Hearts hit four under Pars

IT'S just as well the top flight has now split into two because there is no way these two teams are in the same league. At times throughout this match, they didn't even look like they were in the same stratosphere.

Hearts now have a head of steam gathering and, on this evidence, they are definitely on track for the Champions League next season. Okay, the teams they will meet in the remaining five matches will offer far sterner resistance than Dunfermline could muster and interim manager Valdas Ivanauskas remains cagey, saying that a lot could yet depend on injuries and suspensions, but if the past few games have proved one thing, it's that there is enough strength in depth in this Hearts squad to cope.

A few months ago it might have seemed unthinkable that the home side would start without key players such as Andy Webster, Julien Brellier and Rudi Skacel and still secure a resounding 4-0 victory and enjoy the luxury of being able to rest Paul Hartley for the final 25 minutes. But thanks to the introduction of guys such as Jose Goncalves and Bruno Aguiar, the absence of certain players is no longer cause for panic. The club refused to comment on suggestions that top scorer Skacel refused to stay for the match after being told he wouldn't even feature on the bench, but if he did, he may regret such rashness this morning given that the performance of the team rendered him a disposable asset.

By half-time it was already 3-0 but it had been over as a contest long before that. Round about the time the teams took to the field, actually. Within seconds, Hearts had their first ping at goal, when Deividas Cesnauskis' shot zipped just wide. Two minutes later it was his fellow Lithuanian, Saulius Mikoliunas, cutting in from the flank, who had an effort palmed round the post by Allan McGregor, but the five-man Dunfermline defensive dam burst in the seventh minute and the Fife side never looked like plugging it. The decision to relegate Webster and Brellier to the bench meant the Hearts starting XI definitely had the look of a side the Lithuanian had chosen - which Lithuanian is, as always, open to debate.

But if Robbie Neilson was being pencilled in as the next of Vladimir Romanov's least- favoured players to be dropped, the right-back's contribution may force a rethink. The Scot was the man who supplied the long throw for that opener, Michal Pospisil the man who connected to head it past McGregor. It was simple but effective. All too simple.

Neilson was the provider again when the second one came along. This time it was Roman Bednar who got on the end of the 15th-minute cross to send a looping header over the Dunfermline keeper. By that stage it was embarrassing. A one-sided match that showed up Dunfermline's failings and underlined Hearts' credentials. Bolstered by their Scottish Cup triumph and their performance at Parkhead midweek, this was the perfect way to remind everyone that they are in second spot on merit.

Already blessed with a better goal difference than Alex McLeish's chasing side, they plumped up that cushion by adding a third. Opting for a quick throw-in, Hartley caught Dunfermline napping. It was that man Neilson who crossed and this time it was Mikoliunas who flicked it beyond McGregor. Those of a Dunfermline persuasion would have been forgiven at that point if their minds jumped back to that eight-goal hammering endured at the hands of Celtic earlier this term. Talk about reliving worst nightmares.

Both Bednar and Bruno Aguiar, who was having a commanding game in midfield albeit with the Dunfermline trio patrolling that area offering little resistance, had good chances but Dunfermline managed to hold out and even managed to venture upfield as the half ticked down. Into stoppage time, they mustered their first chance, when Mark Burchill's long-range strike forced a save from Craig Gordon.

The defeat at Parkhead in midweek saw the gap between Hearts and Rangers cut to three points and there had subsequently been questions about the Edinburgh side's ability to deal with the pressure. This performance provided the perfect answer.

"I think our performance there was one of the best we have put in," said Neilson. "We passed the ball well and what Valdas is trying to instil in the team is that we don't need to panic. We know if we keep hold of the ball and pass it about chances will come. We have five big games coming up but with the size of squad we have here we can comfortably cope with that."

One of those drafted in, Aguiar, was certainly helping make a decent case for his inclusion and ensured that the sell-out Hearts support, who had earlier marked the 120th anniversary of the club's move to Tynecastle - a celebration only made possible by the arrival of Vladimir Romanov - had little reason to voice disquiet at the omission of one of their favourites, Brellier.

But that didn't stop them offering the Frenchman a warm welcome when he was introduced to the game in the 67th minute. It prompted the loudest sing-song of the day other than the new favourite that questions Hibs' sexuality.

He did not replace the Portuguese midfielder, Ivanauskas instead preferring to give Hartley a breather and it was just as well Aguiar had stayed put as it was his corner in the 83rd minute which gifted Juho Makela Hearts' fourth. The Finn had joined the fray in the 57th minute and proved that now the January signings are finding full fitness they are definitely able to play their part. In fact, even Mirsad Beslija tried to get in on the act, his strike in the dying minutes not too far away from providing the fifth of the afternoon.

All that was missing was the chants of: 'easy, easy, easy'. Because, it was. The visitors played their part in that - a poor side, hampered further by injuries to a few of the decent players they can lay claim to. And it was just as well that Greg Ross lasted as long as the 87th minute before scything Aguiar and earning an early shower. Soundly beaten, Jim Leishman's team would have been truly buried if they had had to struggle on with the numerical disadvantage for any longer.

Presumably far enough ahead of relegation favourites Livingston to guarantee Premierleague survival, Dunfermline will now simply see the season out. For Hearts there is a hell of a lot more still to compete for but the clinical way in which they dispatched the opposition and made a mockery of the claims that jitters may take a grip underlined they have the stomach for the battle. Even if it does go to the final day.

Taken from the Scotsman