Jambos left seething after ref's controversial decision

Emotions ran high in near gale conditions at Tynecastle as Aberdeen held Hearts to a 1-1 draw.

Backed by the emphatic vocal support of the away fans, the Dons deserved to take the lead in the 14th minute, when Andrew Considine's hopeful clearance found Darren Mackie, who shrugged off Zaliukas’s half-hearted attempt at a tackle and calmly slotted the ball into the back of the Hearts net.

The home side looked disjointed in the early stages, with the fans having little to sing about until the 20th minute. Left-back Lee Wallace powered forward, playing a neat one-two with Christian Nade before blasting the ball over Aberdeen ‘keeper James Langfield and into the roof of the net for the equaliser.

Hearts' spirits were raised after the goal as they strode forward looking to test the nervous Langfield in the rain-sodden conditions. Bruno Aguiar's well executed set-pieces provided them with their most dangerous chances and posed a real threat to the Aberdeen defence.

Neither side were able to stamp any clear authority on remainder of the first half, though some decent flowing football was on display from both teams. Heart's superior midfield in the form of Christos Karipidis and Michael Stewart threatened without creating further chances, as the crowd became increasingly frustrated with referee's Steve Conroy's decision-making.

The slippery pitch allowed little opportunity for eye-pleasing football in the second-half, with both sets of players struggling to find any rhythm.

The home side, however, looked the more positive, troubling the Aberdeen defence with some well-crafted set-pieces and starting to dominate possession. Nade should have done better than head over the bar from another impressive Aguiar corner, whilst Stewart made a couple of dangerous breaks from the midfield to rock the Aberdeen defence. A fine cross from Nade saw Aguiar come close in the 74th minute, though the score remained deadlocked as 1-1.

It was Aberdeen who came closest to taking the lead in the 56th minute, when Jared Hodgkiss rattled the home team's bar with a thundering strike from outside the penalty area. Twenty minutes later, Janos Balogh was saved by his woodwork again, when Lee Miller's low drive hit the foot of his right-hand post.

Hearts manager Csaba Laszlo responded by making two attacking substitutions and Aberdeen soon found themselves on the back-foot. Jamie Mole, who replaced Nade, proved a handful for Aberdeen defence, as Hearts took the game to their opponents.

The final ten minutes were marred by controversy. Stewart, on a forward break from midfield, forced his way into the Aberdeen box and rounded Langfield, who then appeared to bring him down. Without hesitation, the referee pointed to the penalty spot and even Don's Manager Jimmy Calderwood offered little protest from the dugout. Chants of "off, off" reverberated around the stadium as it seemed certain that Langfield would be shown the red card to accompany the Hearts penalty.

However, in bizarre circumstances, referee Conroy then reversed his decision and awarded Aberdeen a goal-kick, to the outrage of Laszlo and the Hearts fans. When the final whistle was blown, Laszlo, who had been taking his anger out on the roof of his dug-out, ran onto the pitch in a clear-cut fit of rage. The referee seemed to be his primary target, but the fourth official stepped in the way as the Hearts boss lashed out in anger.

A bad-tempered but quality match saw Aberdeen emerge clearly the happier side, as Hearts supporters left Tynecastle seething at the unorthodox refereeing decision that cost them the game.