Date	Saturday, 30 April 2022
Competition	Scottish Premiership
Fixture/Score	Heart of Midlothian 0:0 Ross County
Venue	Tynecastle Park
Attendance	16,699
Referee	Steven McLean
Comments	Match Report Report by Nick McPheat for the BBC. Heart of Midlothian 0 Ross County 0 Manager Malky Mackay hailed his "brave" Ross County side after they put themselves in the driving seat for a European place with a deserved Scottish Premiership draw at Hearts. The visitors felt hard done by after Jordan White's first-half goal was ruled out for a marginal offside call. They then had to dig deep after the break but held firm to move a point clear of sixth-placed Motherwell. "We were playing a terrific team," Mackay told BBC Scotland. "We started really well on the front foot, the first half was excellent. Second half we knew they would come at us but we were really brave. "In the final third, if our last pass had more concertation we would've been in two or three times as well but we still worked Craig Gordon." The result has no bearing on the league position of Scottish Cup finalists Hearts, who sealed third spot prior to the split. But with fifth place enough for entry to the Europa Conference qualifiers, the point could be vital for County. They now hold a cushion over Motherwell in their quest to secure European football for the first time. This season's previous three league meetings had served up high-level entertainment, with an average of three goals per game. More of the same was the message from a bumper Tynecastle crowd. County started promisingly and asked all the early questions as they pressed Hearts' depleted backline with aggression. Connor Randall forced Craig Gordon low to his right with a strike from distance that skimmed off the greasy turf before Toby Sibbick got his body in the way of a close-range effort from Blair Spittal. The visitors were then denied by the lineman's flag as Spittal's inch-perfect ball from deep on the right was slid into the net by White. It was the tightest of margins, a call that VAR will be key in deciding when it is introduced in December. Hearts were restricted to speculative first-half efforts from Ben Woodburn and Barrie McKay as County's well-organised backline nullified the home attack. But Robbie Neilson's side posed a greater threat after the break as Josh Ginnelly skied over from close range and Liam Boyce was denied by Ross Laidlaw when through one on one. McKay and Boyce then had efforts drift narrowly past either post as County, whose only real second-half chance came from a Ross Callachan shot saved by the foot of Gordon, dug deep to earn a precious point. For Hearts, it is all about keeping momentum rolling as they look forward to May's Scottish Cup final with Rangers. This result goes some way to achieving that as Neilson's side remains depleted. With four of his first-choice back five plus midfield duo Cammy Devlin and Beni Baningime not playing any part, the Hearts boss will have learned a lot about his fringe players. For a side that failed to win any of their first 10 league games, it is remarkable the position that County find themselves in. The Highlanders have deservedly received plaudits for their attacking play, but the second half here highlighted the defensive resilience that Mackay has instilled in his side, with four clean sheets recorded in their last seven games. Hearts manager Robbie Neilson: "There was a wee bit of flatness there. To County's credit they defended really well. The start of the game was 200 miles an hour. On another day, [Liam] Boyce scores two or three goals. "We were down to the bare bones. We didn't really have any changes to make. Hopefully we get a few more back for Celtic next week." Ross County boss Malky Mackay: "There's been a level of consistency before Christmas that I've enjoyed. Hearts are the third best team in the country and we've had three draws against them this season. "Motherwell and Dundee United would have been looking hoping Hearts would turn us over. It's one more game down, there are three to go and two are at home."
Ross County
Manager	Malcolm (Malky) Mackay
Starting 11	1: Ross Laidlaw, 2: Connor Randall, 3: Jake Vokins, 4: David Cancola, 7: Blair Spittal, 8: Ross Callachan 1, 15: Keith Watson 1, 16: Alexander Iacovitti, 17: Regan Charles-Cook, 22: Jordon Tillson 1, 26: Jordan White
Bench	21: Ross Munro, 6: Harrison Paton, 10: Dominic Samuel, 11: Joshua Sims, 18: Jack Burroughs, 19: Kayne Ramsay, 20: Declan Drysdale, 23: Joseph Hungbo, 24: Benjamin Paton
Heart of Midlothian
Manager	Robbie Neilson
Starting 11	Craig Gordon, Peter Haring, Ben Woodburn, Liam Boyce, Gary Mackay-Steven, Nathaniel Atkinson, Taylor Moore, Alex Cochrane, Barrie Mckay, Tony Sibbick, Josh Ginnelly
Bench	Ross Stewart, Stephen Kingsley, Andy Halliday, Ellis Simms, Murray Thomas, Macaulay Tait