And now it’s Celtic. The Hoops visit Tynecastle next Sunday (noon) and it’s a mouth-watering prospect with Hearts riding high at the top of the William Hill Premiership.
A glory double from Claudio Braga and a bullet header from Craig Halkett (pictured by Nigel Duncan) saw the Jambos cruise to a 3-0 victory at Rugby Park.
The impressive win took Hearts temporarily five points clear of the champions who play Dundee on Tayside on Sunday.
Hearts have a clear week to prepare for the clash of the front-runners while the Glasgow club entertain SK Sturm Graz in the Europa League on Thursday (20.00).
At Rugby Park, Kilmarnock started the game well, pinning their opponents back, and the Jambos German goalkeeper, Alexander Schwolow palmed a shot from David Watson for a corner.
Halket’s precision header from a corner after 19 minutes gave Killie goalkeeper, Eddie Beach, no chance, and his third goal in three games changed the picture.
Yes, Marcus Dackers did have a chance for the home side, but he scooped his shot wide in a rare foray inside the Hearts penalty box, but it was the visitors who dominated most of the play.
Aussie midfielder Cammy Devlin shot straight at Beach, and then the Welsh under-21 goalkeeper could only palm out a shot. Braga was quick to pounce. He showed coolness to slot home low. Time 57 minutes.
And Greek forward Kyziridis, who was always a threat, seized on another defensive error only four minutes later for No 3, releasing Braga who produced neat footwork to outsmart Beach and send the ball into the empty net.
This was no more than Hearts – backed by nearly 5,000 travelling fans in a crowd of 9,026 – deserved against a side who were seeking their third straight win but ex-Killie boss, Derek McInnes, the Jambos head coach, admitted that the home side asked questions early at the BBSP Stadium.
He added that his men played their way into the game but said: “It looked straightforward in the end, but until the third goal went in, it’s wasn’t.”
Killie boss, Stuart Kettlewell, rued mistakes and said: “The frustrating thing is we haven’t seen those individual errors so far this season.”
McInness and his men now have 22 points from eight starts, having won seven games and drawn one, while second-placed Celtic have 17 points from seven starts, winning five and drawing two. They have a game in hand.
If form is a guide, then they should beat Dundee, who are in second-bottom spot, and come to Tynecastle unbeaten, but the ball is round.
