Hearts snatched a dramatic point from the jaws of defeat against Ross County this afternoon, drawing 1-1 at Tynecastle Park.
The Jambos thought they were condemned to another defeat in Gorgie, with Ronan Hale's first half strike seeming to be enough to seal the points for the Staggies.
But Lawrence Shankland netted deep into injury time to salvage a much needed point for the Jambos in Interim Head Coach Liam Fox's first match in charge.
Fox made five changes to the side that was beaten in Paisley last weekend; Frankie Kent and Kye Rowles were restored to the heart of the central defence, whilst Cammy Devlin and Alan Forrest also saw a return to action in place of Malachi Boateng and Blair Spittal.
With Gerald Taylor confirmed out for the foreseeable future with a suspected knee injury, there was also a maiden bow in maroon for 19-year-old right-back Adam Forrester.
It was a fast start for the Jambos, who registered two big chances after two minutes. Kenneth Vargas struck a curling effort, sparked by lovely build-up from Shankland and Forrester, outside the box which Ross Laidlaw spilled back into play. Cammy Devlin moved in for the finish, but the County ‘keeper had Kacper Lopata to thank who blocked the ball on the line.
More bright play from Hearts saw Cammy Devlin at the heart of events again. Some nice dribbling from Alan Forrest on the left saw the ball cut back to Devlin in a crowded County box, but still managing to get a shot off which Laidlaw dived to halt.
Hearts were the much more creative side in front of goal, but the wait for a goal went on after 13 minutes when Jorge Grant’s corner found Forrest at the near post; he stung the palms of Laidlaw, with Vargas going for an acrobatic attempt on the rebound.
With Ross County executing a game plan to break up play and break on the counter, the men in maroon had to wait until the half-hour mark for the next opportunity to materialise. Another good ball across goal from Alan Forrest found Cammy Devlin, with his first-time volley stinging Laidlaw’s palms once again.
Moments later, Ross County took the lead. The Staggies stormed up the park on the break, with the ball eventually falling to an oncoming Ronan Hale in the box, who curled the ball beyond the reach of Craig Gordon.
As half-time approached, Lawrence Shankland saw his powerful header go astray after being found unmarked at the back post courtesy of a cross from deep by Stephen Kingsley.
HT: Heart of Midlothian 0-1 Ross County
After a slow beginning to proceedings, the first real chance of the half came after 58 minutes. In the midst of the goalmouth stramash, the ball fell to Lawrence Shankland, whose volley rattled the crossbar before being cleared.
Substitute Barrie McKay was next to try his luck. Some delightful play between himself and Shankland saw the ball laid into the latter's path; with his ranged effort flashing wide of Laidlaw's goal.
Moments later, from the Hearts corner, Frankie Kent chested the ball down into McKay's path again - with his volley going agonisingly wide as the wait for an equaliser went on.
His fellow introduction from the bench, Yan Dhanda, also kept knocking on the door. Finding himself in space, he had a dig from 25-yards, with his dipping effort narrowly sneaking past the post.
There was a real scare for Hearts in the 78th minute as Akil Wright ghosted towards the back post from the County long throw. Unmarked, he was able to steer a dangerous header towards goal, somehow missing from close range.
With only a handful of minutes left in regular time, Blair Spittal threaded the ball into Jorge Grant in the area, with the midfielder sending a low drive at goal which was held by Laidlaw.
With six minutes of added time, Hearts were facing another disappointing afternoon, but Lawrence Shankland popped up at the corner to force the ball over the line and net a valuable point.
Hearts: Gordon, Kent, Kingsley, Baningime, Grant (Boyce 90+1'), Shankland, Devlin (Spittal 57'), Rowles, Forrest (Dhanda 66'), Forrester (Oyegoke 90+1'), Vargas (McKay 57')
Subs: Clark, Halkett, Oyegoke, McKay, Spittal, Dhanda, Tait, Boyce, Penrice
Ross County: Laidlaw, Leak, Wright, Randall (Telfer 86'), Hale (Samuel 66'), Chilvers (Loturi 57'), Campbell, Lopata, Nisbet, Efete (Brown 66'), White (Grieves 86')
Subs: Hamilton, Brown, Loturi, Grieves, Telfer, Samuel, Brophy, Smith, Nightingale
Attendance: 18,399
