Heart of Midlothian 0 - 1 Aberdeen

Aberdeen made a sensational start to their Christmas campaign with a late goal at Tynecastle to move them into second place and pull seven points clear of Hearts. With Hibs losing at Falkirk it only requires Rangers to drop points against Celtic tomorrow to make the perfect weekend. In an even first half both sides had efforts cleared off the line. After the break Hearts started to take control but quick thinking from Darren Mackie in the 87th minute saw them pinch the points. Gordon failed to hold a Severin shot and Lovell was on hand to score the winner.

Young Considine made a nervous start as he slipped in the opening seconds, but the ball was cleared and no damage done. At the other end Goncalves made a poor pass back and Gordon was forced to boot the ball clear to safety. Both sides then settled as the game moved from end to end. Hearts threatened in the 8th minute with a whipped ball across goal that was cleared by Nicholson. The midfielder was then penalised as Fyssas went to ground easily but fortunately the delivery was poor and the Dons cleared. Aberdeen won their own free kick two minutes later and Hearts struggled to clear the ball that as it bounced about their penalty area.

Darren Mackie then forced the first corner of the match in the 12th minute but Nicholson delivered the ball straight down the throat of Craig Gordon. Aberdeen threatened again in the 16th minute as first Jamie Smith then Lee Miller had a sight of goal. Smith was eventually penalised and the momentum was lost. It was a poor challenge but at this stage the home side were getting every 50-50 decision. The Dons were finally awarded a free kick when Jankauskas scythed down Jamie Smith and was very lucky to escape a booking. Another wild challenge from Barasa on Severin in the 25th also went unpunished.

The Dons won their second corner two minutes later and Anderson looked to have scored until Aguiar cleared the ball off the line for a third corner. Aberdeen then won an indirect free kick and Jamie Smith delivered a great cross only to see referee Dougal penalise the Dons for a push. Considine collected the first yellow card of the game for pulling back a Hearts forward. The subsequent free kick from Aguiar was collected by Langfield at the second attempt then the Hearts player had another pot shot in the 34th minute that skidded wide. Five minutes later Severin wasted a good free kick as he fired the ball out for a goal kick.

Hearts thought they had scored in the 42nd minute when Chris Clark cleared the ball off the line amid claims for a spot kick. Aberdeen didn't hang around and quickly broke but Foster couldn't get past Tall. In a dramatic end to the half Hearts went close when the ball was fired across the face of the goal then Lee Miller went one on one with Gordon after a mistake from Barasa. He clipped the ball over the keeper but looked on in agony as it scraped the post and went wide.

Aguiar collected an early yellow card when he prevented Mackie from breaking in the 47th minute and three minutes later Severin fired wide of the target with the Dons first attempt of the second half. Nicholson was then booked in the 53rd minute after complaining about a ridiculous free kick that was given against him and the Dons were almost punished when no Hearts player attacked the free kick as the ball whizzed across the goal. At the other end Mackie threatened until once again a Hearts player fell over and won yet another soft free kick. Hart was the next player to be spoken to after McCann fell in front of him then seconds later Lee Miller was clearly being pulled back and was denied a free kick.

Mackie then had a sniff at goal in the 62nd minute as he latched on to a long ball but was forced wide by Gordon and had no support in the middle. The home fans were delighted in the 64th minute when Paul Hartley replaced Zaliukas with both sides struggling to take the ball down and play football. Hartley almost made an immediate impact when he had the ball in the net in the 70th minute but was clearly offside. A minute later the Dons were at sixes and sevens as Langfield skied a clearance causing panic in the Dons defence. Hearts were starting to take control of the match at this stage as the Dons continued to give the ball away cheaply.

Hartley went close again in the 74th minute as he spun round and fired a low drive inches wide. A minute later Mackie threatened but was once again isolated and did well to win a corner. Unfortunately the Dons failed to threaten at the set play as Gordon easily gathered a Miller header. A further two corners for the Dons failed to make the breakthrough and in the 79th minute Lovell replaced Lee Miller. It was Hearts that almost grabbed the lead as a Hartley cross was headed wide before Velicka missed from two yards out with only Langfield to beat.

Hearts were now piling on the pressure but the Dons were commanding at the back. Aberdeen then had a great chance to break in the 85th minute but Severin's pass to Mackie was just too strong and once again the striker was forced wide. Aberdeen then grabbed a sensational winner in the 87th minute when Darren Mackie reacted quickly at a throw in, found Smith who in turn squared the ball to Severin. Gordon failed to hold Seve's stinging shot allowing Steve Lovell to prod the ball into the net and send the red army home happy.

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Match Stats:

		Hearts	Dons
Goal Attempts		9	5
On Target		2	3
Corners		2	6
Possession		51%	49%

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