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On Saturday, the 33rd round of matches took place in the Scottish Premier League. Experiencing their third consecutive failure, including cup competitions, Edinburgh suffered a defeat away to Dundee United, despite the return of S.Mikoliūnas in the final minute.
Before this match, Dundee United, who had reached the Scottish cup final and seen hopes of avoiding relegation from the league rekindled, felt uplifted, while Hearts had been struggling lately - V.Romanov's club had withdrawn from the cup tournament and losing the Edinburgh derby in the league had complicated their situation in the battle for third place.
Hearts were missing the injured D.Česnauskis, M.Burchill, and P.Hartley, with the latter being replaced by M.Kižys; meanwhile, after a six-game suspension, the new fan favorite S.Mikoliūnas returned to the team's starting lineup.
The visitors started the match more actively, with J.Hamill receiving a pass from M.Kižys and taking the first shot on goal. Then, Hearts players attempted to score with headers a couple of times, failing to convert their chances, and were punished in the 37th minute - after a mistake by the defenders, B.Robson put Dundee United in front.
However, the hosts' lead did not last long, as just a minute later J.McAllister lifted the ball into the penalty area and the team's attacking leader L.Miller headed accurately. Inspired, Hearts almost took the lead later on, but D.Wyness' shot after Kižys' pass was blocked by the goalkeeper.
During the 61st minute, Kižys, who had been performing well, suffered an injury and was replaced by M.Stewart, while in the second half the Edinburgh team continued to squander opportunities - good chances were missed by D.Wyness and team captain S.Pressley.
In the final minute of the match, after a penalty kick following G. Kenneth's shot hit the crossbar, it seemed like the match would end in a draw; however, soon after G.Bebner sealed the victory for the hosts with a powerful long-range shot, lifting them from the last position in the league after this victory.
This result was particularly painful for Hearts, as it was like a missed opportunity to return to the battle for third place, considering that the other two main competitors also suffered setbacks: Aberdeen had to admit Celtic's superiority with a score of 3-2, and Hibernian unexpectedly lost 0-3 to Livingston.
In other matches of the day, Inverness won 3-2 against Dundee, while Motherwell and Kilmarnock played to a 1-1 draw. On Sunday, in the last round of matches, Rangers will play against Dunfermline.
