Scottish Premier League: Hearts extended their lead at the top of the Scottish Premier League to five points with an emphatic 4-1 win at Livingston yesterday.
Hearts, with the maximum 18 points from their six matches, are five points clear of three teams including Celtic, who are second on goal difference after their 2-0 win over Aberdeen on Saturday. Kilmarnock and Hibernian also have 13 points.
Champions Rangers slipped up with a 1-1 draw at Falkirk on Saturday and languish in fifth place on 10 points.
Hearts' Czech Republic midfielder Rudi Skacel headed the 11th minute opener to maintain his impressive record of scoring in all six league games in which the team's tally stands at 19.
Defender Andy Webster added the second before Scottish international Paul Hartley finished off a fabulous flowing move on the right by flicking home an easy third from the six-yard line in the 34th minute.
Livingston's new signing Neil Barrett forced Scotland keeper Craig Gordon to tip a 20-metre shot onto the crossbar before hitting a free kick which the keeper saved then spilled for Paul Dalglish to tuck home the rebound a minute from the break.
But Livingston's hopes were extinguished when Hartley swept in a 62nd-minute penalty for Hearts' fourth following a shirt-pulling foul by Barrett on Jamie McAllister.
"I was pleased to get this one over after 12 days away. We had 11 players missing (on international duty)," Hearts manager George Burley said.
"The boys were a bit disappointed when we got a bit ragged in the second half, but how can you knock six wins out of six?" he said on Setanta TV.
"We played some great stuff and we are the type of team that likes to go forward. We have scored a lot of goals this season.
"But we are still building a team. We started six weeks ago without, really, a squad. We have come a long way, but there is still a lot of work to be done and what we have got is a bit of honesty and spirit which can make up for a lot of things."
Celtic's Maciej Zurawski took his scoring tally to three in two games, after a slow start to his Hoops career, with a breathtaking strike after combining brilliantly with John Hartson.
He then supplied the pass for Stilian Petrov's goal which gave Gordon Strachan victory against his former club.
Strachan said the result was a fitting tribute to the late Jock Stein. There was a minute's ovation before kick-off to mark the 20th anniversary of the death of Celtic's 1967 European Cup-winning manager.
"I thought it was a right good performance and I think on a day like this it was fitting to put one on," Strachan said
Rangers manager Alex McLeish emerged from the dressing room half an hour after the end of their match to say: "We didn't play well and suffice to say it was not the standard expected of a Rangers performance. I'm very disappointed but take nothing away from Falkirk."
