Hearts 2-2 Ross County: Lawrence Shankland rescues point
- Published
Lawrence Shankland's sixth goal in five games rescued a point for Hearts
Lawrence Shankland scored for the fifth game in a row to help rescue a point for Hearts against Ross County in the Scottish Premiership.
Having had their last two games cancelled because of bad weather, County looked slick and fresh as they put a jaded-looking Hearts under pressure in the first hour.
Yan Dhanda's superb curling free-kick from 25 yards in the second half was the standout moment and doubled County's advantage, after Alex Cochrane's own goal had put them in front six minutes earlier.
But Hearts - who had won their last three games - rallied and substitute Kenneth Vargas slid the ball beyond Ross Laidlaw to pull one back after confusion in the County defence.
That set the stage for their captain and talisman Shankland to rescue his side, as he guided in a low, controlled shot into the corner to leave goalkeeper Ross Laidlaw completely stranded and level the scores.
Hearts stay third but missed the chance to win a fourth league game in a row, having built up a head of steam over Christmas with wins against St Mirren and rivals Hibernian.
But Steven Naismith's side did well to battle back in an entertaining game with plenty of chances.
County's Ben Purrington had a goal ruled out after 90 seconds for offside in the build-up, and the visitors forced two good stops from Hearts goalkeeper Zander Clark through Simon Murray and Josh Sims.
Laidlaw also denied Alan Forrest, and the pair were then involved in the most contentious moment of the match as the Hearts substitute went down after rounding the keeper - only to be booked for diving rather than awarded a penalty.
Both sides had chances to win it too, as County's Victor Loturi slid a close-range shot wide in added time before a brilliant late clearance from Jack Baldwin stopped Vargas tapping in.
County drop to 11th spot despite an encouraging performance.
Player of the match - Yan Dhanda (Ross County)
Dhanda was a joy to watch and his performance was capped by a brilliant free kick
Hearts battle against impressive County - analysis
Despite battling back, this will be a frustrating result for Hearts. After their stoppage-time derby win this was an opportunity to really put the foot down for third spot, but they were outplayed in the first hour.
Without Beni Baningime - who was rested due to tiredness - they lacked control in midfield and County found lots of space to play.
But Vargas scored after a simple long ball unsettled the visitors, and once that went in you always felt Shankland would have a say at some point.
It was another unerring finish from the Scotland striker, who has scored six times in his last five games and 17 overall for Hearts. He is vital to their tilt for European football.
After County last played two weeks ago, manager Adams went on a now famous rant about the poor quality of Scottish football, including his own side.
His players responded with an away performance full of energy and skill, as they created chances and had the better of the play for most of the game.
However, the softness of the goals will infuriate the County boss, and his side did not adapt after going 2-0 up, eventually being picked off.
Still, it was a good response to consecutive defeats and a display to build on.
What they said
Hearts manager Steven Naismith: "The goals we conceded were poor. The positives are that we get back in the game, scored two goals and I think there were two instances which could have seen us have a penalty.
"VAR is here for a reason and for me today it has failed. I can understand the referee's point of view from what he sees on the pitch but when VAR steps in, all we want is the correct decision."
Ross County manager Derek Adams: "I thought the first five games were risk averse, today we took some major risks and got some really good openings.
"We scored two goals but over the afternoon we were disappointed not to win the game.
"We just have to take our opportunities when they come along. We played some really good football and entertained the crowd, there were good players on show and I thought over the afternoon it was a fantastic advert for Scottish football."
What's next?
Hearts travel to bottom side Livingston on 2 January in their final game before the winter break (15:00 GMT), while County host Aberdeen at the same time.