ABERDEEN 2 HEARTS 1 SPFL Premiership Saturday August 1 2026 Pittodrie Attendance: 18,513
On the opening day of the season, the Dons huffed and puffed, until, in the last ten minutes, they breathed some fire as a Kevin Nisbet double snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against Hearts. After the Dons beat Kelty Hearts 3-0 last Saturday, Stephen Robinson made five changes for the first SPFL Premiership game of the season. In came Dan Happe, Afeez Aremu, Tony Yogane, Connor Ronan and new signing Chris Cadden for his Dons debut. Dylan Lobban, Jack Milne, Lewis Smith and Stuart Armstrong were on the bench, with Kjartan Kjartansson missing the matchday squad. Hearts were beaten 2-0 by Sturm Graz in Champions League qualifying on Tuesday night and also made five changes to their side. Replacing Schwolow, Fagan-Walcott, Kingsley, Guendouz and Kyziridis were Reus, Findlay, Ba-Sy, Mendy and Kerjota. More bright sunlight greeted the teams at Pittodrie and it was Aberdeen who started the league season the sharper. New skipper Kevin Nisbet was beyond the Hearts defence after three minutes, but the ball stuck under his toe giving McEntee chance to clear. With Hearts playing a very high line, the ball in behind looked like it might be a threat. A long kick from Marius Muller almost got Toyosi Olusanya away in that fashion in the ninth minute too. Clever play from Braga set Hearts away down the left on 18 minutes and they worked the ball across the park to Kerjota on the right side of the box. He looked set to get a shot away but Nesta Guinness-Walker made a fine block. From the Hearts corner, the Dons cleared their lines and Olusanya was on his way, chasing over halfway. Seeing Ronan’s accompanying run through the middle, he tried to play him through but misjudged his pass, allowing Reus time to come off his line and boot it clear. What was noticeable about this Aberdeen side was the togetherness, blocks, tackles being celebrated amongst the players, who were a much more vocal side than has been the case in recent seasons. If nothing else, this is going to be a side that gives every ounce of effort. On 27, the Dons were inches away from the opener. Ronan’s ball to the edge of the six yard box was met by Nisbet in the centre of the goal, but his glancing header crept wide of the far post with Lewis Mayo just unable to get a finishing touch to it. Lyons went into the book in the 34th minute for a late challenge inside the centre circle. Penalty box pinball saw Hearts grab the lead after 35 minutes, much against the run of play. A good turn inside the area from Ba-Sy ended with a pull back that reached Spittal on the edge of the box. His shot was blocked in the six yard box by Guinness-Walker but as Happe looked to clear further, the ball squirted into the path of McEntee and he finished from close range. Altena was yellow carded after 40 minutes for his second foul inside a couple of minutes. Four minutes later, good pressure from Aberdeen eventually created an opening for Aremu to club a shot at goal from 30 yards, but it was always rising over the bar. HALF-TIME: ABERDEEN 0 HEARTS 1 Hearts started quickly in the second half, penning Aberdeen in through the opening few minutes, but the Dons did enough to see out the danger. Cadden teamed up well with Nisbet before driving in a low cross on 52, but Reus was quick to cut it out with Olusanaya looming behind him. At the other end, a deflected cross fell nicely for Braga but he jabbed a volley wide from close in. Olusanya took a nasty looking tumble over the advertising boards after tangling with Findlay in the 56th minute, but fared considerably better than Jordan Henderson did at the World Cup and was able to continue. Hearts made their first substitution on the hour, Ba-Sy coming off, with Kabore joining the fray. A strong forward from Cadden saw him coming into the box and thumping a dangerous shot on goal in the 69th minute, Reus away to his left to push it away. With time running out, on 73 minutes, Aberdeen introduced Smith, Armstrong, Alex Briedl and Ayoub Mouloua for Ronan, Aremu, Cadden and Yogane. Muller had to be alert to keep his side in the game, tipping a swerving shot from Kabore over the bar in the 74th minute. Immediately, Mendy and Kerjota came off for Guendouz and McCart. A driving run down the left from Smith almost created an opening for Aberdeen, Nisbet’s shot taking a heavy deflection which made Reus’ save pretty straightforward. Magnusson replaced Spittal in the 80th minute in Hearts’ final switch as the rain started to pour down. Guinness-Walker was struggling with cramp and was replaced by Gavin Molloy three minutes later. Armstrong’s 86th minute corner was long to the back post, Dan Happe getting up to it but putting his header into the side netting as the Dons failed to work the Hearts goalkeeper again. Two minutes later, Aberdeen were on the break through Smith on Milne, only to be hacked down by Milne 35 yards out, who was rightly booked. From the free-kick, Armstrong delivered a raking ball to the back post, Happe got up to head back across goal, Mayo on the spot to bundle the ball over the line from a couple of yards out. A long VAR check followed, and the goal stood. It wasn’t over yet though. The Dons were on the attack again, Olusanya bustling into the box to get on the end of Smith’s ball forward, only to be hauled back by Findlay. Another long VAR check before the decision came through - red card and penalty! Nisbet, 12 yards, top corner, captain’s finish, 2-1 Aberdeen, from absolutely nowhere. Scottish football, eh? Scenes.
FULL-TIME: ABERDEEN 2 HEARTS 1 ABERDEEN: Muller, Cadden (Mouloua 73), Mayo, Happe, Guinness-Walker (Molloy 83), Aremu (Armstrong 73), Lyons, Yogane (Smith 73), Ronan (Briedl 73), Olusanya, Nisbet. Subs not used: Mitov, Lobban, Milne, Fasanya. Goal: Nisbet (90, 90+5 (pen)) Booked: Lyons, Nisbet HEARTS: Reus, Altena, Findlay, Mendy (McCart 75), Milne, Spittal (Magnusson 80), McEntee, Miller, Kerjota (Guendouz 75), Ba-Sy (Kabore 60), Braga. Subs not used: Clark, McPake, Wilson, Mato, Kyrzidis. Goal: McEntee (35) Sent off: Findlay Booked: Altena
