Heart of Midlothian have done it again. They've won. This time Aberdeen were the team to fall to the maroon sword, losing 2-0 at Tynecastle Park.

Steven Naismith's side have now won 10 of their last 13 Premiership matches. An incredible record that has the team sitting very pretty in third place. 

Joel and James look back at another great win for Hearts.

READ MORE: Inside Craig Halkett's new deal: Contract negotiations and Hearts approach

Dreaming of Europe

Midway through the second half at Tynecastle Park, the Gorgie Ultras drum was beating and the fans were singing about "watching Gorgie on a Thursday night". It was the soundtrack to the club's European campaign last season. They know that is the current direction of this team.

The win over Aberdeen has the team out in third. By a distance. 

Ten points ahead of Kilmarnock. Thirteen ahead of St Mirren. Sixteen ahead of Hibs. Nineteen ahead of Aberdeen.

2005/06 and 2010/11.

The only two top-flight campaigns this century where Hearts have recorded more points than the current 42 after 23 league games. A very impressive return from team that have been doubted on a number of occasions. 

Patience and finding a way to win

Hearts' performance in the first half, as we will come onto explore, was worse than the one against Dundee on Tuesday night. That evening the team found themselves 2-0 down. On Saturday afternoon, the home side could consider themselves lucky that they went into the break level despite picking up before the interval. Naismith's side failed to find the target with any of their five first-half efforts. It now means that the club's first-half goal tally in Premiership games at Tynecastle Park stands at three this season.

Yet, once again, Hearts found a way to win. It wasn't pretty. It wasn't exciting. And, for the most part, wasn't all that enjoyable. But it was what was required.

Slow starts, especially at home, has been a common theme so far this campaign. Earlier in the season the team were guilty of dropping points too easily. A mixture of patience, trust and resilience has seen the team finish games stronger. It is an important characteristic of the Naismith's squad. They can respond, they don't wilt under pressure and they can turn games around, both in terms of performance and results.

Ideally, Hearts become a team that springs out the traps early doors. Naismith spoke in the aftermath of the Dundee match about a key takeaway being how the second-half performance, one of verve and aggression, impacts the crowd in a positive manner. Starting games in a similar fashion will engage supporters and bring them to life.

But the most important thing is winning. Nothing gets fans on board more than watching a winning team. No matter how it is achieved. 

READ MORE: What Steven Naismith said to his players at HT and why Jorge Grant took penalty

Shape struggles

Given the nature of Hearts’ second-half performance in Tuesday night’s 3-2 comeback win over Dundee, perhaps it should have come as no surprise that Steven Naismith stuck with the 4-2-3-1 shape that proved so successful against Tony Docherty’s men for the clash with Aberdeen. Midweek, the team were meandering and passive in the first half before springing to life in the second – and the hope was that the players would pick up where they left off.

That didn’t happen this time around, though. Only a few minutes passed before it became abundantly clear that the 18,790 supporters in attendance wouldn’t be treated to the same sort of free-flowing, attacking football that was served up earlier in the week. Hearts laboured on the ball, spending much of the opening 45 minutes penned in inside their own half as they struggled to build out from the back and beat the Aberdeen press.

There was no doubting the intention from either side – just about every pass was played forward – but there was a distinct lack of control from both sets of players. Rarely would either team string any more than a few passes together before losing it, and all too often Hearts resorted to shelling hopeful balls down the lines for Lawrence Shankland to chase in vain. Aberdeen’s Graeme Shinnie, meanwhile, was seemingly everywhere and exerting his influence over the game.

The change in formation played its part. One of the primary benefits of the 3-5-2 shape is that it provides the man in possession with plenty of passing options when building out, and it regularly felt like Hearts had nowhere to go. By the time the half-time whistle rang out, the home side’s overall passing accuracy stood at a measly 68 per cent.

Naismith stuck to his guns for the second half and the team looked far more comfortable on the ball once Jorge Grant fired the home side ahead as gaps on the park appeared with greater frequency. There still wasn’t quite as much control as Naismith would have liked. Lawrence Shankland rifled in a second with 15 minutes to go to all but seal the win, and Hearts held their nerve to claim three valuable points. The second-half performance demonstrated how good a team Hearts can be when they find their stride. 

Defensive rocks

The two best players in maroon were in the middle of defence. Frankie Kent and Stephen Kingsley were dominant. A colossal partnership that kept Aberdeen at bay when the Dons were in the ascendancy in the first half.

Kent's reading of the game, the timing of his challenges were absolutely spot on. Stephen Kingsley suppressed Bojan Miovski, won just about everything and ensured there was a composure to the Hearts backline.

As a pair they barely put a foot wrong and gave the team a brilliant defensive platform. They recorded the highest number of aerial duel wins and the most clearances, while Kent just edged out Kingsley in blocks. But the latter was there late on to block when Jack Mackenzie skipped past Kent. 

VAR to the rescue

The video technology hasn’t always worked in Hearts’ favour this season, but it is impossible to deny that VAR mightily aided the men in maroon against the Dons.

In the first instance, it offered a welcome reprieve midway through the first half. Aberdeen attacked down the right as Beni Baningime went haring after the ball, tumbling to the deck after having his ankles clipped by Bojan Miovski. Play was waved on and a few seconds later, the North Macedonian striker had expertly curled the ball beyond Zander Clark and into the top corner. Referee Kevin Clancy was then invited over to the pitchside monitor for a second look, and the goal was chopped off for a foul in the build-up.

The first was a let-off for Hearts, and the second was perhaps the game’s defining moment. Alan Forrest drilled a cross in to the Aberdeen box, where it struck Stefan Gartermann. The home fans immediately howled for hand-ball, but Clancy was unmoved – before, again, re-watching the incident and pointing to the spot. Grant converted to nudge Hearts in front, and the home side never looked back.

Lawrence Shankland

Quite simply incredible. That's it. Nothing else to add.