Hearts 0 - 0 Aberdeen

Hearts remain undefeated on the road outside of Glasgow, this being the only time they have dropped points away from Tynecastle this season excepting visits to Ibrox and Parkhead. They were without several established regulars and therefore a draw was entirely acceptable to keep them one point behind Rangers, at least until the Ibrox club play St Johnstone on Sunday.

They had Kello to thank for preserving a clean sheet once again. A string of impressive stops saw the Slovakian continue where he left off following last weekend's penalty save against Dundee United. Aberdeen, somewhat revitalised since Craig Brown assumed control, carved several openings throughout the 90 minutes but were continually thwarted by the opposition goalkeeper.

In a much-changed team to combat injuries and suspensions, Andy Driver started for Hearts for the first time since last April. Craig Thomson, Adrian Mrowiec, Ryan Stevenson and David Templeton also returned, with under-19s Scott Robinson and Denis Prychynenko granted a place on the substitutes' as reward for their consistency at youth level this season.

Aberdeen came within a fraction of scoring inside the opening two minutes. Sone Aluko ventured inside away from Thomson, deputising for Lee Wallace at left-back, and struck a venomous shot which the outstretched fingers of Kello just managed to push over the crossbar. That initiated a sustained period of home pressure until Hearts regained a foothold in midfield around the midway point of the first half.

By then, Rory McArdle had been forced off for stitches in a head wound suffered during an aerial challenge with Rudi Skacel. Despite the obvious pain, it was his head which prompted Kello's next save from Aluko's corner with the visiting defence alarmingly static.

From Thomson's 22nd-minute corner, Marius Zaliukas' first-time attempt was nodded clear. However, Aberdeen's reply was instant as a neat passing interchange involving Chris Maguire, Scott Vernon and Rob Milsom resulted in Maguire testing Kello from 18 yards. The Slovakian failed to hold the ball and Zaliukas completed the clearance.

Hearts were forced into an unexpected change after half an hour when Ismael Bouzid replaced the injured Andy Webster. Within two minutes of his introduction the Algerian internationalist was cautioned for bodychecking Steven Smith.

On a woefully threadbare Pittodrie surface it was Aberdeen who passed the ball with most cohesion. Stephen Elliott turned to hook a volley narrowly wide six minutes from the interval, but that apart he remained an isolated figure throughout the opening 45 minutes.

Immediately after the restart Hearts began asserting themselves more convincingly. Jamie Langfield, the hitherto inactive Aberdeen goalkeeper, pushed Rudi Skacel's drive wide and Zaliukas headed narrowly over the crossbar from the resultant corner. Aberdeen broke from defence but, when the ball found Aluko, he could only shoot tamely at Kello.

Then the flow turned once again as the hosts pressed forward and hemmed Hearts inside their own half. The probing ensured they entered the closing stages looking most likely to score. Ryan Jack meandered into the penalty area unchallenged 15 minutes from time only to shoot into the side netting.

The visitors appealed for a late penalty as Templeton fell when confronted by the outstanding McArdle inside the box, however referee Mike Tumilty rightly dismissed the claim. Then substitute Nick Blackman saw his powerful left-footed effort pushed to safety as Kello produced another outstanding save. With that, both teams settled for a point apiece.

Aberdeen (4-4-2): Langfield; McNamee (Young 64), McArdle, Considine, Smith; Aluko (Magennis 82), Jack, Hartley, Milsom; Vernon (Blackman 73), Maguire. Subs: Howard, Vujadinovic, Paton, Anderson.

Hearts (4-3-3): Kello, Jonsson, Webster (Bouzid 30), Zaliukas, C Thomson; Mrowiec, Skacel, Stevenson; Driver (C Elliot 62), S Elliott (Glen 71), Templeton. Subs: MacDonald, J Thomson, Robinson, Prychynenko.

Referee: Mike Tumilty.

Attendance: 9100.

Taken from the Scotsman