Aberdeen came up short in their hopes of beating their points tally of 75 from last season as Adam Collin, their stand-in goalkeeper, blundered and Abiola Dauda's opportunism gave Hearts a win they did not deserve.
It was a night when the Dons' inability to finish was palpable and a clear sign Derek McInnes, their manager, was right to add Bournemouth's Jayden Stockley to his forwards department.
There was interest in the inclusion of Scott McKenna, a 19-year-old centre-back, who was offered his first start because of his physical presence and tasked with containing Dauda and Juanma Delgado, two powerful strikers for the visiting team.
"We demonstrated an eagerness to win the game and I thought we were the better team,” McInnes said.
“The goal we lost was a poor goal. I know it was a good strike from Alim Ozturk but the goalkeeper should do better and we should follow the ball in. It was a scrappy goal but one which gave Hearts something to hold on to.”
Jonny Hayes and Niall McGinn, as they have done throughout the Ladbrokes Premiership campaign, bubbled with eye-catching energy and enthusiasm as they troubled the visitors.
But when Hayes raced into the Hearts area and touched the ball across goal, there were no takers.
Hearts looked ruffled, the pressure they were forced to absorb unsettling them with Hayes usually at the centre of them and when he was scythed down on the edge of the box by Juwon Oshaniwa – booked for the challenge in the 25th minute – McGinn’s free-kick missed the target.
Still, there was the message from the Pittodrie side that they were determined to move closer to beating the 75-points tally they accumulated last season.
When the breakthrough came, however, it was from Hearts. Ryan Jack, the Dons captain, brought down Callum Paterson 23 yards from goal and, when Collin failed to hold Ozturk’s thunderbolt of a free-kick, Dauda was first to react to stab the ball home.
Stubborn defending by Ozturk and John Souttar at the heart of the Tynecastle defence showed they would not be breached, despite the amount of possession the Dons had in what turned out to be a tense affair.
"We've played Aberdeen five times and won three, which is great,” said Robbie Neilson, the Hearts manager.
“We need to carry it through to next season and try to get closer to them. They're a good team. I think the difference between the two teams is probably experience."
Aberdeen (4-2-3-1)) Collin; Logan, Taylor, McKenna, Considine;
Jack, Flood; Hayes, McGinn, Shinnie; McLean. Substitutes not used:
Lennox, Reynolds, Robson, Storie, Smith, Wright, Nuttall. Booked:
Hearts (4-4-2): Hamilton; Paterson, Ozturk, Souttar, Oshaniwa;
Buaben, Djoum, Kitchen, Zanatta; Dauda, Delgado.` Substitutes not
used: Alexander, Nicholson, Pallardo, Reilly, McGhee, Smith, Moore.
Referee: A Dallas. Attendance:10,087
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