Hearts boss Neil Critchley hopes captain Lawrence Shankland’s match-winning double against Dundee can unburden the beleaguered striker for the remainder of the season.
The Scotland international had been feeling the heat after scoring just one goal all season but he ended a 12-game drought – stretching back to 28 September – by notching twice in the space of six first-half minutes to secure a 2-0 victory for the Jambos.
Critchley, who has kept faith with Shankland throughout his struggles, expects his goals against the Dark Blues to be a catalyst for a return to the form that saw him score 59 goals across his first two years at Hearts.
“I very much hope so, yeah,” said the head coach. “If you look at some of his stats and the data behind his performances, then other than the last little bit, he’s been very similar to what he’s been producing, particularly last season.
“You see shots, his expected goals that he’s supposed to get, the touches that he gets inside the penalty area and everything’s very similar.
“It’s just the final little bit and today the final little bit’s gone for him, which is why he scored two goals.
“He’s had similar chances in other games and they’ve just not gone in, but that’s the difference today and that’s strikers. That’ll give him a world of confidence, lifted a bit of weight off his shoulders, if you like. You could see the relief of the players and him and the supporters. It’s a big moment for him, so hopefully he can (kick on) now.”
The victory ended a run of five games without a win for Hearts and lifted them off the bottom of the William Hill Premiership at the expense of city rivals Hibernian.
“I thought we deserved to win the game,” said Critchley. “I would have liked to have seen us play a bit better with the ball in the second half, in truth, but I thought we were excellent in the first half.
“If anything we could have probably got one or two more today.”
Dundee boss Tony Docherty felt his team’s first-half display let them down.
“The overriding feeling is one of frustration, because for whatever reason I just think we weren’t at it at all in the first half, we didn’t compete,” he said. “I thought we did in the second half when we addressed it.
“Whether Wednesday night’s exertions (against Motherwell) come into that because Hearts haven’t had a game, but some of our decision-making was poor, and sometimes mentally when you’re fatigued you make poor decisions.
“Collectively in that first half we made too many poor decisions and allowed Hearts to gain a foothold and get an ascendancy in the game.”
