Ryan Hedges came off the bench to turn match-winner as Aberdeen came from behind to beat 10-man Hearts 3-2.
The former Barnsley man struck with five minutes to earn the three points and hand the Dons an opening-day win.
They led through a first-half goal from Sam Cosgrove but two goals in six minutes from Steven Naismith and Jamie Walker gave Hearts the lead.
Cosgrove levelled the game again from the spot after Aaron Hickey had been sent off before Hedges’ decisive impact.
James Wilson was handed his first start since returning to Aberdeen in the summer, with Scott Wright also rewarded for his goal against Chikhura Sachkhere on Thursday night with the other wing berth. Niall McGinn and Ryan Hedges dropped to the bench.
The Dons moved to three at the back, with Shay Logan moving central and Jon Gallagher moving out to the flank. Wright and Wilson tucked in behind Cosgrove and it was the former Manchester United striker who had the first opportunity, blasting over after eight minutes following a well-worked corner routine from Wright and Gallagher.
But it took just another five minutes for Cosgrove to break the deadlock. Scott McKenna got the better of Uche Ikpeazu in a physical duel and Funso Ojo picked up the pieces. A hopeful long ball turned into a tremendous pass when Christophe Berra glanced it into Cosgrove in stride. The in-form striker still had plenty to do but he galloped clear, remained calm and rolled it into the far corner.
A shell-shocked Jambos side took a while to recover. They were indebted to John Souttar and Zdenek Zlamal, who both got in the way of fierce strikes from Gallagher, while Aberdeen felt they had a case for a penalty when Wright was upended from behind by Craig Halkett.
The visitors’ first chance came on 20 minutes from Andy Irving’s corner, with Berra looking to atone for his mistake with a powerful header. However, Joe Lewis was equal to it and turned it over the bar.
Hearts struggled to deal with Aberdeen’s pace, with Gallagher and Wright subject of rough treatment from those in white. Aaron Hickey in particular was given the run around by Gallagher, who caught him too high up the pitch on more than one occasion.
The first period ended and the second began in the same vein, with referee Don Robertson the busiest man on the park. Seven players were booked before the hour mark and plenty more could count themselves lucky to have escaped cautions.
Naismith equalised with his first touch of the ball on 69 minutes, planting a diving header beyond Lewis at the near post after Halkett flicked on Clevid Dikamona’s throw-in.
Walker completed the surprise turnaround six minutes later when Ikpeazu slid him in and his first-time finish rolled in off the far post.
The lead was brief. After Hickey was sent off for a late tackle on McGinn, Hedges’ quick-thinking from the free-kick saw McGinn bundled to the ground by Dikamona. Cosgrove in current form could not miss, slamming down the middle to restore parity.
Even after his superb performance against Chikhura in midweek, Hedges was not done. Greg Leigh tore past Walker, saw his cross flicked on by McGinn into the Welshman’s path. With no shortage of venom, Hedges thumped the ball into the roof of the net and took off towards the stands as Aberdeen capped an eventful game in style.