Menacing Hearts show class

HEARTS 4
Ksanavicius 5; Zaliukas 27; Velicka 58; Nade 68

FALKIRK 2
Barrett 87; Moutinho 89
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BEFORE the match, some had considered the odds of a Falkirk win pretty appealing but the bookies didn't get rich by dealing in rash odds. While matches between these teams were tight last term, the more astute gamblers will have remembered the poor away form John Hughes' side has been afflicted with this season, and married that with the run of five wins out of six for Hearts in recent weeks.

After a turgid start to the season, the Gorgie side are starting to negotiate their way back up the league and, with two strikers, they were too testing for the visitors who rarely looked anything but rattled whenever the Edinburgh side were in possession.

Falkirk surprised many by finishing seventh last season but, with just three points more than Gretna at the foot of the table, they know they are in a relegation dogfight this term. Going into the game with the league's worst defensive record away from home, even in the opening moments it was easy to see why. Poor goalkeeper Tim Krul was faced with an onslaught from the outset, with three menacing forays from Hearts in as many minutes and Laryea Kingston giving Scott Arfield and Thomas Scobbie a torrid time down the flank. As the game wore on, they sought to regain a greater sense of stability but it remained a fragile existence. With a more energetic midfield, the hosts were able to apply real pressure on the visiting rearguard, pouring forward with greater haste and desire than their opposite numbers who struggled to track them.

It was a problem they failed to rectify even after the early warnings and when the first goal materialised in the fifth minute, it was already a formality. In the middle of the park, Eggert Jonsson played through a ball for Kingston to run on to down the right flank and, from the byeline, the Ghanaian playmaker cut the ball back across goal for the inrushing Audrius Ksanavicius to side foot his first goal for the club.

That could have been at least number two for the Tynecastle side, with Michael Stewart starting a move he should have finished when the ball was played back into him a few yards out in just the second minute, but he hooked over. The Lithuanian contingent in the side were to prove more clinical as the match progressed. The hope is that they will be just as clinical on international duty this week and aid the adopted homeland.

If it was awkward at that stage, the afternoon was to spiral close to embarrassment for a Falkirk side who were flattered by a couple of late goals. By the time they arrived, though, Hearts had amassed a further three goals. Falkirk had tried to maintain some possession but poor penetration allowed the home side to bide their time. Patience was rewarded in the 27th minute when Darren Barr's insipid headed clearance was met at the edge of the box by Marius Zaliukas, who slammed it beyond Krul.

Two goals up, Hearts eased back slightly but had the benefit of being able to hit Falkirk decisively whenever the fancy took them and Russell Latapy was the player left ruing his profligacy in the 58th minute when he was robbed by Eggert Jonsson, who played a long ball ahead for Andrius Velicka. He took it on the edge of the box and drilled it home.

If Kingston is a fans' favourite for the way he tantalises with trickery, Christian Nade is another winning their affections. Within three minutes of entering the fray as a 65th-minute substitute he had justified the welcome. A one-two with Kingston ended with him right-footing the ball into the net for goal number four.

Whether an act of pity from the assistant referee or an error of judgment by the Hearts rearguard, the home defence seemed to stop when Falkirk bore down on goal in the 87th minute and were still arguing offside as Graham Barrett wheeled away having pegged one back. There were similar, if less vociferous appeals three minutes later when Dean Holden cut back a ball for Pedro Moutinho to finish. By then, though, everyone knew it was irrelevant.

Taken from the Scotsman