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Hearts suffer more misery as Aberdeen snatch late victory
Hearts suffer more misery as Aberdeen snatch late victory
Hearts crashed to a shock 2-1 defeat at Aberdeen on Saturday in a calamitous start to their bid to make amends for last season's agonising failure to win the Scottish Premiership.
Aberdeen striker Kevin Nesbit struck twice in the closing stages at Pittodrie to give Hearts a painful flashback to their late collapse in the title race in May.
The Edinburgh side were just 10 minutes away from being crowned Scottish champions for the first time since 1960 on the final day of last season.
But their do or die clash with title rivals Celtic ended in a devastating defeat that allowed the Glasgow club to extend the Old Firm's four-decade dominance of the Scottish title.
Much has changed at Hearts since that miserable day, with boss Derek McInnes joining Rangers and taking Jambos stars Lawrence Shankland and Cammy Devlin with him to Ibrox.
Hearts' new boss Wouter Vrancken presided over a dismal Champions League qualifying round exit against Sturm Graz in July.
It has been an ominous introduction for the Belgian, who previously managed Sint-Truiden.
And Vrancken faces more pointed questions after Hearts slumped to a dismal loss at the start of the domestic campaign.
Oisin McEntee put Hearts ahead in the 35th minute, slotting home from close-range after Aberdeen failed to deal with Amadou Ba-Sy's low cross and Blair Spittal's initial effort.
But in the 90th minute, Dan Happe headed Stuart Armstrong's free-kick across the face of the Hearts goal and Nisbet bundled home.
There was worse to come for Hearts in stoppage-time when Stuart Findlay was sent off for halting Toyosi Olusanya's burst into the penalty area with a crude foul.
Nisbet stepped up to slam a nerveless spot-kick into the corner as gleeful Aberdeen fans chanted "Hearts are falling apart again".
McInnes started his Rangers reign with a disappointing 1-1 draw at Dundee United on Friday.
Champions Celtic open their campaign at home to Dundee on Monday.
St Mirren manager Craig McLeish said his team's 2-0 win at Falkirk can set the tone for a successful season.
McLeish is convinced St Mirren can improve after last season's struggle to avoid relegation, targeting a top-fix finish and European qualification.
After Killian Phillips's double sunk Falkirk, McLeish said: "I thought the performance was excellent and, if we can build on that, we can go and achieve something as a group."
smg/bc
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