Chilean striker Mauricio Pinilla was both hero and villain as Hearts cut the gap on Scottish Premier League leaders Celtic to three points with a 3-1 win at rainswept Aberdeen on  Sunday.

All four goals came in the last 26 minutes, Hearts taking the lead  when Christophe Berra netted after skipper Steven Pressley had headed a Paul Hartley free-kick goalwards.

Pinilla rammed a low shot into the bottom corner to make it 2-0 after 76 minutes and Lithuanian midfielder Saulius Mikoliunas drilled a third five minutes later.

Aberdeen substitute Dyron Daal immediately pulled a goal back with a low shot from 10 metres. And two minutes later Pinilla - who had earlier been booked for over-celebrating his goal - was sent off after kicking the ball away at a free-kick.

Celtic top the SPL with 19 points from eight games following their 2-0 win over Rangers on Saturday. Hearts have 16 points while Rangers remain third on 12, the same number of points as Aberdeen.