Tam Courts suffered his first home defeat since taking over the Dundee United hot seat in the summer.
Former United boss Robbie Neilson was delighted as goals at the end of either half – from Liam Boyce and Armand Gnanduillet – capped off a 2-0 win for his Hearts side.
Courier Sport was at Tannadice and here are 3 things we learned from the clash:
Calum Butcher has bite Dundee United midfield needs
Dundee United vice-captain Calum Butcher agreed a new two-year deal on the eve of the Hearts clash.
And he proved his worth with a second half substitute appearance.
Butcher replaced the relatively ineffective Dylan Levitt after 53 minutes and helped United get a grip on the midfield.
Until that point, the hosts were being bossed by Hearts who deservedly went in 1-0 up at the break.
Butcher is not a creative force and has just one goal in two years.
🗣 "It's not the result we wanted. The boys gave it everything, definitely in the second half. Overall, probably disappointed not to come away with a draw."
🎥 Hear from Head Coach Tam Courts and midfielder Calum Butcher after today's match against Hearts.#UnitedTogether pic.twitter.com/c1in695aHt
— Dundee United FC (@dundeeunitedfc) August 28, 2021
But he can give United the bite they need as their midfield enforcer.
Levitt’s day will come too.
He made an impressive debut at St Johnstone and the highly-rated Manchester United and Wales star clearly has a bright future.
But if ever a day demonstrated Butcher’s worth to United, it was Saturday.
Chris Mochrie is a teenage Tannadice star-in-the-making
Chris Mochrie already holds the record as the youngest-ever player to appear for Dundee United, aged just 16 and 27 days.
And as he made his full Scottish Premiership bow on Saturday, it’s important to remember Mochrie is just 18.
He earned a late call-up to the Scotland Under-21 squad that travels to Turkey this week.
🟧⬛️ He's One Of Our Own #DUFCLive pic.twitter.com/cEg00OZUqT
— Dundee United FC (@dundeeunitedfc) August 28, 2021
That is a mark of the high-esteem others hold in him in.
On Saturday he looked cool and composed on the ball and was a willing runner to press Hearts star Andy Halliday.
It’s very early days, but after making a big impact during a loan spell at Montrose last year, Mochrie has a bright future.
United need to step up to meet top six ambitions
It’s been a very good start to season by Dundee United.
They are in the quarter final of the Premier Sports Cup and with wins over Rangers and St Johnstone they have taken six points from 12 in the league.
But, clearly, they face a fight to become a top six side this term.
The opening day defeat to Aberdeen was disappointing both in terms of performance and result.
And despite going toe-to-toe with Hearts, particularly in the second half, the Edinburgh side looked comfortable.
The Dons and the Jambos are strong contenders to be top six teams.
If United harbour the same ambitions, they’ll need to up their game.