Hearts earned a point at home to Aberdeen in a 1-1 draw this afternoon.
Leighton Clarkson’s first half strike was cancelled out by a Nicky Devlin own-goal in the second 45 as the Jambos claimed a point in an even encounter between the two sides in Gorgie.
Neil Critchley made five changes to the side that was beaten in Belgium, the most notable being a maiden start for Musa Drammeh up front, whilst Stephen Kingsley replaced the suspended James Penrice.
The Jambos started positively as Drammeh saw an effort drag wide, before Blair Spittal saw a stinging volley blocked all inside the opening 25 minutes. Hearts’ rhythm was disrupted by two injuries in quick succession; Stephen Kingsley stretchered off after going over on himself, before Frankie Kent soon joined him in an early exit after 34 minutes.
Moments later, Aberdeen took the lead after 37 minutes through Leighton Clarkson, pouncing on a Shayden Morris cross before steering the ball into the bottom corner beyond Craig Gordon.
Craig Gordon was then called into action to deny the Dons a rapid second as he delivered an excellent diving save to deny Leighton Clarkson once again.
HT: Hearts 0-1 Aberdeen
The Jambos didn’t have long to wait for the equaliser, with the goal arriving on the hour mark with a helping hand from Aberdeen; Blair Spittal’s flick on was steered towards Musa, with Dons defender Nicky Devlin nodding it beyond his own keeper.
The Aberdeen man soon redeemed himself as he made two fine blocks to deny Hearts a second; throwing himself down on the line to first block Lawrence Shankland’s attempt, before denying Jorge Grant at the second time of asking.
It was a remarkable even contest, with both sides probably worth a point on the day. There was a late check for a red card against Aberdeen by VAR after Jack Milne fouled Beni Baningime’s foot, with nothing occurring following the check.
Lawrence Shankland then saw a stoppage time volley shoot over the bar as both sides settled for a point on a damp day in Gorgie.
Hearts: Gordon, Kent (Forrester 34’), Kingsley (Halkett 29’), Oyegoke, Baningime, Shankland ©, Devlin, Rowles, Spittal, Forrest (Grant 79’), Musa (Vargas 79’)
Subs: Clark, Halkett, Grant, Boateng, Dhanda, Wilson, Boyce, Forrester, Vargas
Aberdeen: Mitov (Doohan 45’), Devlin, Nilsen, McGrath, Clarkson, McGarry (Milne 59’), Palaversa (Shinnie 59’), Sokler (Duk 75’), Morris (Keskinen 80’), Molloy, MacDonald
Subs: Doohan, Shinnie, Polvara, Nisbet, Duk, Besuijen, Milne, Rubežić, Keskinen
