PENALTY TO HEARTSpublished at 16:51 Greenwich Mean Time 12 January
Aberdeen 0-0 Heart of Midlothian
Sivert Nilsen is at fault for a foul on Kenneth Vargas and Hearts have the chance to win it late on.
Hearts missed a 93rd-minute penalty in a Pittodrie stalemate as Aberdeen's winless run stretched to 11 games - matching their unbeaten streak at the start of the Scottish Premiership season.
The Tynecastle club haven't won at Pittodrie since 2016 and were gifted the perfect chance when Sivert Heltne Nilsen fouled Kenneth Vargas, but Jorge Grant's spot-kick was tipped on to the post by Ross Doohan.
"He's obviously really disappointed, his head's down, but he's got the courage to take it, he wanted it straight away, and he's a very good technician," Hearts head coach Neil Critchley said of Grant.
"I have to give credit to the goalkeeper. I thought it was more of a goalkeeper save than a penalty miss. Jorge has taken penalties before for us and scored. It happens, unfortunately."
Aberdeen had started brilliantly and debutant centre-back Kristers Tobers almost scored after a minute when he scooped a loose ball at goal from a yard out, only for Craig Gordon to deny him.
Topi Keskinen also missed a golden opportunity when Kevin Nisbet's pass put him one-on-one, but the Finn dragged his strike across the goal and wide.
Hearts had the better of it after that but it wasn't until the introduction of Elton Kabangu - making his debut after joining on loan from Union Saint-Gilloise - that they really threatened.
The forward almost scored with his first touch, but his powerful header was tipped over by Doohan. From the resulting corner, Jamie McCart somehow hit the post from a yard out.
Aberdeen are now two points behind third-placed Dundee United, while second-bottom Hearts extend their gap on St Johnstone to nine points.
It's hard to pinpoint what's gone wrong at Aberdeen, but they look a shell of the side that were being talked about as title contenders.
The Dons' performance rather epitomised their season. They started brilliantly and an early goal looked a matter of time.
They piled pressure on a fragile-looking Hearts, who had a centre-back partnership that had never played together before. Keskinen was particularly threatening and will rue his first-half miss.
As soon as that trickled wide, Aberdeen's confidence and attacking intent evaporated. The second half was particularly poor.
Also worrying was that Heltne Nilsen - who conceded the late penalty - and Dante Polvara played the final half hour as a centre-back partnership. Debutant Kriters Tobers went off, possibly hurt, after an hour while Angus MacDonald was an unused option on the bench.
A first clean sheet in 13 games is undoubtedly a plus, but it only came from the fingertips of Doohan.
After a dreadful opening, Hearts grew into the game without sufficiently testing Doohan until the second half.
The lopsided nature of their team was apparent throughout. James Penrice and Blair Spittal link up brilliantly on the left, but on the right the combination of Daniel Oyegoke and Musa Drammeh is uncoordinated and sloppy.
The absence of Liam Boyce, who has joined Derry City, was noticeable after his impact in the last three games while Lawrence Shankland again missed out through injury.
Grant was shunted forward, with Beni Baningime dropping in behind. Hearts struggled to get the ball forward to James Wilson as a result, with Baningime sitting deeper while Grant's link-up play is not what Boyce's was.
Wilson was particularly quiet and Kabangu was the real threat when he came on - but only he will know why he went down in the box rather than shooting when presented with a big chance.
Grant's saved penalty - Hearts' first spot-kick this season - sums up how many opportunities Neil Critchley's side have missed this season as they failed to leap to eighth place.
Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin: "We were quite stable for 60 or 70 minutes, but in the last part Hearts were a little better.
"When you're on this run that we have been on, and you get a penalty in the 93rd minute and it's saved, you have to be happy with the point.
"We have to be humble. We saw good signs today and this amazing save can be used as a positive to prepare us for the next game with more energy."
Hearts manager Neil Critchley: "It was a very even game, not a lot in it. It's three clean sheets on the bounce and we nearly nicked it, but maybe a point was a fair reflection of the game."
Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 22 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 61 | 8 | 53 | 59 |
| |
2 | 22 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 41 | 18 | 23 | 44 |
| |
3 | 23 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 31 | 24 | 7 | 37 |
| |
4 | 22 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 32 | 30 | 2 | 35 |
| |
5 | 23 | 9 | 4 | 10 | 28 | 37 | -9 | 31 |
| |
6 | 23 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 34 | 36 | -2 | 29 |
| |
7 | 23 | 8 | 3 | 12 | 27 | 38 | -11 | 27 |
| |
8 | 22 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 34 | 38 | -4 | 26 |
| |
9 | 23 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 25 | 37 | -12 | 25 |
| |
10 | 23 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 23 | 42 | -19 | 25 |
| |
11 | 23 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 25 | 31 | -6 | 24 |
| |
12 | 23 | 4 | 3 | 16 | 25 | 47 | -22 | 15 |
|
Manager: Jimmy Thelin
Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1
Manager: Neil Critchley
Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1
Manager: Jimmy Thelin
Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1
Manager: Neil Critchley
Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1
Scottish Premiership
All competitions
All competitions
All competitions
Aberdeen have won each of their last nine home league games against Heart of Midlothian since a 0-0 draw in December 2017, while they haven’t lost at home to Hearts in the league since May 2016 (0-1).
None of the last 22 league meetings between Aberdeen and Hearts have been won by the away side (17 home wins, 5 draws), with Aberdeen the last visiting side to win this fixture in May 2017 (2-1).
After winning 10 of their first 11 league games of the season, Aberdeen have since failed to win their last 10 (D3 L7), losing their last five in a row. Not since December 2010 have the Dons endured a longer league losing streak (7).
Hearts have won both of their league games in 2025, but haven’t won three in a row in the Scottish Premiership since February 2024 (run of 6).
James Penrice has been directly involved in four goals in his last seven league appearances for Hearts (2 goals, 2 assists). He has never scored or assisted more in a single Scottish Premiership campaign.