Heart of Midlothian 2-0 Aberdeen

Hearts produced an impressive display to power past Aberdeen and extend their unbeaten run at Tynecastle to 14 games.

Steven Naismith slid home the 18th-minute opener after being set up by David Milinkovic.

A slack Anthony O'Connor pass allowed fit-again Milinkovic to net Hearts' second just two minutes later.

Kyle Lafferty came closest to finding the net after the break as Aberdeen fell behind Rangers into third place in the Scottish Premiership.

The win was Hearts' first over the Dons in seven matches.

With the home side in top-six no man's land, there was little more than pride at stake, but they welcomed an Aberdeen outfit ready to make the final push in the fight for second.

As both previous encounters this season ended scoreless, few of the 18,056 inside Tynecastle would have expected a goal-fest. But inside the first 10 minutes, Lafferty blasted over the bar and Andrew Considine watched his flicked header bounce off the post. The signs were there that this one could be different.

In the early stages, Aberdeen looked to be edging the battle for possession in a tight midfield before Hearts blasted in two goals in two minutes to completely change the complexion of the match.

Naismith curled in his third of the season after collecting a neat pass from Milinkovic just inside the box. It was a fine strike but the Dons defence should have done better.

And so it was again when Milinkovic pounced after O'Connor meekly surrendered possession, and his colleagues failed to properly clear a Lafferty strike. The winger, back from injury, saw his shot deflected, but it had just enough power to find the net.

In the Aberdeen dug-out, a frustrated Derek McInnes looked skyward for answers as to why his game plan had been torn up after just 20 minutes.

Craig Levein's men could have been forgiven for digging in to await the Dons onslaught, but neither of those things really transpired and it was the home side who continued to look the more dangerous until the interval.

Aberdeen brought on Kari Arnason at the break and pushed Kenny McLean further forward, but Hearts continued to frustrate them. They looked faster to the loose balls and moved across the pitch as a well-drilled unit determined not to buckle.

Just after the hour, Lafferty almost made it three after skipping down the left and unleashing an excellent effort that Lewis scrambled to tip over.

Substitute Adam Rooney hit the post late on as Aberdeen tried desperately to find a way back, but in truth, the contest had long since got away from them.