Hearts deliver best performance but lose to Aberdeen with 10 men

Hearts came from 1-0 down to lead 2-1 but would lose after going down to 10 men following Jorge Grant's second-half sending off when the score was level at 2-2. It was a red that which brought confusion with few aware of what his first booked was for.

Liam Fox's side conceded in the opening two minutes when Topi Keskinen's deflected effort found a way past Craig Gordon. Frankie Kent got Hearts level before Blair Spittal put the visitors ahead after the break. Nicky Devlin got the home side level immediately and Ante Palaversa netted the Dons' winner.

Craig Cairns looks back at a hectic afternoon's action in the Granite City.

Behind early doors

Liam Fox made six changes from Thursday night’s win over Dinamo Minsk, bringing in Stephen Kingsley and Daniel Oyegoke into the full-back positions. He also changed both wingers, meaning starts for Kenneth Vargas and Thursday’s goal hero Yan Dhanda. It was the Englishman’s first start since August in the League Cup defeat to Falkirk. In midfield, Jorge Grant and Malachi Boateng were brought into the starting XI.

Kingsley lasted just 20 minutes, limping off to be replaced by James Penrice. The change improved Hearts, who were a goal down by that point. Penrice was more likely to overlap, making Dhanda’s forays into the centre of the pitch more fruitful.

They got off to the worst possible start, however, when Kingsley was caught out of position, allowing Keskinen a shot at goal that Kye Rowles deflected past a helpless Craig Gordon. Aberdeen would look to retain possession in their own half to drag Hearts out of position with their rotations before playing direct to their impressive collection of attackers. Hearts looked vulnerable.

Hearts take advantage of sloppy Dons

As the half wore on, Jimmy Thelin’s side increasingly surrendered possession in their own half, including in their own box but Lawrence Shankland shot a golden opportunity straight at Dimitar Mitov. After that, Slobodan Rubezic was close with a header but it was mainly Hearts, with Gordon rarely involved.

Jorge Grant spurned a trio of near-post chances, one set up by each full-back and the third from Dhanda who was starting to enjoy himself. He played in a number of dangerous crosses, one of which he overegged and that Mitov had to tip over. From the resulting corner, Hearts were level when Kent converted Shankland’s back-post cross.

It was nothing more than Hearts deserved after making a side on a run of 12 consecutive wins look unsure of themselves for large parts of the half.

Spittal shines

Hearts fans had been demanding the inclusion of Yan Dhanda following the last two outings in which he had assisted and scored. The summer signing did impress with his balance and ability to find space and deliver some testing crosses. But he wasn't the only summer addition to impress.

Blair Spittal had his best performance for the club since making the switch from Motherwell. He constantly looked to get on the ball and progress it when he did. He linked play effectively, especially when he moved to the left and combined with both Dhanda and James Penrice. Out of possession he dug in and when the ball went forward he did his best to get up and support.

The crowning moment of his performance arrived just past the hour mark when he picked the ball up on the edge of the box and beat Dimitar Mitov with a low drive into the corner. It was the type of moment Hearts fans were hoping he would add to the team following his fine goal-scoring form for the Steelmen last season.

Vargas wait goes on

The Costa Rican international is still looking for his first goal of the season and missed arguably the best chance of the game. Vargas nipped in between Gavin Molloy and Jack McKenzie to steal the ball and race through on Mitov.

Short of rolling the ball to Shankland to his right for a tap-in, a simple finish either side of the Bulgarian shot-stopper was the best option. Vargas instead elected for the chip and lifted it too high. Vargas won’t get many better opportunities to score this season. Part of the issues Hearts have had this season is no one else stepping up when Shankland isn’t scoring.

Late Heartbreak

They were ahead for less than two minutes when Devlin got forward and on the end of a Kesakinen cross that had been cut out by Rowles. Both manager started to ring the changes and Aberdeen substitute Duk drew a foul from Grant soon after coming on that earned him his second booking and a red card. A minute later, Adam Forrester – who had replaced Oyegoke – was yellow carded for also bringing down the winger, as Hearts struggled to cope with his pace.

The visitors retained a bit of a threat with 10 men, but it was more an exercise in containing Aberdeen. Aside from the tactical fouls, there were yellows for time-wasting and it looked like Hearts were going to leave the Granite City with a point until two minutes from the end of the 90. Duk again got the better of Forrester and his cross was converted by substitute Palaversa. It leaves Hearts bottom of the table with two points from their opening eight matches.

Fans

One thing that cannot be questioned about Hearts this season is the dedication of their support, with around 1,700 made the trip 240-mile round-trip north on a Sunday afternoon. Remarkably, the travelling Jambos had sold out their allocation at Pittodrie before recording their first win of the season in Azerbaijan in the Conference League. A win dedicated to the fans back home by the temporary manager. They were served up a better showing than they have for most of the season so far but it will be scant consolation to the travelling diehards.