Heart of Lions held Hearts of Oak to a goalless draw in the Ghana Premier League on Friday.

Friday's draw was the 12th in 26 league matches for Phobians and the 9th for Lions this season.

Hearts started the day in 3rd place and needed to win to boost the title chances, and for a brief spell, appeared to be up for the fight.

The Phobians were the first to threaten, when Ali Mohammed rose highest to connect to a corner, but Lions captain Ebenzer Abban produced a last-ditch intervention to prevent the opener.

25 minutes into the game, Nattey produced a fine-save to stop Mawuli Wayo's goal-bound header.

Four minutes later, Ishmael Addo came close to scoring but his shot from the edge of the area missed the post by inches.

The next potentially threatening action came in the 48th minute when Lions Ishmael Addo tested Benjamin Asare from a free kick, but the Hearts and Ghana number one proved equal to the task.

From then on, the game degenerated into a fouling contest, with Hearts being the worst culprits.

By the end of the game, referee Robert Musey had had shown six yellow cards, with four of the cautions going to Hearts of Oak players.

Friday's draw leaves Hearts of Oak in 3rd place on 42 points, four points behind league leaders Medeama S.C. who face Dreams F.C. on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Lions remain in 9th place with 34 points and are six points from safety.