Josh Ginnelly was at the double as Hearts kept their grip on third with a 3-0 home win over St Johnstone.
Robbie Neilson's men went into the Scottish Premiership clash at Tynecastle hoping to bounce back to winning ways after their 2-0 loss in Lanarkshire. The Motherwell defeat gave the Jambos cause for concern with Edinburgh rivals Hibs clocking up wins. But after two weeks to lick their wounds Hearts came back fighting as they hosted Callum Davidson's St Johnstone.
A bright start from the hosts saw a flurry of early chances before Ginnelly pounced just before the half hour mark. Hearts then had to weather a storm with the Perth Saints threatening an equaliser. Into the second half and Hearts stepped up another gear. A fine move down the left hand side saw Barrie McKay slot through an inch perfect cross which was met by the speedy attacker.
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An unusual third then followed with Jorge Grant finishing from outside the box with what looked like a cross. It came after more tidy work from McKay who made it two assists in a row. Some strong saves from Zander Clark helped keep the clean sheet.
Here are three things we learned as Hearts stretched the gap over Hibs to five.
You don't shoot you don't score
After defeat on their last Premiership outing Hearts were looking for a bright start.
A flurry of chances were created in the opening exchanges but Hearts struggled to breach the Saints defence.
But one wicked deflection was all it took to get the goal the homes fans craved, Josh Ginnelly had a pop from outside the box and it found it's way into the back of the net.
It was an early goal that was vital to get Hearts off the mark.
McKay Magic
Barrie McKay came under fire this week with former Hibs star Tam McManus saying he's been nowhere near last seasons levels.
That seemed to spur on the tricky Hearts winger today who delivered an inspired performance at Tynecastle.
McKay fired back with two assists and turned on the style to silence his critics.
He's proven what a key asset he is to Robbie Neilson's men.
Race for third
Hearts breezed to third last season and results after the World Cup break had them reason to believe it was theirs to lose.
Today though they were fired another warning from their Edinburgh rivals with Hibs genuinely posing a threat sitting just five points behind.
There is sure to be more twists and turns yet but to stay best of the rest more big wins will be demanded from Neilson's side. A double-header against Celtic beckons next, with the league leg in Glasgow on Wednesday before a huge quarter-final clash in the Scottish Cup at Tynecastle next Saturday.
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