Aberdeen 2-1 Hearts: Player ratings, injury latest, red card drama, new signing impresses

A difficult couple of weeks in Europe gave way to more dejection for Hearts at Pittodrie as they conceded twice in the dying minutes of the Premiership’s opening match. Following a 6-0 aggregate loss to Stum Graz in the Champions League qualifiers, the Tynecastle side led 1-0 for most of the evening and looked to have earned their first victory away at Aberdeen for 10 years. A 90th-minute Lewis Mayo goal and a Kevin Nisbet penalty two minutes later overturned the deficit.

Wouter Vrancken’s first league game in Scotland saw Oisin McEntee’s first-half strike put Hearts ahead in front of 1,613 travelling fans. Aberdeen didn’t look like levelling, never mind winning the game. However, they threw balls forward in the closing stages and reaped the rewards. Hearts couldn’t stay strong enough to hold out despite controlling most of the match. They put in an encouraging performance in the face of adversity with some key players missing and looked a threat whenever they attacked - totalling 19 efforts at goal during the game.

Aberdeen incurred the wrath of the home support several times with wayward passes and some hesitancy dealing with loose balls. They had won all four Premier Sports Cup ties against lower-division opponents last month and the locals expected a positive start to the league campaign. Eventually, it came, although many of the home support might wonder how their team prised three points from this encounter.

Regardless, it leaves Hearts with three competitive defeats at the start of Vrancken’s tenure. They suffered for late defensive frailties and now head to Lisbon to face the might of Benfica in the Europa League third qualifying round. If that assignment looks daunting, the ending to this game may not help confidence levels.

With Malachi Fagan-Walcott, Stephen Kingsley and Craig Halkett all injured, Hearts did not have their defensive troubles to seek for this opening fixture. Fagan-Walcott and Kingsley are expected to be absent for several weeks. Midfielder Tom Renaud was serving a one-game ban after picking up six yellow cards with French third tier side Versailles last season. Dutch goalkeeper Beau Reus and French midfielder Laurent Mendy made their competitive debuts for the Edinburgh club. There was also a first start in maroon for Albanian winger Sabah Kerjota a year since he arrived in Scotland.

Aberdeen handed league debuts to nine new arrivals - goalkeeper Marius Muller, defenders Lewis Mayo, Nests Guinness-Walker and Dan Happe, midfielders Brad Lyons, Connor Ronan, Chris Cadden and Afeeez Aremu, plus winger Tony Yogane. The hosts began the match purposefully and attacked the Hearts central defenders, McEntee and Stuart Findlay, with quick balls forward to expose gaps between full-backs and centre-backs. Strikers Kevin Nisbet and Toyosi Olusanya were always willing runners in behind.

Hearts settled and grew into the game. Wingers Calvin Miller and Kerjota were their main dangers. Nisbet headed Ronan’s corner narrowly wide on 28 minutes before Blair Spittal’s shot nestled in Muller’s arms at the opposite end. It was another Spittal shot which led to the opening goal for the visitors on 35 minutes. A neat turn and run from Amadou Ba-Sy was followed by a cutback which Mayo touched out to Spittal. The midfielder’s drive was blocked by Guinness-Walker and both Findlay and Happe challenged for the loose ball. Happe appeared to prod it towards McEntee, who swept it into the net and set off in a fit of elation.

Having progressively shown more authority as the opening period progressed, Hearts were deserving of their 1-0 interval advantage. Ba-Sy was a constant handful, Mendy looked assured in most of what he did, with Altena also strong at right-back. After some brief difficulties, McEntee and Findlay seemed to have Nisbet and Olusanya under control. In the technical area, Vrancken would have seen plenty to please him at that stage.

Braga slid in for Calvin Miller’s cross early in the second half, but the Portuguese saw his effort roll wide of target. The travelling fans encouraged one another to clap their hands if they hate Derek McInnes, Lawrence Shankland and Cammy Devlin after the triumvirate left for Rangers. Their replacements were gaining confidence on the field as Hearts sprayed the ball around and continued to press for a second goal.

Ba-Sy came off after an hour to be replaced by Landry Kabore. Aberdeen knew they needed a goal but weren’t creating much in the way of genuine openings. Cadden’s 69th-minute drive from 18 yards rasped the palsm of Reus. At the other end, Kabore dispatched a vicious effort from 20 yards which Muller’s fists deflected over the crossbar. After McEntee was shunted into midfield and Jamie McCart came on beside Findlay at centre-back, Aberdeen tried a late onslaught with numerous balls into the visitors’ penalty area. The first came after some cynical Hearts fouling by Harry Milne and McEntee. The resultant free-kick was headed across goal by Happe and bundled into the net by Mayo.

Then, in the dying embers of stoppage time, Olusanya sprinted on to a lofted forward ball from substitute Lewis Smith and was impeded inside the penalty area by Findlay. Referee David Dickinson immediately pointed to the spot and issued Findlay a red card for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity. The spot-kick was converted firmly by Nisbet to win the game and complete a dramatic turnaround.