Sunday 20 September 2015 18:40, UK
Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes said another brilliant display from Niall McGinn during the 3-1 win at Hearts came as no surprise.
The Scottish Premiership leaders made it eight league victories in a row and Northern Ireland international McGinn played a key role as they roared into a 3-0 half-time lead.
The 28-year-old claimed a pair of assists as David Goodwillie struck twice and then scored a delightful goal himself, surging forward, before curling the ball into the top corner.
McInnes said: "We shouldn't be surprised by Niall's performance, he has been a consistently high performer ever since I came into this job.
"He contributes so many assists for us, I think he had the most in the league last year. And, if he gets opportunities, he has the quality to finish in front of goal.
"I had a good view of his goal at the time and to find the far corner from that angle was excellent."
McInnes revealed he agonised over the decision about who should lead the line, Goodwillie having failed to score in his previous 11 games.
"We thought long and hard about Goodwillie," said the manager. "We thought he was more suited to playing in that sort of game, against their centre-halves.
"His contribution to the team was outstanding. He took kicks and treatment up there, but he fought his corner and he should be delighted.
"No matter how many times I tell him he is playing his part, and he has been, a striker needs goals. They don't feel great unless they've scored. Hopefully he is feeling good about himself."
Having begun life back in the top flight with five wins in a row, Hearts have now lost three matches in succession.
Head coach Robbie Neilson said: "We switched off three times and lost the game. End of story.
"I think this is a learning curve for us all: players, staff and fans.
"When you win the first five games, people think, 'We'll do this, we'll do that', but we are a Championship team that got promoted.
"Eighteen months ago we were wondering if we were going to go out of business.
"The players need to learn to handle playing in big games with big expectations again. We still have a long way to go."
