Claudio Braga scored the only goal of the game as Hearts moved seven points clear at the top of the Premiership with a 1-0 win over Aberdeen at Tynecastle.
League leaders knew they had a chance to extend their lead at the top for at least 24 hours when Rangers and Celtic met at Ibrox, broadcast live on Sky Sports, on Sunday, and they seized the opportunity to the cheers of a sold-out crowd at a rocking Tynecastle.
Bulaga’s goal after the half-hour mark was his 15th of the season and could be one of the most important of the season, meaning Derek McInnes and his team will be watching with interest Sunday’s clash with the Old Firm.
Sir Alex Ferguson attended Tynecastle to watch Hearts beat Aberdeen
For Aberdeen, with legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson watching from the stands, it was yet another disappointing result in a season of struggles that all but ended their hopes of a top-six finish.
Hearts dominated the opening stages and Braga forced Dimitar Mitov in after 10 minutes, before the Portuguese sent his header wide just moments later. At the other end, Toyosi Olusanya was a key part of Hearts’ backline, providing the visitors with some excellent out-balls.
Pierre Landry Cavore should have put the home team ahead in the 21st minute, but he latched onto the ball over the top but was unable to hit the onrushing Mitov on target.
Match between Hearts’ Pierre Landry-Cabolet and Aberdeen’s Gavin Molloy
Olusanya could have put the visitors ahead immediately after Topi Keskinen’s low cross into the box, but his first shot went wide.
Hearts took the lead just before the half-hour mark, however, when Kabore broke well down the right flank, evaded a sliding challenge from Liam Morrison, and calmly slotted home for Braga, who slotted into the net from 10 yards.
After the break, the hosts were in no mood to hang around as Kabore stung the palm of Mitov and the Portuguese met Kabore’s flick-on before the goalkeeper denied Braga at the back post.
Hearts’ Claudio Braga celebrates 1-0 goal against Aberdeen
In a suffocating second half, the visiting team struggled to convert any clear scoring chances, but Kevin Nesbitt’s wayward first-time volley was the best they could do, and they ended the game without a shot on target.
Aberdeen tried to push Hearts back in search of an equalizer in the closing stages, but the hosts were never in danger and held on to the vital three points.
McInnes: Hearts deserve a win
Hearts head coach Derek McInnes said on Sky Sports:
“I’m really happy with the performance. I thought the approach and application to the game was a good fit. Obviously, when we play the way we do and try to give our all, there are sometimes scary moments with the switching of pace between (Topi) Keskinen and (Toyosi) Orsanja. We had a few moments of danger in the first half, but I thought the performance was the best we’ve put out in terms of shots on target, pressure and set-pieces that have crossed in in recent weeks.
Derek McInnes says Hearts deserved to beat Aberdeen
“I thought that team performed really well and looking at the stats, I thought they would have scored more than one point, so in that sense it’s a shame, but I don’t think Alex (Schworow) made the save.It was also a win for everyone in the stadium. It’s not always comfortable for us, but at 1-0 I think we actually deserved to win and it was a good three points, but just as importantly it was a good performance and that’s the performance we needed at Tynecastle. ”
Watching Sunday’s Old Firm match:
“Whenever we play a match, we have to try to win our match. I don’t want to encourage anyone too much. I just want to focus on ourselves and I think we need to not think too much about tomorrow and really focus on that. “Of course we will watch the match and we are looking forward to the result of winning, that That’s the way we always do it. But with nine games left, there’s a lot to play for. We’re only a little over a quarter of the way through the season, so there’s still a lot to do. “No one is getting carried away and we enjoyed the win today and I think it was a well-deserved win, so from that point of view we just move on to the next one.”
Leven: Aberdeen should have had a penalty.
Peter Leven says Aberdeen should have taken a penalty against Hearts
Aberdeen interim manager Peter Leven said on Sky Sports:
“We just saw the Stuart Armstrong (incident). We had a player sent off last week against Dundee because he ran across a player and brought him down. I don’t see why that’s not a penalty. It’s probably even more frustrating on days when you’re not loaded because you’re looking for that little cutting edge or break, whatever it is.”
“We lacked a little bit of quality at times, but listen, I thought we were better in the second half, but to come here and not play in the first half is still not good enough. It’s the little things that aren’t going well for us right now. We have another big game on Wednesday, but again, it’s the little decisions that are costing us now. To me, this is the Stonewall penalty.”
“Like I’m saying, we need to keep moving forward. We have a game on Wednesday and we have another game tomorrow, but we need to start picking up points.”
What will happen in the Scottish Premiership?
