Incredibly, Dundee United have now scored seven times at Tynecastle in the last two matches. The 3-1 scoreline was cruel, but you have to admire United's tenacity and ability to cope under pressure. They weathered the immense amount of Hearts pressure and took their own extremely limited number of chances.

Hearts will be disappointed they couldn't make amends for the low point of last season. Larry Kingston's great injury time free kick had unfortunately been preceded by Jordan Robertson's brace and a Barry Robson penalty, as Craig Levein made it two Gorgie wins in two since taking over at Tannadice.

We won't delve into what happened the last time these two sides met, in order to lessen the pain. Hearts, seeking revenge for that dismal afternoon back in March, made three changes to the side that comfortably disposed of Falkirk a fortnight ago - all of them involving the dropping of a Lithuanian. Craig Levein's United however, would be delighted if they could replicate the aforementioned 4-0 hammering.

The Jambos began well, a confident Kingston teeing up two opportunities for Calum Elliot - the second of which saw the striker miss tapping the ball home by inches. Elliot's strike partner Nade also registered an early effort, which Szamotulski gathered well.

Morgano Gomis was the visitor's stand out in these troublesome opening moments, dummying Stewart the wrong way to take the ball out of danger. Aside from this neat play, the game was almost solely taking place in the away team's half, as Elliot had a half-decent penalty claim waved away and Andy Driver was ajudged to have fallen over his own feet when almost clean through.

But as so often happens when one team is totally in front, the other one scored. Undeserved as it was, there was no denying it was a fine angled finish from Jordan Robertson, after he latched onto a poor header from Zaliukas.

The initial response from the home fans was brilliant, amassing a huge roar of support. This soon turned to jeers however, and rightly so, when referee Mr Thomson booked Kingston for taking a free kick too early. Certainly this observer has never seen that before - and we also thought that, in a separate incident, if the ball came off a defending player it was a corner. Mr Thomson thought differently, although he did subsequently book Robertson for trying to obstruct a Hearts free-kick. He was, at this stage, in danger of losing control of the game.

Despite the setbacks, nobody was panicking yet. Hearts were still pressing, Kingston denied by a last-ditch tackle from Wilkie. Mr Thomson then incredibly refused to rule that Dods had illegally stopped Kingston from outpacing him into the box - there might have been a question mark about where the foul was, but no doubt it had taken place.

Jordan Robertson, again totally against the run of play, made it 2-0 when he latched onto Lee Wilkie's nod down and slammed the ball into the roof of the net. It was, as before, completely undeserved, but you have to put them away and he was the only one on the pitch doing that. No one else could be assigned the blame for the predicament we found ourselves in with 23 minutes gone, even if the referee was having an absolute shocker.

Szamoltulski, the Dundee United goalkeeper, is certainly a character, and he surprised us all by picking up Barry Robson's dodgy pass back in the box. He was booked but subsequently produced a great save from Stewart, who had been fed by Kingston's roll back.

Morgano Gomis then cleared Zaliukas's effort off the line, via the post. How on earth Hearts had not yet scored was beyond the comprehension of anybody watching this game. But scored they had not, and we couldn't help noticing Dundee United had that same defensive organisation so noticeable when Craig Levein plighed his trade in the Tynecastle hotseat.

There was further frustration when Mr Thomson ruled Nade had impeded Lee Wilkie before charging through on goal. It looked a soft award, and one that enraged the home faithful. It was with a sense of disbelief that the half time whistle blew and we were trailing by two goals.

The management team elected to withdraw Andy Driver in favour of Ksanvicius, seeking to carve open what had proved to be a resolute, and fortuitous United defence. Audrius's first contribution was a mishit cross that Szamotulski almost spilled on his own goal line.

Craig Levein's men were proving more adept at winning second balls, although with that said, the second half had begun much like the first, as the Arabs struggled to get out of their own defensive third. Kingston went close with two efforts, but we were still trailing to those two Robertson strikes.

Elliot and Nade combined well to force a good save from Szamotulski, even if he was comfortable with it. We were nearing the hour mark, without having broken our duck.

We nearly did right on the hour - a great break from Kingston nearly teed up Elliot to score, instead Calum layed it to Ksanvicius and Kingston couldn't put home his cross. Then came a moment many thought they might never see again, as Mauricio Pinilla came on for Nade, who had worked hard but in truth had been totally bossed around by Lee Wilkie.

The initial contribution, in all honesty, was negligible, although he was unlucky not to get a better head on a Kingston cross after 72 minutes. By then, it was looking bleak. United's brutal efficiency had negated most of the second period, as they sought to wear the game down. They were succeeding.

Elliot curled a shot that was held by Szamotulski on 76 minutes. Moments after Pinilla connected well on the volley to an Elliot header but it span well wide of goal. Tynecastle began to empty shortly after this half-chance.

With the game all but won, United decided to step up the pace. Banks parried Barry Robson's fierce drive onto the bar - had he not then the score would have been worse.

Oh, then it was. Wilkie's header was handled on the line by Calum Elliot and few could dispute the red card that was given. Wilkie was comically furious that a chance for him to score had been denied, but he was all smiles again when Barry Robson blasted home the penalty. 3-0, and game over.

Szamotulski was given a second yellow card for a brutal assault on Pinilla - senseless and nasty. The Chilean was applauded as he regained his senses. Kingston scored with a beautiful free kick effort following the foul. No one cared, although Ewan McLean won't be too impressed that the only thing he did during his time on the pitch was pick the ball out of the net. We could almost, but not quite, say the same about Steve Banks.

Hearts: Banks; Neilson, Zaliukas, Berra, Goncalves (Ivaskevicius, 86); Kingston, Stewart, Jonsson, Driver (Ksnavicius, 46); Elliot, Nade (Pinilla, 62). Booked: Kingston. Subs not used: Kurskis, Karpidis, Tall, Palazuelos.

Dundee United: Szamotulski; Dillon, Kalvenes, Wilkie, Dods, Flood (McLean, 90), Hunt, Robson, Gomis (Kerr, 82), Buaben, Robertson (Robb, 82). Booked: Robertson, Szamoltulski. Sent off: Szamotulski. Subs not used: McLean, Daly, Cameron, Kenneth, Duff.

Referee: Craig Thomson

Top man: Eggert Jonsson

Join Lawrence Broadie, Iain Gibson, Mark Donaldson and Gary Mackay for LIVE audio coverage of today's big game - on air at Tynecastle from 2pm.