Hearts have crashed to another 3-0 defeat as they were swept aside by Aberdeen.
Robbie Neilson's men took another bruising loss after losing to the same score line that saw them dumped out of the Scottish Cup by Celtic last week. Today they headed north up against a resurgent Aberdeen side and Barry Robson's men fired a warning that their coveted third spot is not as secure as they thought.
Three killer first half goals, two from Luis 'Duk' Lopes and one from Mattie Pollock gave the Tynecastle club a huge mountain to climb. Hearts found themselves a goal down inside the opening five minutes when Duk's volley took a wicked deflection. The home side piled on the pressure with Zander Clark had to pull off heroic stops to prevent more damage being done. Neilson was able to see the return of Lawrence Shankland but the Hearts captain and top scorer was unable to provide a threat as Hearts suffered their third defeat in a row. Here's three things we learned.
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Three is not a magic number
It's three defeats in a row for Robbie Neilson with his team conceding three goals each time.
Today's display will have given the Hearts boss plenty to worry about with his side looked to have not recovered from their 3-0 loss at home to Celtic last week.
Hearts will hope they can put an end to the trend.
Seven long years
It's been seven years since Hearts last tasted victory in the north east.
It's a record that doesn't read well considering some of the upheaval at Pittodrie in recent seasons.
It's just the one ground that Robbie Neilson's men can't bag a win.
Today they were nowhere near ending that unwanted record. Barry Robson's side were just too good and too strong all over the park. The wait goes on...
Third at risk?
At the start of the year Hearts were looking a shoe-in to claim third place and entry to the Europa League qualifiers.
But losses at Motherwell, Celtic and now Aberdeen have saw them stall with their rivals picking up points.
A resurgent Aberdeen fired a warning to Robbie Neilson that nothing is guaranteed with today's punishing defeat which bring the Dons within four points of toppling Hearts.
With Hibs and Aberdeen breathing down their necks, Hearts can't afford to drop anymore ground if they are to cement their place as best of the rest again this season.
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