Cammy Devlin influence, Scott Brown midfield daze, why John Souttar is going to be a huge miss - How the players fared in Hearts 2-0 Aberdeen

Hearts increased their lead in third place with a confident and comfortable 2-0 win over an Aberdeen side which offered little resistance. The gap between the two in the table now stands at 17 points as the home side near European qualification and the Dons have work to do to reach the top six.

Goal aside, John Souttar showed exactly why he will be a huge miss for the Jam Tarts next season. He and Craig Halkett strolled it against what was a timid Dons attack. Everything the Scotland centre-back did was smooth. They, alongside Stephen Kingsley, have been the bedrock of a fine defensive trio but as a pairing there is real potential for growth with a nice balance. That won’t be the case but more games like Wednesday night and the team will sew up third and have a very good chance in the Scottish Cup.

There was a really nice balance to the Hearts team as a whole. The 4-2-3-1 was very fluid and allowed Nathaniel Atkinson and Gary Mackay-Steven to provide width high up the park. Neither were devastating as wide men but had some nice moments. Mackay-Steven has frustrated during his 50 appearances for the club but has frequently shown flashes of his talent and linked well with Kingsley early on down the left to create some good openings. The left-back saw off the threat of Vicente Besuijen with ease and demonstrated his ability as one of the best two-ways defenders in the league. His goal, rather than an exquisite free-kick, a thumping header Nat Lofthouse would have been pleased with.

One of the most impressive aspects of the Hearts performance was the fluidity in the final third, the movement and rotation. Liam Boyce started strongly before fading but a constant threat on the periphery. Barrie McKay was able to pick up