Ross County were left to feel hard done by in not ending 2023 with more than a spirited point against Hearts at Tynecastle.
The Staggies put on an impressive display in the capital, and raced into a two-goal lead early in the second half courtesy of an Alex Cochrane own goal and a stunning Yan Dhanda free-kick.
The Jambos, who are third in the Premiership table, were always likely to mount pressure in an effort to claw back into the game, and they pulled one back through substitute Kenneth Vargas with 20 minutes remaining.
The key flashpoint came 10 minutes later, when the Staggies had only made one part of a double substitution, having withdrawn Ben Purrington for George Harmon, with Victor Loturi being readied to replace Josh Sims.
Play was hastily resumed by referee Alan Muir before that could happen, however, with Hearts going on to exploit the Staggies’ left-hand side to set up Lawrence Shankland for an equaliser.
Staggies boss Derek Adams was angered by the situation, and was keen to seek clarity over the communication that elapsed between Muir and fourth official Chris Fordyce.
He said: “The fourth official made a mistake at 2-1.
“We were putting on two substitutes and unfortunately the referee restarted the game when one of our substitutes was on and our other one wasn’t allowed to come on because the referee had started the game.
“That was hugely disappointing because the goal came straight after that.
“I’m going to speak to them and ask them to explain what happened. I know what he said to me at the time, but we all know there’s a little black box that’s recorded and I would like to hear back what was said in that little black box.
“They will use it against a manager, but unfortunately you will have to use it against yourself at some point.
“The fourth official was shouting for Alan Muir to stop the game for us to make another sub. We were making two substitutions at the time. The little black box will tell us if that’s the case.”
After two postponements last week, the Staggies were in action for the first time since they were defeated 1-0 by Dundee – after which Adams criticised the standard of the five games he had taken charge of since returning for a third spell as manager last month.
County were forced into two changes from that game, with Will Nightingale and Connor Randall both ruled out through injury.
That prompted a change in formation from Adams, who opted to switch to a back four in a system which accommodated forwards Jordan White and Simon Murray, along with attacking midfielders Dhanda and Sims. Joining Sims in being drafted into the side was Max Sheaf, who was handed his first Staggies start in the heart of midfield.
County made a rapid start to the match and thought they had taken the lead inside the opening 90 seconds. Dhanda’s rasping shot forced Zander Clark to make a parried save, with the ball falling to White to cross for Ben Purrington to head home.
The goal was instantly ruled out for offside, with a VAR check taking two minutes to conclude that White had strayed beyond the defensive line in the build-up.
Hearts showed early signs of clicking into gear, however, with Alex Lowry seeing an effort deflected just wide of target, before Ross Laidlaw was forced to make a strong block to deny Frankie Kent’s shot.
The Jambos carved open another chance on 14 minutes when good work from Alex Cochrane set up Kyosuke Tagawa, who sidefooted his effort wide.
It became an open game, though, with County passing up an excellent chance to take the lead on 19 minutes. A slack pass by Craig Halkett was intercepted by Dhanda who threaded Murray clean through on goal, however, he struck his effort straight at Zander Clark, with the Jambos goalkeeper also doing well to thwart a follow-up strike from Sims.
Dhanda continued to cause problems, with his pass sliding in White who saw a powerful shot blocked behind by Halkett, while Dhanda’s resulting corner was nodded over by Ryan Leak.
The Staggies’ persistence forced Hearts into some slack errors, to the increasing frustration of the home crowd who booed their side off at half-time.
A flashpoint arrived on 51 minutes when Lawrence Shankland put substitute Alan Forrest through on goal before the winger went to ground as he attempted to round Laidlaw, only to be met by a yellow card from referee Alan Muir for simulation.
County remained dangerous, with White inches away from connecting with a driven Sims cross which was cleared by the Hearts rearguard.
The Staggies were not to be denied on 55 minutes, however. Murray was released down the right flank before whipping a delightful ball across goal towards Sims, although the final touch came off Cochrane which caused it to trundle past Clark. Murray’s involvement was checked for a possible offside, but the replay concluded he had held his run to perfection.
It took the Staggies only six minutes to double their lead, with Dhanda delivering the goal in spectacular style with a 30-yard free-kick which left Clark completely static as it curled into his top left-corner.
County attempted to guard their clean sheet bravely, with Laidlaw making a last-ditch save to deny Forrest, while substitute Vargas teed up Shankland for a strike which flew well over.
Hearts halved the deficit with 20 minutes remaining, however, when Vargas made a marauding run through the visitors’ defence before slotting past Laidlaw.
They went on to level 10 minutes later when Shankland applied a neat sidefooted finish from the edge of the box, which came just seconds after the confusion which surrounded County’s attempted double substitution.
It looked like momentum was all with the Jambos, but County had a chance to regain the lead when Sheaf sidefooted wide, while at the other end Jack Baldwin made an excellent defensive clearance to deny Vargas an opening six yards out.
Player Ratings
HEARTS (3-4-2-1): Clark 6; Kent 6, Halkett 6 (Kingsley 61), Rowles 6; Denholm 5 (Oda 46), Atkinson 6, Nieuwenhof 6, Cochrane 7; Tagawa 5 (Forrest 46), Lowry 6 (Vargas 61); Shankland 6.
Subs not used: Gordon, Haring, Sibbick, Pollock, Tait.
ROSS COUNTY (4-4-2): Laidlaw 7; Brown 6, Baldwin 7, Leak 7, Purrington 6 (Harmon 78); Dhanda 8, Sheaf 6, Allardice 6, Sims 7 (Loturi 81); White 7 (Turner 81), Murray 6 (Brophy 69).
Subs not used: Munro, Henderson, Samuel, Reid.
Referee: Alan Muir
Attendance: 18,288
Star Man: Yan Dhanda
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