Livingston stretched their unbeaten run to six games with a hard fought goalless draw against third-placed Hearts.
The result sees the Lions solidify their hold on fourth place in the Premiership table - now sitting two points clear of Hibs with a game in hand.
In a game that pitted third travelling to fourth there were glimpses of decent football but they were few and far between during a contest in which neither side will feel they ever really had an upper hand.
A last ditch Morgan Boyes tackle prevented Yutaro Oda from bearing down on goal in the opening minutes as the visitors looked for a bright start.
That didn't arrive and they struggled to get much of a foothold in the game during the first 45 minutes. That said, they created the two best chances with Lawrence Shankland nodding an Alex Cochrane corner-kick over while the striker's enticing drive across goal on the stroke of half-time should have been turned home by Oda.
At the other end, Livi looked to attack down the wings and passed up a couple of decent chances themselves. Moments after Shankland's miss Bruce Anderson was unable to connect properly from a Stephen Kelly cutback while the former Rangers midfield then elected to pass when a volley from a wonderful Nicky Devlin cross from the right flank looked the better option.
The ineffective Oda was hooked at half-time in favour of Garang Kuol and the young Aussie almost made an immediate impact.
Moments after clattering into James Penrice, the Newcastle United loanee was played in by Stephen Humphrys only to be denied twice by Shamal George when he looked certain to open his account. A heavy touch allowed the keeper to close him down with the first attempt being driven straight at the Livi no.1 - who was able to smother the follow up effort.
Having been second best after the break, the Lions went agonisingly close to taking the lead as Steven Bradley dinked the ball over the onrushing Zander Clark only to see a last-ditch diving clearance from Kye Rowles prevent the ball from crossing the line.
George had to be alert once more as the game went from end to end with the keeper diving low to his right to tip a fizzing Humphrys drive from 20 yards past the post.
After a frantic start to the second-half, the game quietened down with neither side producing much in the way of free-flowing football. Boyes almost produced a spark however as the Welsh defender collected the ball 35 yards out before jinking beyond a couple of defenders and thundering a 20-yard drive on goal that was parried by Clark while moments later Kurtis Guthrie tried an acrobatic overhead kick from a Devlin cross but couldn't get a solid connection.
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