This £335k Hearts victory 3000 miles from home is priceless as managerless Jambos strike so late

Yan Dhanda was the hero for the Jambos some 3000 miles away from Edinburgh, glancing home a header from close range in the final minute of stoppage time to land their first victory of the season.

This could act as a catalyst for the embattled capital club, who sit bottom of the Premiership and parted company with head coach Steven Naismith last month. They have underperformed massively this season but in a match low on quality in a closed-doors arena, they found a way to find a victory.

Played on neutral territory due to Belarus’ support of Russia in the war with Ukraine, the environs were not conducive to a high-octane affair. Dinamo Minsk are the High League champions back in their homeland and are locked in a domestic title battle. They clearly missed home comforts, yet took the lead through Nigerian forward Stephen Alfred on 21 minutes, only for Hearts to level on 37 minutes when the Belarussians’ captain Sergey Politevich headed past his own goalkeeper. A draw looked so likely, only for Dhanda to pop up on 94 minutes.

Hearts have been handed a decent set of fixtures in this new-look league format, including facing Dinamo Minsk away from Belarus. Yet they landed in Azerbaijan without a manager and without much form nor confidence. Chief executive Andrew McKinlay has admitted the new head coach is likely to come from outside of Scotland. Regardless of his nationality, this Hearts team needs rejuvenation and direction - and this result will certainly help.

Liam Fox was in interim charge once again and can add this victory to Saturday’s 1-1 stalemate with Ross County. He is set to preside over Sunday’s trip to in-form Aberdeen, which will be a tough test of a team flying straight into the Granite City to ward against the effects of fatigue. The euphoria of victory should certainly ease the pain of a seven-hour flight back to Scotland.

Dhanda signed for Hearts in the summer from Ross County but has been used sparingly and predominantly as a substitute. His introduction on 74 minutes for the quiet Barrie McKay made Hearts a more creative team. They looked the likelier team to win, although it appeared their luck was out when Lawrence Shankland missed four reasonable chances in the second period.

The captain played a central part in the winner, though. After the most fluent attack of the match, he forced the ball through to Jorge Grant, whose deep cross found Shankland at the far post. The 29-year-old had the presence of mind to head across for Dhanda, unmarked, to steer home from close range.

Plus points for Hearts had up until that point been relatively few and far between, although 19-year-old Adam Forrester was handed another start at right-back and put in a fine shift. Much of the match was played at a pedestrian pace, and the visitors will hope that the injury suffered by Beni Baningime - the best player on the pitch - is not serious. He limped off with a muscle issue.

Hearts have matches against Omonoia, Cercle Brugge, Heidenheim, FC Copenhagen and Petrocub in the rest of the league phase. Sterner tests await. But the three points and £335,000 earned by Dhanda’s winner are so welcome for Hearts, with the shot of confidence that comes with winning the most priceless reward.