The Song is Familiar

Despite a semi-new look Dons side taking the field, the result at Tynecastle was....

Despite a semi-new look Dons side taking the field, the result at Tynecastle was an all too familiar outcome in a fixture that you start to wonder if the away side should even bother turning up for.

The Scottish Cup holders arrived in Tynecastle with a Red Army concerned that their side were, perhaps, not quite up to speed when compared with their hosts. Hearts’ benefitting from a kind League Cup group stage draw which has allowed them to get 4 “meaningful” games under their belts and build up some confidence under Derek McInnes as they came into this one.

The Dons, in contrast, having only had the 3 pre-season outings were always likely to struggle to match the Jam Tarts’ sharpness and that bore out for large parts of the opening 45 minutes - more on that later.