13 were in the final third and only three were misplaced in total, leaving Tait with a passing accuracy of 92 per cent. For context, Forrest played an identical number of passes in similar areas of the park, broadly speaking, and finished the game with an accuracy of 73 per cent.
Tait was busy out of possession too, harrying after his opponents with seemingly boundless energy and never giving them a moment’s piece. It was a complete performance from the youngster, as the radar below aptly demonstrates. It compares Tait’s performance against Dundee (red) to the league average for central midfielders in the Premiership (blue), and the results are truly astonishing. Now, it should be taken with a lump of salt the size of Jupiter – it is a tiny sample size that is too small to be representative or indicative of anything substantial, and factors such as game state have to be taken into consideration – but just look at it.
With the extent of Baningime and Denholm's knocks unknown, Tait could well find himself parachuted into the starting line-up against Aberdeen this weekend. The Dons' tough-tackling midfield will provide a sterner examination than Dundee did - but based on Tuesday night's evidence, Tait could be up to the task.
READ MORE: Steven Naismith: Macaulay Tait importance, Scott Fraser update, formation tweak
Squeezing the attack
Another key aspect of Hearts’ revival against Dundee can be found in the front line. With Lembikisa and Stephen Kingsley getting forward to support, Forrest and Vargas would hug the touchline if the team was attacking down their side, looking to isolate the opposing wing-back in a 1v1 duel. Without fail, both would look to beat the man before crossing into the area – and both were happy to drift infield and attack the far post whenever the other was in a promising position.
Above is a typical example. Vargas receives the ball out wide, and the Costa Rican’s eyes light up. There’s loads of space if he can get past his man, which he does with aplomb.
He then sends a cross towards the edge of the six-yard box, where Forrest does well to meet it. Kingsley is further back in case Vargas’ delivery is over-hit, allowing Forrest to attack the ball, but he fires his overhead kick just over.
The equaliser comes about in a similar manner but on the opposite flank. At this point, Vargas has been replaced by Oda, but the Japanese is following similar instructions. Forrest gets the ball out wide and does well to fashion some space as Oda drifts inside to occupy a defender. Lembikisa, lurking at the far post, is completely unmarked.
The two wingers drifted inside more often as Hearts threw men forward in search of a winning goal, and they combined superbly for the winning goal. Tait – who else? – plays the ball into Forrest, who does well to hold it up before playing it into Oda. A touch-and-hit later and the comeback has been completed.
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Livin’ la vida Oda
A common criticism of the 22-year-old is that, as a winger, he is not direct enough. A two-footed player with a low centre of gravity and pace to burn, there has been a frustration that Oda has not hit the heights he is capable of this season. His form during Naismith’s interim spell at the tail end of the previous campaign promised so much, but there has seemingly been a reluctance from Oda to drive forward and take on his man.
That wasn’t the case against Dundee, though, as Oda made abundantly clear from his introduction. He had been on the park for a matter of seconds when he received the ball out wide and immediately gallivanted forward in the hope of breaking in behind the Dundee defence. He was perhaps a little optimistic on this occasion, but it was a welcome statement of intent nonetheless.
He would have greater success later on. Below, he gets the ball with the score at 2-2 and skillfully skips past his man. He immediately drives at the back-peddling Dundee defender, making it all the way to the edge of the box before testing Trevor Carson.
He would go close again with an almost carbon copy minutes after scoring the winning goal. Again, he drove menacingly at goal but scuffed his shot on this occasion. Forrest was waiting at the back post to prod the ball home, but the former Ayr United man mistimed his run and the goal was correctly chopped off for offside.
Oda’s goal grabbed the headlines – dramatic late winners tend to do that – but the winger’s work on the ball was every bit as impressive. It’s a side of Oda we haven’t seen enough of this season, and hopefully, there is more to follow.
READ MORE: How Steven Naismith helped Kye Rowles rediscover his defensive mojo
Slow start but strong reaction
Similar to the 2-2 draw at home to Ross County, Hearts started poorly against Dundee and didn't do themselves any favours. But to Naismith and the management team’s credit, they correctly identified the problems from the first half and made the appropriate changes. Forrest, Tait and Oda all made big contributions as substitutes, and the change in shape allowed the team to attack with purpose.
Lembikisa and Tait stole the show with their forward-thinking displays, and both were utterly crucial on Tuesday evening. Rather than awaiting the inevitable, the pair grabbed the game by the scruff of its neck and competed on their terms – and the result was three well-deserved points for Hearts.
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