Aberdeen claimed a 2:1 victory over Hearts in the Scottish Premiership's opening round on Saturday, with Kevin Nisbet scoring twice in stoppage time to salvage a result after the visitors had taken the lead. The match concluded at Pittodrie with Hearts reduced to ten men following Stuart Findlay's dismissal in the 93rd minute.
Oluwoyi McEntee opened the scoring for Hearts in the 35th minute, capitalising on a defensive error to slot home his side's first goal of the season. Aberdeen responded through Nisbet in the 90th minute, and the striker then converted a penalty in the 95th minute after Findlay was shown a red card for a second caution.
Both managers made multiple changes as the match progressed, with Aberdeen bringing on A. Ba-Sy, A. Aremu, C. Cadden, S. Kerjota, L. Mendy, B. Spittal and N. Guinness-Walker during the second half. Hearts also shuffled their resources, though the substitutions came later in the proceedings as they chased the game.
The statistics tell a story of a match where both sides enjoyed roughly equal possession, with Aberdeen holding a slight 51 to 49 per cent advantage. Hearts registered more shots overall with four on target compared to Aberdeen's three, but the visitors also had seven attempts miss the mark. Both teams completed similar numbers of aerial duels at 37 each, while Aberdeen created two big chances against Hearts' one.
The result leaves Aberdeen tenth in the table with four points from five games, while Hearts sit third with twelve points from their five outings. The hosts have now won one, drawn one and lost three of their five matches this season, while Hearts have suffered just a single defeat.