However, the 25-year-old was centre stage as the Jambos came from behind to snatch three points in the 96th minute at nervy Tynecastle with his first goal for the club, and you could sense the relief in the 18,000-plus crowd.

The Albanian latched onto the ball near the edge of the penalty box following a corner on the right, and he sent his shot low into the bottom corner past a despairing dive from Dundee goalkeeper, Owen Goodman.

Cue huge celebrations from the home fans.

A sense of real relief was evident in the stands as Dundee had dug deep, defending resolutely, despite losing two players, one after only three minutes.

Both were stretchered off, striker Joe Westley with a suspected fractured cheek bone, and then midfield player Finlay Robertson. He has a suspected knee injury, and another midfielder, Ryan Finnigan, went off with an ankle issue.

Then, they lost substitute Zan Besir, a Slovenian-born midfielder, when he brought down Hearts’ in-form winger, Josh McPake, near the home dugout with 91 minutes on the clock.

Earlier, Dundee capitalised on slackness in Hearts’ rearguard to open the scoring, Swiss-born striker, Bradley Fink, netting clinically after Oisin McEntee had been caught on the hop by a defence-splitting through ball from Dundee defender Imari Samuels. There were only 17 minutes on the clock when Dundee scored.

Hearts huffed and puffed but lacked real quality with their finishing and their passing in the final third and the Jambos had to wait until the 84th minute to open their account. They certainly dominated possession – 71.5 per cent against 28.5 per cent overall – were in the Dundee penalty box on numerous occasions, and had 27 shots against four, but could not find a breakthrough.

That was until Claudio Braga took responsibility after the Men in Maroon were awarded a penalty. A cross from Christian Borchgrevink was adjudged to have hit Owen Benan’s hand in the penalty box.

The Portugal-born player sent Goodman the wrong way before cooly slotting, referee Chris Graham having pointed to the spot after VAR referee Andrew Dallas had advised him to look at the pitch side screen.

Wave upon wave of Hearts attack then put the Dens Park side under severe pressure, and they eventually cracked.

Vrancken’s men moved up to second, three points behind pace-setting Celtic, and the manager revealed that he told his men that Thursday’s 3-1 win over Hibs would have been wasted had they not earned three points at Tynecastle.

The Belgian was frank in his assessment, the first half was not good enough. However, he was happier with the second half when Hearts forced the visitors back with patient play and more of what the boss said was conviction.

He now has concerns ahead of Friday’s Premier Sports Cup quarter-final at Stenhousemuir (kick-off 19.45). Irish-born defender McEntee felt something in the first 45 minutes and stayed in the dressing room after half-time. A report on his injury is awaited.

The coach also faces an anxious wait to see who is available in midfield with a number of players out injured, including Blair Spittal who had a boot fitted and was walking with the aid of crutches after the win at Easter Road, and French-born, Tom Renaud, who is out long-term after being hurt in a European tie in Austria. Alternatives are thin on the ground and he would not be drawn on whether Hearts will explore the free agent market for extra support.

Over to the opposition, and one can fully understand the feeling of former Hearts defender, Steven Pressley, Dundee’s head coach, who has until Saturday, September 19 to work on issues before they entertain Motherwell on Matchday Seven in the Premiership.

He argued this was a difficult game to manage because of the injuries and the red card. Pressley also has players bedding into his club, but he said: “The players were incredible, they kept going through adversity.”

They certainly did and they came within minutes of an outstanding result at a notoriously difficult venue.

GAME-WINNER: Sabah Kerjota by Nigel Duncan

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