Three things we learned from Hearts’ 3-2 defeat at Aberdeen

Here are three Hearts-related observations from their opening-day defeat against Aberdeen at Pittodrie.

Steven Naismiths presence galvanised Hearts at Pittodrie.

The Naismith effect

It’s a line so well versed that it’s now in danger of getting boring, but Steven Naismith’s impact on Hearts can’t be overstated. Although they had ridden out a tough first half and gained something of a foothold in the early part of the second half, it was only after the talismanic Steven Naismith arrived on the pitch that they found some real threat in attack. Remarkably, the 32-year-old nodded in with his first touch since returning to the club on a permanent contract, and suddenly his team were galvanised and temporarily looked the likelier winners.

Injury jinx strikes again

In light of their remarkable injury problems last season and the ongoing issue plaguing midfield linchpin Peter Haring, Craig Levein would have been praying to at least get through the opening match of the new league campaign without losing anyone - particularly one of his key men - to injury. Just 39 minutes in, however, Scotland internationalist John Souttar, who missed a significant portion of last term through injury, dropped to the turf and limped off to be replaced by Clevid Dikamona.

Midfield brawn required

Sean Clare and Andy Irving generally competed well against a strong and lively three-man Aberdeen midfield and the pair showed sporadic moments of quality, but the Tynecastle side missed someone with real authority in the engine room to allow them to seize the upper hand. There were times in the first half when Hearts’ centre-backs had to dig deep to keep the team in the game as the midfield was being overrun. A robust and experienced anchorman, such as Glenn Whelan, would make a big difference to a side which, on this evidence, is in reasonably good order.