Highlights: Kilmarnock 0-0 Hearts
Hearts avoided defeat against Kilmarnock for the fifth time this season after a goalless Scottish Premiership draw at Rugby Park.
The visitors hit the woodwork twice in the first half, but failed to grab a winner that would have secured the Edinburgh club a third-place finish in the league and guaranteed European group stage football next season.
Derek McInnes’ side are now unbeaten in six league games and move nine points clear of fifth-place St Mirren, who host Rangers on Sunday.
Kilmarnock defender Stuart Findlay headed over early on for the hosts after meeting a floated Matty Kennedy cross at the back post.
Hearts came close after 23 minutes. Forward pair Lawrence Shankland and Kenneth Vargas combined well, with the latter cracking the crossbar with a lashed effort.
The bar then thwarted the visitors for a second time, as Cammy Devlin’s delightful curled effort clipped the top of the frame.
Immediately after Beni Baningime’s early departure right before the break, Frankie Kent nearly caught Killie napping but failed to nod in from close range.
Will Dennis was tested multiple times by Hearts midfielder Jorge Grant, who forced a safe hold and a double stop from the English goalkeeper after the interval.
As time wound down, Zander Clark beat away a powerful volley from former Hearts winger Gary Mackay-Steven to keep his side on level terms.
Player of the Match - Cammy Devlin (Hearts)
Devlin put in a solid shift in midfield and was unlucky not to open the scoring with a near-perfect curling effort that bounced back out off the bar
4-4-2 or 3-5-2, that is the question - analysis
Kilmarnock may have failed to beat Hearts this season, but Derek McInnes’ pre-match claims that his side have always been "decent" against the Gorgie side holds up.
McInnes opted to return to his tried and tested 4-4-2 for this one, but switched back to a 3-5-2 – effective versus St Johnstone last time out – in an attempt to overpower Steven Naismith’s men in the second half.
Despite being unable to put the ball in the net, Killie have once again shown they have a solid A and B plan prepared for any opponent.
The home side have also now gone three games without conceding and extend their unbeaten league run to six games. Impressive.
Steven Naismith mirrored McInnes’ decision to switch his system.
The Hearts manager accepted his decision to drop Alex Cochrane for the Scottish Cup semi-final may have been wrong and changed to a back three.
The visitors certainly looked to be winning the midfield battle in the first 45, prompting McInnes to switch his system to match Hearts’ shape at the break.
When it comes to individual performances, most players did enough to get pass marks – though Vargas, Grant and Kent will all rue missed chances.
What they said
'We hope there's a few more highlights in us' - McInnes
Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes: "First half, I thought Hearts were the better side. Their change of shape threw us a bit. It was much-improved in the second half.
"We stay unbeaten and it’s another clean sheet against a good Hearts team. We take our point but there is a recognition we need and want to be better than that.
"Great credit to the players. To be on 52 points at this point is huge. Even if we were not at our best today, you can see the competitiveness and spirit of the team.
Hearts head coach Steven Naismith: "I thought we were really good. The only thing we were missing was some goals. We created good chances. Our energy, our build-up play and our control in the game was good.
"Beni Baningime was feeling unwell. I’m not concerned by it. He was alright by half-time. I don’t expect him to be missing next week."
Naismith post Kilmarnock
What's next?
Kilmarnock travel to Rangers next Sunday (13:00 BST) while Hearts visit Celtic on Saturday (15:00).
