Ross County and Hearts claimed their share of the points this evening after playing out a 0-0 draw at Victoria Park.
The Staggies came into the match with three changes from the side that exited the Scottish Cup on Saturday after falling to a 1-0 defeat to Ayr United.
Liam Fontaine missed out through suspension, with Ricky Foster and Harry Paton also dropping out of the starting eleven, replaced by skipper Marcus Fraser, Keith Watson and Billy Mckay.
The visitors made four changes to their side as new signing Donis Avdijaj made his debut in attack.
McKay had the first opportunity of the match after he was sent through on the left-hand side, but his shot goalbound with his weaker left side failed to really test Joel Pereira in the Hearts goal.
Neat work on the right-hand side saw Josh Mullin break away for the hosts in the 13th minute, before sending a driven low cross into the 18-yard-box in search of Blair Spittal, but Hearts defender Clevid Dikamona intervened with an inch-perfect tackle to deny the County midfielder a shot at goal.
Just one minute later, County passed up a golden opportunity to break the deadlock. Spittal again picked out Mullin on the right and his favourable delivery was met by the head of Coll Donaldson but the centre half couldn’t direct his header goalbound much to the dismay of the home support.
The Staggies went close again in the 19th minute as Mckay displayed great awareness to intercept John Soutarr’s header home but the County frontman couldn’t generate enough leverage to find the back of the net.
County rallied further in the 22nd minute as talisman Mckay turned provider picking out Mullin on the edge of the 18-yard-box but a timely intervention from John Souttar around the penalty spot kept the scoreline even.
The scoreline remained even as the half time whistle brought proceedings to a close.
Watson clashed with Hearts captain Steven Naismith in the 50th minute around 25-yards from goal but referee Gavin Duncan waved away Naismith’s appeal for a free-kick.
Hearts squandered the chance of the game after 56 minutes as Naismith cut the ball back for Avdijaj but the Kosovan lost his footing and only mustered a half-hearted effort goalbound, with the subsequent follow up from Washington gathered by Nathan Baxter.
County pressed at the other end, first Spittal’s cross required an intervention from Souttar before Lee Erwin’s effort was tipped round the post at the expense of a corner.
The Staggies introduced new signing Oli Shaw and Harry Paton in the closing quarter with the former only completing his transfer from Hibs to the Dingwall side earlier in the day.
County players claimed for a penalty in the 77th minute after a suspected handball in the Hearts box but their appeal failed to entertain referee Duncan.
Just moments later Donaldson sent a sublime through ball to Erwin who failed to really test Pereira with his shot straight at the Hearts stopper after an impressive display of control.
Neither side could break the deadlock in the closing stages settling for an even share of the points.
The scoreline means both teams remain in the same positions they stared the night in, as County hang on the 8th and Hearts remain at the foot of the table despite ending their run of defeats with a valuable point on the road.