Lawrence Shankland continued his red-hot scoring form as Hearts came from two goals down to draw 2-2 at home to Ross County.
After the controversial decision not to award the Jambos a penalty when Alan Forrest appeared to be tripped by Ross Laidlaw early in the second half, County looked on course for victory following an Alex Cochrane own goal and a stunning free-kick from Yan Dhanda.
But substitute Kenneth Vargas sparked Hearts’ fightback with a cool finish before Shankland, the cinch Premiership’s top scorer, netted his 17th of the season and his 12th in 13 matches to secure a draw that kept his team two points clear of Kilmarnock in third place with a game in hand.
Hearts boss Steven Naismith made three changes to the team that started the midweek win away to Hibernian as Stephen Kingsley, Forrest and Beni Baningime were replaced by Craig Halkett, Alex Lowry and Kyosuke Tagawa.
County were back in action for the first time since being eviscerated by their own manager following a 1-0 home defeat by Dundee a fortnight previously.
Derek Adams – hoping for a positive response to his post-match claim that former team Morecambe were “100 times better” than County – made two changes as Will Nightingale and Conor Randall were replaced by Max Sheaf and Josh Sims.
The Staggies had the ball in the net in the second minute when Ben Purrington headed home but it was ruled out for offside against Jordan White in the build-up.
The home side then enjoyed a spell of pressure as Lowry, Frankie Kent and Tagawa all threatened within the space of five minutes.
County were generally holding their own, however, and they should have gone ahead in the 19th minute when Simon Murray was released on goal but Zander Clark made an excellent save before reacting to deny Josh Sims from the follow-up attempt seconds later.
The Staggies threatened again in the 29th minute when White got himself clear in the box, but Halkett slid in to make a vital block.
Hearts boss Naismith made two changes for the start of the second half in an effort to spark an improvement, with Forrest and Yutaro Oda sent on in place of Tagawa and Aidan Denholm.
Forrest looked to have made a swift impact in the 51st minute when he was released by a pass from Shankland and appeared to be tripped as he tried to go round Laidlaw, only to be yellow-carded for diving. Replays suggested there was contact.
It proved a pivotal moment as County went ahead four minutes later when Cochrane knocked Murray’s cross into his own net as he slid in to challenge Sims on the edge of the six-yard box.
And the visitors doubled their lead in the 61st minute when Dhanda curled in a delightful free-kick from 25 yards out.
Hearts rallied, however, and substitute Vargas got them back in the game in the 71st minute when he latched on to a through ball and slotted calmly beyond Laidlaw.
Eight minutes later Shankland secured a point with a superb left-footed finish after he was teed up just inside the box by Calem Nieuwenhof.
Giroud leaving Milan to join MLS at end of season
Olivier Giroud announced he will be leaving Milan to join the MLS at the end of the season when his contract expires.
The Frenchman joined the club in July 2021 from Chelsea, winning the Serie A title in his first season.
Giroud has scored 48 goals in 130 games in all competitions for Milan, netting 16 of those this season to help them to a second-place finish.
In an emotional interview with the club’s media channels, Giroud said: "I'm here to tell you that the next two games will be my last for Milan. My career will continue in MLS.
"I'm very proud of everything I've done here at Milan across three seasons. It's the right time to announce it. I'm a bit emotional. My story with Milan ends this season, but Milan will forever remain in my heart."
Though Giroud did not confirm which team he would be joining in the MLS, previous reports suggested he could be moving to LAFC to link up with his France international team-mate, Hugo Lloris.
Giroud leaving Milan at end of season to join MLS
Olivier Giroud announced he will be leaving Milan to join the MLS at the end of the season when his contract expires.
The Frenchman joined the club in July 2021 from Chelsea, winning the Serie A title in his first season.
Giroud has scored 48 goals in 130 games in all competitions for Milan, netting 16 of those this season to help them to a second-place finish.
In an emotional interview with the club’s media channels, Giroud said: "I'm here to tell you that the next two games will be my last for Milan. My career will continue in MLS.
"I'm very proud of everything I've done here at Milan across three seasons. It's the right time to announce it. I'm a bit emotional. My story with Milan ends this season, but Milan will forever remain in my heart."
Though Giroud did not confirm which team he would be joining in the MLS, previous reports suggested he could be moving to LAFC to link up with his France international team-mate, Hugo Lloris.
Beckham: Man Utd's problems have lasted 'too long'
David Beckham believes Manchester United’s issues have lasted "too long" since Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013.
The Red Devils have won just four major trophies since Ferguson’s departure, with their most recent – an EFL Cup win last season – ending a six-year wait for silverware.
United have not won a Premier League title since the Scot’s final season in charge, with six managers failing to reclaim the top-flight crown since then.
This season, Erik ten Hag’s side are at risk of recording their lowest league finish and points tally, as they sit eighth on 54 points with two games remaining.
Beckham, who won 13 trophies, including six Premier League titles and the Champions League, told The Athletic: "I think it has been a difficult time over the last five or ten years, but it was always going to be when the boss left the club.
"It wasn’t just that, we lost players like Ryan Giggs, Roy Keane and Gary Neville, all of these players that had been at United for so long; you lose part of that, and you lose part of the club.
"So it was always going to be a difficult time. But we’d like it to change pretty quickly because I think it’s gone on for too long now."
United have lost 19 games in all competitions this season, their most since 1977-78 (also 19), with nine of those coming at Old Trafford – their joint-most at home in a season and the first time it has happened in the Premier League.
Their 1-0 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday marked the first time they had conceded in 10 successive games in all competitions since October 2021, while the 82 goals they have let in this season is their most since 1970-71 (also 82).
Beckham was speaking at the premiere of 99, the Amazon Prime documentary covering United’s iconic treble-winning season 25 years ago.
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