Aberdeen 0-0 Heart of Midlothian

Hearts battled to a 0-0 draw in blistering conditions in Wednesday 's Clydesdale Bank Premier League clash with Aberdeen at Pittodrie.

Gale force winds ensured the tie was short on both chances and quality, with the home side coming closest on two occasions through a Kari Arnason free-kick and a last minute Rob Milsom header.

Paulo Sergio made sweeping changes to the side that defeated Motherwell on Saturday as he looked to rotate the squad ahead of the Edinburgh derby this coming Monday.

Darren Barr was handed a chance to impress at right back in place of the injured Jamie Hamill, whilst a significant shake-up in midfield meant there were starting spots for Rudi Skacel, David Obua and Andrew Driver. John Sutton, meanwhile, made up the last of the alterations as he took the place of Stephen Elliott up front.

In line with large parts of the country, Pittodrie was at the mercy of blistering winds throughout the ninety minutes. As a result, the opening exchanges were relatively subdued; a Rory Fallon header that drifted wide from six yards being the only notable goal-mouth action during the first twenty minutes.

Marian Kello was then forced into making save on 27 minutes as Ryan Jack pulled the trigger from twenty yards out. Chances were at a premium, however, as conditions were making life hard for both sets of players.

The first half came to a close with neither keeper having been particularly troubled despite both sides enjoying decent spells of possession.

Paulo then attempted to re-energise his side for the second period as he replaced Skacel with Ian Black in the middle of the park at the interval.

Aberdeen enjoyed the better start to the half, however, and came within inches of taking the lead when Arnason's free kick from 25-yards out grazed Kello's side netting.

The hosts continued to apply the pressure after the restart but the maroon backline was rarely troubled. Instead, as in the first half, the final ball all too often filtered out over the touchline after unwanted interference from the wind.

The Jambos, keen to gain a foothold in the tie, made a further change shortly after the hour mark as Mehdi Taouil replaced Obua in midfield.

Sergio's men soon raised their game a notch but still struggled to find the fluency and precision in the final third.

As both sides struggled to come to terms with the weather it seemed it would take a fluke goal to end the tie, and it almost arrived in the 87th minute as Ryan Jack's deflected shot wrong-footed Kello but trickled just wide of the Slovakian's left hand post.

Craig Brown's side then should have grabbed a winner minutes later as Milsom's header on the back post missed the upright by inches from five yards out.

The Jam Tarts soon made their final change of the night as Black, a half-time substitute himself, made way for Arvydas Novikovas in the dying minutes.

The Dons mustered a few last-ditch forward surges late on, but Hearts held on to secure their share of the spoils on a bitterly cold night in the North East.

Attention now turns to Monday's trip across the city for the New Year Derby at Easter Road.

Aberdeen: Brown; Foster, Mawene, Considine, Milsom; Arnason, Osbourne, Jack, Vernon;Mackie(Clark 64); Fallon (Megginson 87). Subs not used: Gonzalez, McArdle, Robertson, Magennis, Grimmer.

Hearts: Kello, Barr, Webster, Zaliukas, McGowan, Mrowiec, Templeton, Skacel(Black 45 , Novikovas 89 for Black), Obua(Taouil 65), Driver, Sutton. Subs not used: MacDonald, Hamilton, Stewart, King.

Referee: Brian Winter

Top Man: Darren Barr