Hearts 1-1 Aberdeen: Daniel Stendel's side go into winter break bottom

Hearts go into the winter break further adrift in the Scottish Premiership despite surviving a red card to win their first point under Daniel Stendel.

The German looked to be heading for a first victory in five games in charge when Ryotaro Meshino curled in a superb opener four minutes after the break.

But Sean Clare was sent off after hauling back Jon Gallagher and Niall McGinn equalised with the free-kick.

Hearts had been the better side up to that moment of hesitancy in defence.

However, with Hamilton Academical beating Motherwell, Stendel finds his side now five points behind the Lanarkshire side and six away from St Mirren, who edged out Kilmarnock.

Aberdeen, meanwhile, miss a chance to leapfrog Motherwell into third, have now not won in four trips away from Pittodrie, while on-loan Bristol City defender Zak Vyner could miss the rest of the season after the recurrence of a shoulder injury.

• Reaction & as it happened

No win but green shoots of recovery

Stendel has already shown he is prepared to make some tough decisions as he attempts to rescue Hearts from the spectre of relegation.

Glenn Whelan was axed from the squad for the Boxing Day derby defeat by Hibernian, with the manager later saying the Republic of Ireland midfielder does not have the necessary leadership qualities.

This time, countrymen Aidy White and Jake Mulraney went from a Thursday start to being out the squad, while captain Christophe Berra and Loic Damour found themselves on the bench.

With youngsters Andy Irving and Euan Henderson given rare starts in midfield, the new formation started full of the nerves you might expect given their lowly position and Aberdeen's shiny gold change jerseys shone brighter in the winter sunshine at Tynecastle in the early stages.

However, Meshino dragged them into the game, shooting on sight of the Aberdeen goal and having his best effort cleared off the line by the retreating Scott McKenna.

Craig Halkett and Oliver Bozanic were both denied by fine saves from Joe Lewis before the goalkeeper was finally beaten by the on-loan Manchester City winger's superb curling drive from 25 yards.

Lewis also saved from Irving, but just as Hearts looked like extending their lead, they were caught out by a quickly taken free-kick, Clare was dismissed for a tug on Gallagher and the blow was deepened by McGinn's dipping free-kick in off a post.

It is the kind of blow that has led to Hearts crumbling this season, but this time they dug deep and the 10 men had their fair share of chances as play raged from end to end in a thrilling finish.

The rousing reception Hearts, reeling from the worst start for any managerial reign at Tynecastle in post-war times, received at the final whistle suggests the home faithful saw green shoots of recovery.

However, despite ending a run of five defeats in a row and first goal in four home outings, the statistics remain damning - no wins in eight games, none at home in five and with more points to make up if they are to stay in the top flight.

Man of the match - Andy Irving

BBC Scotland's Brian McLauchlin at Tynecastle Park

Although they failed to secure the victory their performance deserved, the Hearts players can look back on this performance with some pride.

Clevid Dikimona put in a sterling performance at the back, while Michael Smith and Meshino played their part in proceedings.

However, Andy Irving was the dominant figure for the home side and, on this performance, it looks as if he can play a major part for the Tynecastle club in the New Year in the battle to avoid the drop.

'We can climb the table' - reaction

Hearts manager Daniel Stendel: "We can be disappointed because, until the red card, we were defending well, we dominated the game and had some good chances to score before we scored.

"I need a bit of time to see which players can play the way I want and I hope we can start with some new players, but I'm really sure we can climb the table if we play more games like this."

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes: "We're already without Greg Leigh for two months, Craig Bryson goes in for his operation in the next couple of days and, if Zak Vyner needs surgery.

"We can do smart work in January and bring two or three additions in."