A late Jamie Hamill penalty ensured 10-man Hearts avoided relegation last night as Aberdeen’s apparent inability to beat the Scottish Premiership’s bottom side continued.
Gary Locke’s Jambos had beaten the Dons twice already this season and had to avoid to defeat to preserve their top-flight status for at least another match.
It looked as though the Tynecastle side were heading for the Championship when they were reduced to 10 men when Danny Wilson was sent off and Willo Flood thundered home a free kick with 16 minutes remaining.
But with time running out, Shaleum Logan conceded a late penalty for a foul on Callum Paterson and Hearts captain Hamill sent Jamie Langfield the wrong way.
The Dons move back to second position on goal difference but this was a disappointing outcome for the Reds.
The Dons welcomed back Andrew Considine and Peter Pawlett for the trip to Tynecastle as Derek McInnes made two changes from the side that drew 1-1 against Dundee United, with Cammy Smith and Joe Shaughnessy both dropping to the bench.
Considine had sat out Saturday’s derby match because of suspension, while Pawlett had missed Aberdeen’s previous five games, including the League Cup final win against Caley Thistle, with a groin strain.
Hearts were in confident mood following a 2-0 win against rivals Hibernian in Sunday’s pulsating Edinburgh derby.
With the financial concerns at the Gorgie club continuing to mount, pre-match talk focused on the possibility of imminent liquidation.
Hearts manager Gary Locke made one enforced change with on-loan West Ham United forward Paul McCallum replacing the absent Dale Carrick.
Aberdeen had lost the first goal in all three appearances since the League Cup final win against Caley Thistle but had gone on to secure at least a point on each occasion and they had an early scare in the opening minute.
Supporters were still finding their seats when a David Smith corner broke for Sam Nicholson, whose low drive was blocked by his own player, Ryan Stevenson.
It was Aberdeen who mustered the first effort on target with Niall McGinn, who had ended his goalscoring drought against Dundee United, unleashing a curling effort which was parried away by Jamie MacDonald.
The Dons almost conjured up the opener after 22 minutes with a smartly taken free kick by McGinn to set up the unmarked Pawlett, who crossed for Considine. But the defender’s header was deflected over the crossbar.
Ryan Jack was booked for a late, lunging tackle on Smith before Adam Rooney almost capitalised on Callum Paterson’s short back-pass but the Irish forward’s effort was well saved by MacDonald.
Pawlett was unfortunate 10 minutes before the break when he latched on to a Rooney header but his first-time volley flew just over the crossbar, with MacDonald beaten.
The hosts had the ball in the back of the net in the final moment of the first half, but only after McCallum had bundled Langfield into the goal – with the Hearts forward rightly booked for his reckless shoulder barge.
That was McCallum’s last impact on the game with the forward withdrawn at the break for Scott Robinson.
Hearts upped the attacking ante after the restart with Ryan Stevenson, who had been pushed up front in McCallum’s absence, dragging a shot just wide of the target before Smith lashed the ball over from distance.
It was tentative football from both teams, although the hosts, spurred on by a sizeable support, appeared to be gaining the upper hand.
It became even harder for the Dons when Barry Robson darted off the pitch and up the tunnel, appearing to indicate to manager McInnes that he was feeling sick.
The midfielder re-emerged a couple of minutes later with both teams still searching for the elusive goal and almost made the breakthrough but his netbound effort was bravely blocked by Paterson.
The match turned on its head with 17 minutes remaining when Wilson was shown a red card for a second booking by referee Kevin Clancy for pulling back the advancing Rooney. From the resulting set-piece, Flood powered home the free kick, with the ball squirming under MacDonald.
Mark Reynolds almost gifted the hosts an equaliser with a short pass to Langfield but Stevenson dragged his shot wide of the target. But Hearts did find the goal they were searching for when Logan bundled over Paterson with only three minutes remaining and Hamill coolly converted the spot-kick as the Jambos lived to fight another day.