JAMBOS STROLL IS RIXY MUSIC

IT was 24 hours late but Hearts fans weren't complaining - this was a Christmas present well worth waiting for.

All three points nicely wrapped up with five goals and a performance that suggested Graham Rix is finally getting this team back to the kind of level that blew away the rest of Scotland in the first three months of the season.

Certainly, they are back to the kind of form that can provide Celtic with one hell of a battle when they come first footing on Ne'erday.

Sure, they were aided and abetted by a Falkirk side that had a player sent off only 23 minutes in. But by that time Hearts were a goal to the good and playing with pace, passion and no little skill.

Paul Hartley's 20th-minute strike was no more than they deserved for a blistering start but after Stephen O'Donnell's dismissal they went to town with goals from Rudi Skacel and young Callum Elliot - his first for the club - before the break.

Michal Pospisil came off the bench to net the fourth with 16 minutes remaining and in the dying seconds young Elliot drilled home his second of the day - but that was merely the icing on a very rich Christmas cake.

Hearts welcomed back Greek international Takis Fyssas, which meant Jamie McAllister making way, but another Scot, Elliot found his way back into the starting line-up for Roman Bednar and didn't disappoint.

Otherwise, it was as you were for Rix's men,who desperately needed a win to revitalise a campaign that has stuttered since the introduction of the new coach.

This was a potential banana skin because in Falkirk they had opponents whose away record demanded respect.The Bairns can't buy a win at home but on the road they've claimed scalps at Easter Road, Inverness, Dunfermline and Livingston.

John Hughes made just one change from the team that was unlucky to lose to Kilmarnock last week, as O'Donnell replaced Pedro Moutinho. O'Donnell and his mates had plenty of defending to do in the first couple of minutes as Hearts piled forward from the start.

Hartley darted from midfield to the edge of the 18-yard box before hitting a shot that was fizzing wide before young Elliot deflected it goalward. That sparked an excellent reflex save from Matt Glennon low to his left.

The Englishman could have expected a busy afternoon but he didn't need his own players adding to the workload. Craig Ireland did just that with a short headed passback that found only Edgaras Jankauskas and luckily for the Bairns, the ball got caught between the big man's feet, allowing the keeper to block.

It didn't take Falkirk long to find their feet,though,and Russel Latapy began to probe and prod his team towards Craig Gordon's goal.

The Scotland keeper dealt with a Latapy shot comfortably enough but needed good reflexes to jab out a leg to stop Darryl Duffy's shot after Fyssas made a mess of dealing with a cross.

It was end-to-end stuff being played out to the kind of deafening soundtrack that only a full-house Tynecastle can provide. And the vast majority were on their feet in the 12th minute as the home side almost took the lead. Elliot, whose restless running was catching the eye, sent over a superb cross for Jankauskas to control on his chest.The striker that did part brilliantly then managed to strike his volley into the turf, which killed the pace and allowed Glennon an easy save.

The keeper was struggling a few minutes later though when Skacel produced a piledriver that took the topcoat of paint off the right post.

The high tempo start had Falkirk tackling like demons and O'Donnell and Vitor Lima were booked for fouls, and Duffy should have been also for a late challenge on Andy Webster.

The opener looked inevitable and when it came in the 20th minute there was no surprise that the two most creative forces were at the heart of it.

Hartley found Skacel on the left side of the box and the Czech's low shot was well saved but too powerful for Glennon to hold. As the ball rebounded, the keeper went in among flying feet but it rebounded to Hartley, who jabbed home from 10 yards.

Tynecastle went mad - but not as mad as O'Donnell went three minutes later when he was red-carded by Stuart Dougal for a second bookable offence.

But the midfielder had to go after scything down Julien Brellier and his reaction, which included laying hands on the referee, did himself no favours.

Hearts were rampant at this point and Skacel produced another wonder strike in a season full of them to double the advantage in the 25th minute.

Deividas Cesnauskis was the provider with a pass along the 18-yard line but Skacel's touch to make space for the shot was pure class and the left-foot rocket that followed it nearly ripped the net from its rigging.

Four minutes from the break the third came and while it was a nightmare for Lawrie, young Elliot wasn't complaining and he grabbed the goal his play deserved.

Cesnauskis again did the damage on the right but his cross should have been hoofed up the pitch by Lawrie. The right-back only prodded it meekly on to the six-yard line, though, where the young striker greedily gobbled up the opportunity.

That killed the contest completely and Falkirk then had to work hard to avoid an utter humiliation after the break.They survived a couple of early corners but Hughes clearly felt the 10 men needed more legs in the middle of the park, so Latapy was replaced by Stevie Thomson after 51 minutes.

The tempo dropped in the second period but Cesnauskis and Milne swapped yellow cards,which was an indication the competitive level wasn't declining.

In fact, Falkirk came within inches of pulling one back in the 61st minute when Duffy and Gow played a good one-two on the edge of the box before the Scotland Under 21 striker clipped the ball over the advancing Gordon, only to see his effort drift just wide.

Gow was replaced almost immediately by Moutinho but had done well in trying circumstances.

Brellier had suffered a hip knock and was replaced a minute later by Neil MacFarlane, who was given a rousing reception on a rare outing.

So too was Pospisil when he came on for Jankauskas at the same time as Daniel McBreen replaced Duffy in the 69th minute.

The Aussie's first involvement was to lunge recklessly into Fyssas, an act which earned him a yellow card.The other sub, Pospisil, was far more productive - he stuck the ball in the back of the net five minutes after coming on.

Again, Cesnauskis, who had a smashing game, was the provider with a cross from the right and his glancing header across Glennon gave the keeper no chance.

Falkirk misery was completed in injury time when young Elliot dispossessed a defender and slammed a great shot home from the edge of the box. He really is one to watch.

That ended the scoring but not the gloating for the Hearts fans sitting behind Hughes.

As the minutes ticked away, one shouted: 'Haw,Yogi - Hibs are getting f***** as well."

HEARTS - Gordon 7, Nielson 7, Pressley 6,Webster 6, Fyssas 6, Brellier 7 (MacFarlane 65, 4), Cesnauskis 8, Hartley 8 (McAllister 78, 3), Skacel 8, Jankauskis 6 (Pospisil 69, 6), Elliot 7.

FALKIRK:Glennon 7, Lawrie 5, Ireland 5, Milne 5, McPherson 6, Scally 6, Lima 6, Latapy 6 (Thomson 53, 4), Gow 7 (Moutinho 63, 4), Duffy 6 (McBreen 68, 4), O'Donnell 3

MAN OF THE MATCH Deividas Cesnauskis (Hearts

Taken from the Daily Record