Hearts 0-0 Inverness CT

Inverness player-boss Craig Brewster missed a glorious chance to break the deadlock after 36 minutes when he fired over the bar from eight yards out.

The veteran striker squandered another chance on the hour, when he pulled his shot wide after great work from Craig Dargo.

The result leaves Hearts trailing leaders Celtic by three points.

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.

Inverness midfielder Ian Black's angled volley from 16 yards looked dangerous as it flew narrowly past Craig Gordon's right-hand post.

Inverness, compact and confident, were far from intimidated.

They should have taken the lead in the 36th minute when Dargo brilliantly skinned Steven Pressley on the byline and set up Brewster just eight yards from goal.

However, the veteran striker scooped the ball high over the crossbar.

Then, as Hearts raced up the park, the dithering David Proctor lost possession to Rudi Skacel at the edge of his own penalty area but the Czech midfielder fired 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 Mark 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 player-manager, however, never really set himself properly and his left-footed effort went past Gordon's right-hand post.

The latter stages were tense as Caley begin to bare their teeth again.

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.

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

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

Taken from the BBC