RUDI CAN'T FAIL ... Skacel scores

Aberdeen have now gone seven in the league without a win and it wasn't difficult to see why at Tynecastle yesterday.

Boss Craig Brown faces a major task trying to pick up his players for their Scottish Cup semi-final showdown with Hibs in 13 days.

Brown claimed it wasn't a 3-0 game in terms of performance — but the fact remains that Aberdeen have won only twice away in the SPL.

Hearts' Paulo Sergio has few such concerns as he contemplates a semi-final with Celtic a fortnight today.

The Jambos have the SPL's third-best home record behind the Old Firm and they maintained it with relative ease, thanks largely to Skacel and man of the match Ryan McGowan.

Much of the early play centred on midfield where Aberdeen outnumbered their rivals by one — with Darren Mackie and Peter Pawlett in transient roles supporting lone striker Scott Vernon when the opportunity allowed.

Hearts opted for a more traditional 4-4-2, with Craig Beattie and Skacel charged with the responsibility of probing the Dons' back four.

Not that there was a great deal of opportunity for Vernon or his Dons counterparts to pose a significant threat, given the pattern of play.

With the game crying out for someone to break the midfield stranglehold, Kari Arnason offered a ray of hope after 17 minutes.

But the Icelander, who may be persuaded to extend his stay at Pittodrie, according to recent reports, hit his 25-yard effort wide of the target.

It was not exactly a finish of real quality from a player who is understood to value his services at £5,000 a week following his rejection of Aberdeen's initial offer of a contract extension in January.

Arnason could still be commended, though, unlike Danny Grainger a short time later.

The full back's free kick from the right edge of the 18-yard box offered no menace whatsoever, the ball flying high and wide.

Team-mate McGowan was much more clinical in the 27th minute to claim only his second goal of the season after scoring against Hibs at Easter Road earlier in the campaign.

Grainger atoned for his earlier wastefulness when he delivered a corner kick from the right to the back post.

McGowan was first to attack the ball and his speed of thought and movement was rewarded when his header down found its way into the roof of the net despite the efforts of the visiting defence to clear it.

Aberdeen tried to respond in the 38th minute but Beattie thwarted them with a clearance after Pawlett had teed up Andrew Considine from a corner on the left.

The glorious spring sunshine dazzled the fans, but it failed to bring a sparkle to the overall quality of the play.

Indeed, the players appeared blinded at times in their efforts to rise above the mediocre.

One who did was Andrew Driver two minutes after the restart.

The winger caught the Dons defence off-guard when he suddenly broke down the left and delivered a low cross in the direction of the far post.

With Considine desperately trying to retrieve the situation, Skacel just failed the reach the ball.

Had he done so, it would have required a simple tap-in.

Driver replicated the move moments later, but this time his cross was well defended.

But Aberdeen were unable to offer any resistance after 53 minutes, when Skacel claimed his 12th of the season with a fiercely-struck drive from 25 yards into the top-left corner of the net after he was teed up by McGowan.

With Aberdeen incapable of offering any kind of response, Hearts looked comfortably in control and keen to add to their tally.

They might have done so in the 74th minute when Skacel buzzed menacingly, but a posse of defenders combined to scramble the ball clear.

Aberdeen sent on Russell Anderson in place of Clark Robertson 14 minutes from time in an effort to achieve greater solidity at the back.

It was former Dons captain Anderson's first appearance since he returned to the north-east from Derby County, but by then he was unable to influence the outcome.

Vernon might have done, however, had he displayed more composure three minutes from the end of regulation time.

Substitute Stephen Hughes dinked the ball over the defence to set him up, but the striker rushed his finish and scooped his shot over the bar.

That miss took on greater significance 60 seconds later when Hearts scored their third.

Aberdeen failed to clear Driver's ball inside and Skacel showed a lovely first touch and wheeled to finish off from ten yards.