The visitors survived a first-half bombardment from their hosts but recovered after the interval to perform with far more cohesion. A late header from Christian Nade may have accorded them victory but the Frenchman nodded the ball into the turf from
only three yards.
The point sees Hearts level on points with Falkirk with Aberdeen two behind, leaving Stephen Frail and Co to contemplate their first bottom-six finish since the SPL split took effect in season 2000/01.
Gary Locke returned to the Kilmarnock side rather appropriately on such a critical day for the club which reared him. Virus-stricken Hearts enlisted the Argentine Fernando Screpis for his first start, whilst Kestutis Ivaskevicius and Ibrahim Tall also returned, coach Stephen Frail re-organising due to several regulars toiling with illness.
Anthony Basso endured an early fright in front of a vociferous 1700-strong travelling support, the goalkeeper's indecision allowing a Kilmarnock corner to career fortunately off his chest before bouncing to safety. However, he recovered to deliver a display which at times was nothing other than brilliant. He held a low drive from James Fowler with the hosts endeavouring to press Hearts onto the back foot, and on 17 minutes produced a momentous stop with his feet, denying Danny Invincibile a certain goal from David Fernandez's cross.
It was becoming apparent that Kilmarnock were turning the screw, although at the opposite end Hearts suffered due to their inherent lack of an attacking presence. Whilst the simpler catches seemed to tax Basso, the goalkeeper was airborne on 26 minutes to expertly palm away David Lilley's near-post header from Fernandez's corner.
Jim Jefferies' side again came close to convering their superiority into goals when full-back Tim Clancy struck a post following another Fernandez delivery. Basso then repelled Clancy's cross after it glanced off Jose Goncalves' head, and Craig Bryson only succeeded in scooping the rebound over the crossbar. Moments later, Goncalves was fortunate to avoid conceding a penalty for a late challenge on Bryson.
Half-time arrived with most inside Rugby Park toiling to explain why the hosts weren't at least holding a one-goal advantage.
Hearts emerged for the second period looking more resilient, with Screpis and Ruben Palazuelos initiating tidy passing movements from midfield. From Larry Kingston's free-kick, captain Christophe Berra headed off the base of Alan Combe's right-hand post before Stephen Frail replaced the ineffective Kestutis Ivaskevicius with teenager Gary Glen to increase attacking options.
Kingston's 65th-minute withdrawal was more difficult to comprehend, which may explain the midfielder's decision to saunter up the tunnel rather than watch the remainder of the match from the substitutes' bench. Combe's reflex save prevented Nade opening the scoring on 68 minutes and Palazuelos' rebound effort was blocked, however Hearts were by now threatening with reasonable regularity.
Mehdi Taouil, Kilmarnock's Moroccan forward, again brought out the best in Basso by angling a curling right-footed effort which required the Frenchman's fingertips to stop. That signalled a late advancing by the hosts but their industry was in vain. In the closing moments, Fraser Wright was dismissed for a second booking when he fouled Nade, and the Tynecastle striker bizarrely headed Michael Stewart's free-kick over from three yards when it seemed easier to score.
With that went Hearts' top-six chances. The visitors had performed considerably better after half-time than before, but their aspirations of finishing in the league's upper half died as all eyes switch to Pittodrie on Monday evening.
Kilmarnock (4-3-1-2): Combe; Clancy, Lilley, Wright, Hay; Fowler, Locke, Bryson; Taouil; Invincibile, Fernandez. Subs: Harpur, Wales 73 (for Fernandez), Gibson, Dalglish, O'Leary, Hamill 89 (for Taouil), Flannigan 73 (for Locke).
Hearts (4-5-1): Basso; Neilson, Tall, Berra, Goncalves; Kingston, Ivaskevicius, Screpis, Palazuelos, Mikoliunas; Nade. Subs: Banks, Elliot 86 (for Screpis), Wallace, Glen 58 (for Ivaskevicius), Husband, Stewart 65 (for Kingston), McGowan.
Attendance: 5901.
Referee: Craig Thomson.
The full article contains 698 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
