Hearts beat Falkirk 1-0 at Tynecastle, with Islam Chesnokov scoring the only goal of the game, extending their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership to five points.
The Kazakhstan international’s goal just before half-time was his first for the Edinburgh club. It was enough to ward off a stubborn challenge from the visiting team. They eliminated Hearts on penalties in the Scottish Cup on their last visit to the capital.
The result leaves Derek McInnes’ side five points clear of second-placed Rangers and six ahead of third-placed Celtic, with both Old Firm duos playing on Sunday, although Hearts have played one more game than the former and two more than the champions.
How Hearts responded to critics after beating Falkirk
McInnes made two changes from the starting team that lost 4-2 to Rangers last Sunday, with Beni Baningim and Oisin McEntee withdrawing due to injury.
The manager was then forced to make his third substitution when Eduardo Ageu was injured during the warm-up and was replaced by Blair Spital.
Scott Bain denies Islam Chesnokov
Falkirk manager John McGlynn had to use the unfamiliar centre-back pairing of Philip Risser and Cole Donaldson, with Liam Henderson and Lewis Neilson unavailable and Conor Allan only good enough to start on the bench.
Falkirk started well and Brad Spencer’s long-range shot almost hit the toe of teammate Bernie Stewart, but Kyrell Wilson’s shot from the edge of the box was blocked by goalkeeper Alexander Schworrow.
Hearts had a great chance to take the lead in the 10th minute when Claudio Braga darted in from the right and found Spital 10 yards out, but the midfielder’s shot went just over the bar.
The hosts were struggling to generate fluency and gave the visitors a chance in the 18th minute with Stewart scoring a clean through, but his low shot from the edge of the box was saved by Schwolo.
Hearts again led to a quick counter-attack in the 37th minute when a pass was intercepted by Ben Broggio, who was set up by Kieran Adams and fired close to goal.
The league leaders looked nervous for much of the first half, but took the lead in the 45th minute.
The corner kick went to Harry Milne on the right, who fed Alexandros Kouziridis, who threaded a pass to Chesnokov, and the Kazakhstan international broke away from Dylan Tait and fired a low left-footed shot past Scott Bain from just outside the six-yard box.
Cole Donaldson and Thomas Bent Magnusson fight for the ball
Seconds into the interval, the Jambos almost doubled their lead. Braga went agonizingly wide and the Portuguese forward threatened again with a ferocious shot that was pushed out by Bain.
Kziridis was also denied twice by the Falkirk keeper in the closing stages, giving Hearts a much-needed win to regain their lead after losing two of their previous three games.
What the managers said…
Hearts manager Derek McInnes:
“I think history has proven that sometimes a 1-0 win is the basis of a team’s success.
“There was a period in the first half where we looked really shaky for about 20 to 25 minutes. I thought throughout the game we were good out of possession, but we needed to be better in possession.
“I thought the second half was much better than the first half.The team looked like they had a good chance of scoring a second goal in the second half.
“I watch Falkirk a lot and they usually give the team momentum, they put endless crosses into the box and they create so many chances.
“It’s not often that they don’t score, but that wasn’t the case. I thought we were comfortable enough in the second half, we were keeping them at arm’s length.
“I thought we totally deserved the win.”
Falkirk manager John McGlynn:
“I was frustrated with our performance. We didn’t try hard enough to win the game.
“We got into good positions in the final third but couldn’t really create anything from there.
“I have no complaints about the result. Hearts deserved to win the game, absolutely.”
“Scott Bain made a couple of good saves in the second half that probably kept the score down.”
The heart isn’t going anywhere – but injuries are on the rise
Analysis by Sky Sports’ Adam Binney:
“They never go away.
“The bubble won’t burst, McInnes won’t burst, Hearts won’t move (at least this week).
“The Jambos have been top of the table for almost five months now and have once again answered their critics after losing. For the third time this year, McInnes’ side responded to defeat with a hard-fought win.
Will Derek McInnes’ team be able to maintain their narrow lead and claim the title?
“But the injury list continues to grow.
“Four more casualties were added today: Craig Gordon, Baningim, Ageu and Findlay, bringing the number of first-team absences to 10.
“The team has coped well so far, but it will be manageable if Cammy Devlin and Laurence Shankland can hurry back for the run-in.
“5 points clear. 10 more games to go. 66 years since then…”
