What a difference a year makes.
Twelve months ago, Hearts came off a 100% record in the League Cup group stage to secure a home win over Scottish Cup winners Aberdeen, who had already sustained an early season European defeat.
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On Saturday, Aberdeen were the home side, fresh from four straight League Cup wins and Premiership runners-up Hearts were smarting after a heavy aggregate Champions League qualifying loss to Sturm Graz.
Would it be the home side that prevailed again to set up a strong domestic charge? Yes, eventually – and, well it’s too early to say.
The parallels with last season are compelling.
Hearts’ challenge last term was led by a Scotland international forward in Lawrence Shankland, now skippering Rangers. Aberdeen are now captained by Kevin Nisbet and it was he who settled a dramatic evening at Pittodrie.
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Lack of ruthlessness costs Hearts again
Despite some early flurries from the Dons, Hearts seemed to be dealing calmly and confidently with their opponents and moved ahead through Oisin McEntee’s close-range strike.
New players like Amadou Ba-Sy and Lauren Mendy integrated fairly seamlessly with experienced heads like captain-for-the-night Harry Milne and Blair Spittal. And there were chances for a second goal, with the final ball or shot often just the wrong choice.
All seemed well – until the 90th minute. Head coach Wouter Vrancken had urged his players to be more clinical in both boxes after 4-0 and 2-0 defeats by Sturm Graz in Champions League qualifying. They had partially addressed that with their goal but were undone defensively.
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Milne’s booking-producing foul on Lewis Smith was the first real dent in Hearts’ defensive resolve and Stuart Armstrong’s free-kick delivery caused chaos. Dan Happe headed back across goal and Nisbet and Lewis Mayo raced in to apply the finish.
Mayo was eventually credited with the goal and Hearts’ hopes of a VAR reprieve for any infringement were dashed.
And it got worse for the visitors as Stuart Findlay fouled the running figure of Toyosi Olusanya in the box, meaning a penalty and a red card for the Hearts defender. Nisbet may have been denied the first goal but he wasn’t going to be denied again.
Now Vrancken faces the task of rousing his players for the arduous task of taking on the might of Portugal’s Benfica in Europa League qualifying, with the first leg scheduled for Thursday in Lisbon (20:00 BST).
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“We give it away in five minutes,” was the Belgian’s post-match response.
“We had to be smarter. We were going in attack with too many people there instead of keeping control and managing the counter, especially when you are 1-0 ahead.
“When the next game is on again, you have to switch again because you cannot go with these feelings again in the next game. We have to be ready and fully focused again.”
Positive signs for Robinson as Dons show ‘fight’
Having taken over in March, Stephen Robinson had a couple of months’ worth of competitive games to assess the Aberdeen squad before planning an assault on the transfer market.
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Substantial change followed, with 12 players brought in, including a number of Premiership stalwarts, and a larger number leaving.
“If you’re going to win a game, it’s a good way to do it,” Robinson commented wryly afterwards.
“We certainly showed the character and the fight that I didn’t believe was here last year and certainly that was a real plus for me.”
So what comes next? Can Aberdeen emulate Hearts’ high-flying campaign of last season? As Robinson was keen to stress, it’s early days.
“We have to remember it’s one game,” he said. “You take the criticism when you lose games so I think the players deserve a lot of credit for their mentality.
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“It’s a very good result. It’s a start but that’s all it is.”
‘Hearts punished for recurring mistakes’
Former Aberdeen captain and manager Willie Miller:
To get a win from where they were – outstanding – but Hearts have got themselves to blame. Aberdeen have kept going right to the end. A sensational victory.
What a penalty it was. It’s top quality, it’s everything that should be about a penalty and how you deal with it. He had a long wait as well. He was calm, he was confident. It was a laser into the top corner.
Former Hearts midfielder Michael Stewart:
Hearts are being punished for recurring mistakes. They’re not taking care of business.
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The manager is an attacking type but he needs to get a balance. I was unsure on his substitutions. Why change the centre-halves? There’s elements of the performance that they’ve been crucially punished for. These are recurring themes that are undermining any good work that’s being done.
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