Kilmarnock were left frustrated by Motherwell as they were kept scoreless at Rugby Park in the William Hill Premiership.
It was far from a classic, but the Ayrshire side deserved all three points as they dominated their opponents.
Kilmarnock had 16 shots, 14 corners and a goal disallowed – rightly so – but they couldn't find a way past a resolute Motherwell defence.
Derek McInnes' men could have moved into the top six with a win, but they remained ninth, with Motherwell holding on for a point to cement their place in fifth.
Kilmarnock spurned a chance to open the scoring after just three minutes when Marley Watkins made a mistake from 10 yards from Fraser Murray's clever cutback.
The hosts continued their bright start and Corrie Ndaba's drilled cross was almost turned into his own net by Liam Gordon.
From the resulting corner, Aston Oxborough made a superb reflex save to save Joe Wright's shot before Ewan Wilson hooked the ball off the line.
After weathering the early storm, Motherwell got into the game and Tony Watt forced Robby McCrorie into a comfortable low save in the 24th minute after good work from Tawande Maswanhise.
Killie thought they had broken the deadlock just three minutes later when Brad Lyons stabbed home after a great run from Murray, but it was ruled offside following a VAR review.
Brad Lyons thought he had given Killie the lead but it was ruled offside after a VAR review
There was more frustration for Kilmarnock minutes later when referee Don Robertson dismissed their appeals for a penalty for handball on Kofi Ballmer and the VAR officials agreed.
Kilmarnock had more than 70 per cent of the possession in the first half and were agonizingly close to eventually getting a deserved goal on the stroke of half-time when Lyons' header deflected off the crossbar.
The start to the second half was scrappy but Killie went close again after 54 minutes when Wright headed wide for a corner before McCrorie again parried Motherwell striker Watt's low drive.
There was a distinct lack of quality from both sides throughout the game, but the second half was particularly cruel with Motherwell clearly missing the guile of their talisman Lennon Miller.
Kilmarnock continued to push for the opener as the second half wore on and Oxborough produced another good save to deny Watkins from close range after 75 minutes.
Motherwell introduced new signing Kai Andrews late on and he looked set to burst into the box in the 85th minute with a ball that fell temptingly to Watt, but he pulled the shot well wide.
And just minutes later, another substitute squandered a chance to be a hero when Bruce Anderson fired wide on the turn inside the box before Killie almost won in stoppage time.
A great cut from Bobby Wales found Jack Burroughs eight yards out in front of goal, but Dan Casey produced an outstanding block to earn his side a hard-fought point.
Managers
Kilmarnock's Derek McInnes:
“Dies are supposed to feel like losses at home and it felt like that tonight. The traffic was one-way and we completely got the game. Everything we worked for was there, but you have to find a way to score.
“Motherwell defended well, we were undone by a goal and hit the bar. It's hard to be critical when the only aspect missing was the finishing, but we have to make sure they win.
“We need to score more goals when we dominate games like this to get to where we want to be as a team. You won't always dominate games like this but when you do you have to take your chances.
“The last few games have felt like missed opportunities for us because we could have been in the top six tonight.
“I thought we should have had a penalty. Ballmer's arm was out and away from his body, so I'm surprised they didn't look at it.
“I never saw it at the time, but when I got to the phone, I had a dozen messages. My analyst showed me the replay and I thought it was.”
Motherwell's Stuart Kettlewell:
“It was (an uncomfortable hour) in many ways. To be brutally honest, Kilmarnock were the better side, created better chances and had better control of the game.
“I felt like we never got started and we let them get to us. They had too many balls in our box and we relied too much on our goalkeeper tonight.
“He was sensational and you need that in the league, but we played a lot better and lost this season. It was our second clean sheet on the rebound and we're just three points off third.”