Hearts dump Bairns to consolidate 3rd Place

A superb solo effort from Andy Driver ensured that Hearts came from behind to dump Falkirk and consolidate third place in the SPL. The win was Hearts' 4th in 4 games and keeps the Edinburgh club in the driving seat for a Uefa Cup place. The match was played in bitterly cold conditions. The weather may have had an adverse affect on the attendance with pockets of empty seats scattered around the Wheatfield and Main Stand, the latter giving some welcome added legroom to a few 6ft+ strapping Jambos. Hearts started lively with Driver causing havoc on the left wing, the young Englishman is proving Mr Romanov correct in knocking back derisory offers of £750000 in the close season. Falkirk have not won at Tynecastle since 1995 but took a shock lead against the run of play when ex-Dundee player Steve Lovell took advantage of sloppy defending and toe-poked the ball past Ballogh. Ex Hubs Legend/Celtic Reserve John Hughes clearly enjoyed the goal and celebrated with joy in front of the home supporters. Alas, if the opener ensured the Falkirk's manager face was a picture it was positively tripping him minutes later when Bruno Aguiar accurately curled his free-kick into the top corner. The midfield maestro has added both FLAIR and a goal threat since returning from a career-threatening injury and controlled the midfield throughout the game. Both teams had further chances in the first half, although Hearts looked the more dangerous side with Andy Driver beating players for fun. Hearts started the second half brightly and should have taken the lead when Karapidas shot wide. David Obua was introduced as a second-half substitute and this was quickly followed by a golden moment when Driver, who was due to switch to the other wing to make way for the Ugandan, weaved his way through the visitors, leaving a trail of defenders in his wake before rounding the goalkeeper and slotting the ball home. John Hughes was furious and seemed to spend the rest of the match barking at his players and officials, oddly resembling a "slim Mixu Paatelainen" in the process. The small band of Falkirk fans who had braved the 20-minute journey through to the capital shouted loudly for a penalty every 2 or 3 minutes for the remainder of the game. That's Falkirk fans for you, eh? Bruno Aguiar rounded of a man-of-the-match performance when he cleared a Bullen header of the line.....which Ballogh seemed to have well covered anyway. The match was watched by 13000 Hearts fans and 9 Falkirk fans.