Hearts come out on top in uninspired encounter with Hamilton

Hearts secured their first back-to-back victories of the season with a narrow 1-0 over Hamilton Academical at Tynecastle.

Christian Nade put the home side ahead after only six minutes, sliding the ball under the helpless Hamilton goalkeeper, Tomas Cerny.

Hearts largely dominated the first half and threatened to add to their lead with Nade again firing wide on turn on the 27th minute. However, in the second half Hamilton gained the upper hand but struggled to break through a resilient Hearts back line with their only opportunity coming through Alex Neil who headed over ten minutes from time. The result inflicted Hamilton’s 7th defeat in 8 games, leaving them two points adrift at the bottom of the SPL.

Nade, who scored his first goal since January, has received much criticism for his perceived lack of motivation and weight problems. However, the Frenchman proved to be handful for Hamilton, who were unable to deal with his commanding physical presence. His goal saw him fend off centre-backs Mark McLaughlin and Martin Canning, who looked like they had done enough to win the ball, only to see Nade prod the ball into the back of Cerny’s net to give his side an early lead.

Nade almost doubled his tally after 27 minutes, spinning past Hamilton defence and volleying with his back to goal from the edge of the area, only to see his effort go wide by a fraction. Hearts began to grow in confidence and Nade was the linchpin of every attacking move. Cerny was called into action 3 minutes later to block Nade’s drive from the corner of the penalty area and almost profited from Hamilton’s inability to clear, shooting straight at the goalkeeper on his second attempt.

Hamilton’s only opportunity of the half came when David Graham’s low drive was well saved by Janos Balogh at the near post.

Despite Hearts’ first-half dominance, they failed to double their lead, resulting in a nervy second period for the Tynecastle fans. Hamilton’s second half performance saw a marked improvement, summed up when substitute Richard Offiong headed just wide from Graham's cross on 50 minutes.

Hearts responded with a superb ball by Bruno Aguiar, only to see the outstretched leg of Nade knock the ball over the crossbar deep inside the penalty area. The withdrawal of Nade due to a muscle injury mid-way through the second half effectively removed Hearts’ attacking outlet and Hamilton began to dominate possession with much of the football being played inside the host’s half. The visitors felt they should have had a penalty when James McCarthy went down under the challenge of Zaliukas but referee Dougie McDonald waved play on.

Hearts fans were clearly uneasy as the game reached its closing minutes, but for all Hamilton’s possession they lacked quality, and headers from James McArthur and Neil were the only threat for a largely untroubled Balogh in the Hearts goal.

The final whistle was greeted with a chorus of boos by a section of the home crowd clearly unimpressed by their side’s uninspiring performance; nevertheless it was an important result which boosts Hearts’ hope of playing European football at Tynecastle next season.