SHOULD Hearts and Rangers break away from the pack and face a duel for the title, it is likely results like this one rather than the three remaining head-to-heads between the pair that will decide who finally comes out on top.
Hearts came to Dumbarton guarding a proud 100% league record and strongly expected to make it five wins out of five. That they ended up having to settle for a point can be attributed jointly to a largely lacklustre performance from Robbie Neilson's side and a Dumbarton display that was resolute, dogged and determined.
Ian Murray's team spent most of the match on the back foot, but their performance once again underlined that the part-time teams in this division are not merely there to be casually swatted aside. Others will come to the Bet Butler Stadium this season and similarly stumble.
The draw took Hearts back to the top of the table after Rangers' win away to Raith Rovers on Friday night, but they had a frustrating afternoon.
Their best chance of the match arrived in the 90th minute when Danny Wilson's cross was headed goalwards by the impressive Sam Nicholson only to cannon against the crossbar before being cleared.
It was symptomatic of an afternoon when Hearts started slowly - not creating a chance of note until late in the first half - and then were wasteful when the opportunities started to arrive more frequently.
The fact that they remained unbeaten but still sloped out of the ground at full-time with mournful looks on their faces told a story of the level of expectation now surrounding the Tynecastle side.
"It wasn't an easy game for us as they played everybody behind the ball," lamented Morgaro Gomis, who put in another solid shift in Hearts' midfield. "At times like that we have to be patient and try to work the ball more.
"We need to do better going forward in the final third. That was probably the worst game we've played and we didn't even play that badly. It's just that we couldn't score."
Dumbarton are starting to find their feet this term. A wretched start of three successive league defeats has been followed by a win over Livingston and this encouraging draw against the league leaders.
To have deprived Hearts would no doubt have given manager Murray particular pleasure - the former Hibernian player unsurprisingly suffered a torrent of abuse whenever he was in the vicinity of the crowded away end - but he insisted the nature of the opposition was incidental.
"I knew that was going to happen and it will be worse when we go to Tynie," Murray said with a smile. "But you just treat it like a normal game. It will be the same when Rangers come here and even Hibs to a certain extent. We'll have to show the same workrate and application."
A game with an unremarkable first half, in which Osman Sow passed up the best chance after Jason Holt's shot had been saved, sparked belatedly into life in the second.
Chris Kane, Dumbarton's most potent threat, spurned a rare opportunity for the home side before Hearts sprung upfield where Jamie Walker was thwarted by goalkeeper Danny Rogers.
Nicholson's late header that pranged against the bar confirmed that, for once, Hearts wouldn't have everything their own way.
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