Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes and Kilmarnock counterpart Steve Clarke were both satisfied with a point after a 0-0 draw at Pittodrie in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
Both men also felt that the game's key talking point, the red card shown to Kilmarnock substitute Kris Boyd for a foul on Graeme Shinnie, was harsh on the former Scotland striker.
"My first thought was it was a yellow card," said McInnes. "I think Kris has caught Shinnie, and there's a bit of speed there going into but, I thought it was a yellow card.
"By and large it was a frustrating, stop-start, competitive game. Both sets of players put everything into it but it was lacking in a bit of quality at the right times.
"It was the type of game we anticipated and the onus is on us as the home team. We had the bulk of possession for the majority of the game and I can't remember Kilmarnock being in our box too often.
"In these types of game we look for a bit of brilliance, and I think we lacked that alongside Kilmarnock defending very well."
Killie boss Steve Clarke agreed with McInnes' view of Boyd's red card, saying: "I've only had the look I had from the bench but from my experience in the game, my first impression was that it was at most a yellow card.
"We were defensively solid, but lacked a bit of energy going forward which is maybe a consequence of both teams having to play three games in a week after the winter shutdown.
"I tried to change the forward players to give us more legs up front but Kris being sent off scuppered that part of the plan.
"It was a tough game. Not high quality, and very scrappy. It was competitive but wasn't dirty."
