Dismal Dons dumped at Fortress Tynecastle
hearts 2
Naismith (18), Milinkovic (20)
aberdeen 0
Their ground was a building site when the season began.
But Hearts have turned Tynecastle into a fortress – and it cost Aberdeen their grip on second place.
Two goals in as many first-half minutes from Steven Naismith and David Milinkovic stretched the Jam Tarts’ unbeaten home run to 14 games.
Craig Levein dubbed it an “emphatic” victory.
But for Dons gaffer Derek McInnes – his side down to third in the Premiership, and with a massive Scottish Cup semi-final against Motherwell up next – it was a concerning afternoon.
“Looking at today you wouldn’t say that too many have cemented their places,” said McInnes of his Hampden hopefuls.
“I thought we were lacklustre in terms of possession. We were laboured, tepid, not dynamic enough.
“We came here 19 points ahead of Hearts and with so much to play for but we didn’t show any of that. “Hearts didn’t need to do a lot to beat us. “We beat ourselves today by playing in the wrong areas and not being sharp enough in our work.
“Hearts were worthy of their win but I don’t think it was emphatic as Craig said.”
Two pre-match power cuts meant the Tynecastle turnstiles opened 15 minutes late.
But the contest that followed was worth the wait for the home fans.
Aberdeen had the better of it early on, and Andy Considine struck the post on eight minutes with a header from Niall McGinn’s wicked free-kick.
The Dons looked comfortable in possession – and pressed Hearts shrewdly. But there were signs of sloppiness in the red ranks.
It was there when Joe Lewis sclafffed an attempted clearance straight to a maroon jersey, only for the waiting Kyle Lafferty to blaze an effort over the bar.
And it was there again when Steven Naismith pounced to claim a sucker-punch lead for Hearts.
Naismith’s strike – a composed plant past Lewis after riding a challenge in the box – sparked an inquest in the Aberdeen defence.
But just two minutes later, they were pointing fingers again.
This time Hearts won the ball deep before Lafferty tried his luck from 25 yards – and found it was in.
The Northern Irishman’s effort was disappointing, but it cannoned off Considine’s legs, straight into the path of David Milinkovic, who beat Anthony O’Connor’s attempted block to slot home.
Having found their rhythm, Hearts took control, leaving Aberdeen shell-shocked, frustration etched across their manager’s face, to chase shadows until half-time.
McInnes had work to do in the interval – and he knew it.
The Dons gaffer sprinted across the pitch on John Beaton’s whistle, straight up the tunnel, and presumably straight into the faces of his slack stars.
A change followed, with the ineffective Greg Stewart making way for Kari Arnason.
It was a tactical switch that saw Anthony O’Connor step forward into midfield and Kenny McLean deployed in an attacking role. But Hearts did most of the attacking. They almost made it 3-0 on the hour when Milinkovic played in Lafferty, but the striker’s vicious first-time effort was tipped over by Lewis at his near post.
Aberdeen threw Gary Mackay-Steven and Adam Rooney on as their desperation for a goal grew, and Rooney hit the post with eight minutes to go after Considine knocked down Shay Logan’s raking cross.
But there was no way through for the desperate Dons, leaving Craig Levein to luxuriate in another satisfying home display.
The Hearts boss said: “It was a strong performance and a fairly emphatic win, which, against a good Aberdeen side is very pleasing.
“Tynecastle always has been a fortress in my eyes.
“Whenever we’ve had good seasons it has always been because our home form is particularly strong.
“That has been the case, and I’m looking forward to next season, with the extra capacity, more Hearts fans in the stadium, more noise, and more pressure on the opposition.”