Hearts moved up to third in the cinch Premiership with a spirited 1-0 victory over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.
A goalkeeping error from Will Dennis was enough to ensure that Derek McInnes marked his 700th game in management with a defeat.
Dennis turned Lawrence Shankland’s shot into his own net after 18 minutes and, despite controlling possession for much of the game, the hosts were unable to come up with a response.
Hearts have leapfrogged St Mirren to move into the top three, while Killie have dropped to seventh having suffered their first league defeat at Rugby Park in six matches.
McInnes made two changes to the side that was held to a goalless draw against Ross County in their previous outing. Corrie Ndaba and Kyle Vassell were preferred to Rory McKenzie and Matthew Kennedy – who both began the game on the bench.
There were also two changes for Hearts, with Calem Nieuwenhof and Yutaro Oda handed starting berths.
The first chance of the match went the way of the hosts, Liam Donnelly blazing wide after David Watson had done well to keep the ball in play.
It was the hosts who had made the much brighter start and Ndaba had a shot that flew past the post before he then headed over after rising highest to meet Marley Watkins’ cross.
Hearts had struggled to create anything of note in an attacking sense, though it would take a good block from Lewis Mayo to divert Liam Boyce’s powerful effort behind for a corner.
A quick VAR check deemed there was no handball inside the area from the resulting corner before the visitors broke the deadlock two minutes later.
Shankland burst forward and angled a shot towards the Killie goal that slipped through the grasp of Dennis and into the net.
The home side passed up a glorious chance to level after Danny Armstrong picked out Watson but he was unable to work Zander Clark.
Much of the attacking threat from Hearts was coming on the break and Boyce was unable to take advantage after being released following some neat play from Nieuwenhof.
Boyce limped off on the half-hour mark to be replaced by Toby Sibbick, a setback to the striker who spent the majority of last season sidelined with a torn cruciate ligament.
There was a moment of controversy with five minutes remaining in the first half when Dennis rushed from his goal before clattering into Oda. The offside flag had been raised, though the keeper still was shown a yellow card and was spared a red after referee David Dickinson consulted VAR.
A fizzing cross by Armstrong evaded all inside the six-yard box and the winger would continue to torment the Hearts back-line when he found Ndaba, who saw his point-blank header kept out brilliantly by Clark on the stroke of half-time.
Watkins had a penalty claimed turned down after yet another VAR check just after the restart and for all the home side’s possession they were struggling to trouble the Hearts keeper.
Good work from Shankland led to Sibbick having a low drive blocked, while at the other end Donnelly’s strike cannoned back off the legs of a Hearts defender and away to safety.
Armstrong’s back-post header was easily smothered while Alex Cochrane and Alex Lowry both went close at the other end.
McInnes’ side would spurn two good chances in injury time, Stuart Findlay headed over Kennedy’s corner and then Donnelly blasted straight at Clark from inside the six-yard box.
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
Arsenal handed another injury blow as White ruled out for 'months'
Mikel Arteta confirmed that Arsenal defender Ben White is facing "months" on the sidelines after sustaining a knee injury.
White had been dealing with several issues all season and has missed five games in all competitions for the Gunners already this term.
After struggling through until the November international break, the decision was taken for him to undergo surgery in order to finally address the ongoing problems.
It serves as a bitter blow for Arteta, with only Thomas Parety (13) making more interceptions than White (11) for Arsenal in the Premier League this campaign.
Though Arteta confirmed that the surgery was successful, White is set for a lengthy spell out of the team.
"It has been different kinds of struggles. It has never been the same thing, but we had to make a decision. He has not improved over the last few weeks, unfortunately," said Arteta.
"We know that Ben is going to push every boundary, but it got to the point where we have to protect the player and we decided to do the surgery.
"He agreed with that and it is going to keep him out for a few months."
Asked for a specific time frame, Arteta added: "We have to see how he reacts post-surgery. I don't expect it to be half a year, but I cannot tell you exactly."
It offers a concern for Arteta in the full-back area, with the Spaniard also revealing on Friday that Takehiro Tomiyasu is "going to be out as well for a bit".
There was, however, some positive injury news for the Gunners ahead of welcoming Nottingham Forest to the Emirates on Saturday.
After not featuring for England during the international break, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice are expected to be fit to feature against Nuno Espirito Santo's side.
Leandro Trossard will also be available for Arteta despite picking up a hamstring injury during the international break with Belgium.
Defender Riccardo Calafiori is also in contention for Saturday's game after a month out with a knee problem.
Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with Milan
Dusan Vlahovic will miss Juventus' trip to Milan in Serie A this weekend and is also a doubt for the Champions League game at Aston Villa, head coach Thiago Motta has confirmed.
Vlahovic returned from the international break with a muscle problem in his left thigh, and the manager, after he confirmed the Serbian's absence for Saturday's game at San Siro, was asked about his chances of playing on Wednesday at Villa Park.
"I don't know. He definitely won't be there tomorrow. We hope to have him back as soon as possible," Motta told a press conference on Friday.
"Injuries are part of football. Now it's Vlahovic's turn, but we'll keep playing with the same principles, attacking and defending together."
Vlahovic is the latest of Motta's injury problems at Juventus. Argentine winger Nicolas Gonzalez missed the last six league games and is still unavailable, while Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is a long-term absentee.
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will also miss the game with Milan and defender Juan Cabal recently suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, the same issue which will keep fellow defender Gleison Bremer out for the rest of the season.
"I'm really disappointed for Cabal because, like Bremer, he'll be out for a long time," Motta said.
"This is another reason to push ourselves, to commit that bit more so that these absences don't weigh too heavily."
Juventus go into the game as the only unbeaten side in Serie A but find themselves sixth in the standings in what is so far a very tight title race, with just two points separating Motta's side from leaders Napoli.
"It's very balanced and this is good for both us and the public," Motta said.
"We must all try to continue like this. We have to try to get as many positive results as possible."
Milan are one place behind Juve but six points off Motta's side.
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