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Attendance: 17,880
Hearts logo
Scottish Premiership | Gameweek 31
Mar 30, 2019 at 3pm UK
 
Aberdeen logo

2-1

Clare (59' pen.), Ikpeazu (77')
FT(HT: 0-1)
McLennan (16')

Craig Levein full of praise for injured match-winner Uche Ikpeazu

Craig Levein full of praise for injured match-winner Uche Ikpeazu
© Reuters
The striker netted Hearts' winner before suffering a nasty-looking head injury.

Hearts manager Craig Levein hailed match-winner Uche Ikpeazu after the striker's goal sealed a comeback victory against Aberdeen.

The marksman's action-packed afternoon ended when he was taken down the tunnel on a stretcher after succumbing to a serious-looking head knock.

However, by that stage the 24-year-old had sealed all three points for the Tynecastle side after Sean Clare had cancelled out Aberdeen's first-half opener from Connor McLennan.

Levein insists he will be guided by the club's medical team as to the exact nature of Ikpeazu's injury but made light of it before confessing the fans' favourite will be hugely missed should he be sidelined.

He said: "He's a bit dazed. I think he hit his head on the turf when he landed, that's what I saw, but maybe there was a clash of heads as well.

"He thinks he's scored a hat-trick, I told him he scored a hat-trick, so he's quite happy!

"If he's out in the coming games, it will be a concern for us. I thought his play was fantastic today, under a lot of provocation from their two centre-backs.

"One of them was holding him and the other one would win the header. I don't know how many times that happened in the match and he showed great strength of character not to get involved.

"He just kept plugging away and plugging away. But all credit to him, he's been a real handful and the two centre-backs from Aberdeen really struggled to cope with him.

"He loves scoring goals. He's not scored for a while and I think that was important for him, particularly to get the winner after really having a tough afternoon and not getting much change, decisions-wise."

Levein insisted Ikpeazu should have been awarded a second-half penalty when referee John Beaton instead booked him for diving under a challenge from Aberdeen keeper Joe Lewis.

And the Hearts boss claimed his side should also have won a spot-kick when Lewis and wing-back Jamie Brandon clashed.

He added: "The only saving grace for me is I'm not getting myself into trouble because we won the match.

"I thought Jamie Brandon got pulled back by Lewis, which was a penalty, and Uche's is the biggest stonewall penalty you'll ever see."

Meanwhile, Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes admits the Dons fans will be left bemused by his team's second-half performance after they dominated large spells of the first.

He said: "The away support will be scratching their heads because it was so good in the first half and to lose that game from a winning position is the most disappointing part of it.

"We've been to tougher venues and against better teams and managed to see out the victory once we've gone in front, and that's the disappointing thing."

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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
Championship Group
1Celtic110082275581
2RangersRangers110074245078
3Hearts101046341263
4Kilmarnock10104334952
5St Mirren10013945-643
6Dundee10014556-1141
Relegation Group
1Hibernian11004752-542
2Aberdeen11003649-1338
3Motherwell10014652-637
4St Johnstone10012549-2431
5Ross County10013258-2630
6Livingston11002459-3521
 
First Phase
1Celtic33246380265478
2RangersRangers33243672234975
3Hearts33195946341262
4Kilmarnock33131284334951
5St Mirren33127143843-543
6Dundee331011124454-1041
7Hibernian33912124451-739
8Motherwell33813124651-537
9Aberdeen33811143549-1435
10St Johnstone33710162446-2231
11Ross County3379173256-2430
12Livingston3339212259-3718


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