Magic Sam Dalby leaves Jim Goodwin in Dundee Utd disbelief (2025)

Dalby is in a three-way battle with Daizen Maeda and Simon Murray for the top scorer gong

Jim Goodwin still isn’t quite sure how Sam Dalby managed to get his head in the position to angle home his improbable winner.

But the delighted Dundee United boss knows for certain that his side wouldn’t have claimed their terrific Tynecastle win without their brave boys at the back.

Dalby’s 14th goal of the season claimed the headlines and the points as he nodded home from substitute Glenn Middleton’s cross midway through the second half.

It wasn’t quite a sucker punch after a positive Hearts start was allowed to fade following the sending off of Scotland kid James Wilson.

But it was enough to floor the Jambos and leave their hopes of finishing in the top six hanging in the balance ahead of next week’s final pre-split clash at Motherwell.

Only a victory at Fir Park will guarantee that Neil Critchley’s side finish above both Well and fellow rivals St Mirren.

As for United, their second Gorgie triumph of the season now leaves them sitting eight points clear of Hearts in fifth, which might could be enough for Europe so long as Celtic or Aberdeen lift the Scottish Cup.

Goodwin knows Dalby will get the Lions’ share of the plaudits if his team do book a foreign adventure next year - but insists his defence deserve a round of applause too after recording their 11th clean sheet of the campaign.

“We know that if we supply the big man with chances, his conversion rate is extremely high,” said the Irishman. “But I'm a little bit old school. I think setting a team up to be organised and disciplined is a huge part of the game.

“Of course we want to score more goals, to be more creative, we'd love to be involved in 4-3 thrillers.

“But clean sheets are vital, especially when you've got a talisman up top like Dalby. That’s 14 league goals now for the season.

“He's pushing the two guys above him, Daizen Maeda and Simon Murray. It would be a great achievement if he was to get that top scorer.

“Sam will get the headlines because he's done the hardest part which is to put the ball in the back of the net.

“It was a brilliant header, I don't know how he's managed to get back around because the ball looked as if it was a little bit behind him. He's managed to get enough power on it to get it over a top goalkeeper like Craig Gordon.

“But it's always been about the group for me, it's never been about any one individual.”

United’s shut-out is all the more impressive given the injury issues Goodwin had to contend with at the back.

Declan Gallagher wasn’t expected to feature having suffered ankle ligament damage last month yet he declared himself fit and battled through the entire 90 minutes.

Academy kid Sam Cleall-Harding had just five minutes to get himself prepared to start having been chucked in when Ross Graham pulled up in the warm up.

But the 19-year-old never put a foot wrong as Goodwin’s team got a huge result.

As for Critchley, there is a notion building in the minds of the Hearts faithful that their boss is yet to take a big scalp.

He’d have certainly have known the magnitude of this one coming in.

It looked as if his team had grasped the significance too as they got off to a positive start.

But converting pressure into goals has been the major issue for the Jambos all season and yet again their profligacy led to problems.

They really should have taken the lead 17 minutes in when Declan Gallagher was slow reacting to Blair Spittal’s lobbed pass in behind. That left Elton Kabangu clean through but the striker couldn’t find a way past Jack Walton.

They had another big opening on 28 minutes as some tremendous foraging work by Beni Baningime left United vulnerable as Ross Docherty was stripped of the ball before.

But again they failed to take advantage as Wilson steered wide from Spittal’s cut back.

Ryan Strain came close as he whipped in a 25-yard free-kick - but not close enough to worry Craig Gordon.

Walton was certainly the busier goalie but again not exactly perturbed by a Spittal shot that was fired straight at him after a nice touch by Kanbangu.

But six minutes from the break came the turning point that halted Hears’ forward momentum.

Having overrun the ball, Wilson dived in trying to get it back but succeeded only in planting a high foot half way up Luca Stephenson’s shin.

Nick Walsh didn’t exactly hang about reaching for the red but in fairness to the ref, he got the call spot on despite the protestations from the Hearts players and punters.

Goodwin waited until the hour mark to change his approach. But when he did, it worked a treat.

Glenn Middleton, Kristijan Trapanovski and David Babunski were the men introduced and the former could have made an instant impact, snatching at a shot after James Penrice’s suicidal pass across his own box put Hearts in bother.

But it was the former who came up with the defining moment on 68 minutes as Middleton delivered for Dalby.

Michael Steinwender was slack passing out from the back, gifting the ball straight to Stephenson.

Middleton scampered down the right and while Baningime thought he’d done well to get back and hold up the winger, he didn’t get close enough to prevent the former Rangers ace from picking out Dalby, who did brilliantly to crane his neck and loop the ball away from Gordon’s reach for the winner.

The result moves United to within two points of fourth-placed Aberdeen - and Goodwin wants his side to keep pushing.

He said: “Just because we have got that top six now doesn't mean the next seven games are meaningless because we want to push for those European places now. We all get greedy as time goes on and no doubt we look at the opportunity to try and catch the teams above us now.”