Hearts 0 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 0

Hearts found Inverness Caledonian Thistle just too tough a nut to crack in their Bank of Scotland Premier League encounter at Tynecastle.

The Highlanders had edged a rugged first half with player-manager Craig Brewster missing a sitter which should have given them an interval lead.

The second-half improvement by the Gorgie side never quite materialised and indeed it took a couple of fine saves from keeper Craig Gordon, denying Ian Black and Brewster, to protect at least a point.

The Gorgie side could have no complaints and indeed may count themselves lucky the visitors had not taken their chances.

The home side had come out of the traps flying against Livi last week and they seemed just as keen to make an impact when the first whistle went against the Highlanders.

A Calum Elliot cross from the right after four minutes was headed towards goal by Stephen Simmons but Caley keeper Mark Brown saved comfortably. But that early promise soon floundered.

A minute later, however, Inverness midfielder Black's angled volley at the other end from 16 yards looked more dangerous as it sped just past Craig Gordon's right-hand post.

Inverness, compact and confident, were far from intimidated. In the ninth minute Jambos captain Steven Pressley was short with a back header which had Gordon rushing out to save at the feet of striker Craig Dargo and after midfielder David Proctor prodded the loose ball from the edge of the penalty area towards goal Tynecastle defender Robbie Neilson got back in time to clear off the line.

Then, after good work by Caley full-back Ross Tokely on the right, Proctor had a back heel from close range easily saved by Gordon but the warning signs for the home side had flashed again.

The match was open enough and the Gorgie men, for the most part, were dominating possession but it became increasingly fragmented, blotched by a series of petty fouls and contentious offside decisions and by the half-hour mark the game's first clear-cut chance at either end had yet to arrive.

But in the 36th minute the visitors should have taken the lead. Dargo brilliantly skinned Pressley on the byline and set up Brewster just eight yards from goal but the veteran striker scooped the ball high over the crossbar.

Then, as Hearts raced up the park, the dithering Proctor lost possession to Rudi Skacel at the edge of his own penalty area but the Czech midfielder fired wide.

Just before the interval, after a scrappy passage of play, Elliot drove his shot from 18 yards well wide.

The second half began with Hearts being caught offside for the seventh time by the Inverness defence, a decision met with howls of derision by the home supporters.

The visitors, buoyed by the confidence that three draws and two draws in their last five SPL matches, looked solid in defence.

In the 52nd minute Caley substitute Richie Hart, on for Proctor just before the break, tested Gordon with a free-kick from 30 yards but the Scotland international clutched safely to his chest.

Two minutes later Michal Pospisil set up Deividas Cesnauskis with a defence-splitting pass but the Gorgie midfielder's drive from 16 yards was straight at Brown, who parried to safety.

That near miss fired up the home support who, for the first time in the match, vociferously drove the home side forward.

But it was the Highlanders who came close in the 58th minute after Dargo, closely policed by Robbie Neilson, managed to lay the ball off to Brewster 16 yards from goal.

The veteran striker, however, never really set himself properly and his left-footed effort went past Gordon's right-hand post.

There was a moment of controversy on the hour mark when Elliot beat Brown to a loose ball and went to ground after seemingly colliding with the Caley keeper but referee Calum Murray waved play on.

The latter stages were tense as Caley begin to bare their teeth again. Black drew a great save from Gordon with a 30-yard drive to show the visitors were not simply content with a draw.

In the 73rd minute Brewster volleyed a wonderful and unexpected angled shot from 25 yards which forced the Scotland keeper into a top class save.

Tokely had the ball in the net soon after but was ruled offside then Neilson appeared to handle a Barry Wilson cross inside his own penalty area but no penalty was given.

It would have been a travesty if the home side had nicked a goal in the dying minutes despite their last-gasp efforts.

Teams:

Hearts Gordon, Neilson, Fyssas, Pressley, Webster, Cesnauskis, Simmons (Camazzola 67), Hartley, Skacel, Pospisil (Mikoliunas 84), Elliot (Jankauskas 72).

Subs Not Used: MacDonald, MacFarlane, Berra, Wallace.

Booked: Hartley.

Inverness CT Brown, Tokely, McCaffrey, Munro, Hastings, Wilson, Black, Duncan, Proctor (Hart 38), Brewster, Dargo.

Subs Not Used: Fraser, McBain, Bayne, Juanjo, Morgan, Fox.

Booked: Duncan, Brewster.

Att: 16,373

Ref: C Murray (Scotland).

Taken from sportinglife.com