Late strikes aside this was nothing other than a very easy win for Hearts in which the Falkirk defence raised the white flag.

By the time Hearts had went ahead in the 4th minute they had already carved out a number of chances such was the command they had over the game. Andrius Ksanavichas slid the ball home after a cross by Kingston and an awful feeling of deja vu set in for the Falkirk support.

However Hearts didn't get it all their own way and Holden blasted a shot in which the Hearts keeper did well to tip over the crossbar. Riera also had a shot at goal in the 12th minute but it went over the bar with Banks nowhere in sight.

However it wasn't long before Hearts scored a second goal when Zaliukas latched onto a poor clearance by Higdon and he sent a shot which squeezed through Krul from a similar distance to Hearts first goal and Falkirk had a mountain to climb.

Velicka then showed why so much hatred was aimed at the midfielder last season when he went over like a ton of bricks clutching his face after an innocuous challenge by Barr. The Hearts midfielder tried the same trick a moment later after a more awkward challenge by Barr again. This time the referee produced a yellow card for Barr although Velicka should also have received one for the play acting we've come to expect from him.

HT: Hearts 2 - 0 Falkirk

Hearts ended any hopes of a Falkirk fight-back in 57 minutes when Velicka broke clear to score after a through ball from Kancelskis and beat the offside trap.

In 68 minutes it was well beyond a doubt and Christian Nade combined with the impressive Kingston to send the ball into the net past Krul for Heart's fourth.

Bizarrely though the game wasn't quite over and Steven Thomson set up Graham Barrett to score in the 86th minute though it was late in the day for a fight-back. Holden sent a square ball in from the right after impressive work on the wing for Pedro Moutinho to send a stinging shot right of Banks who made no attempt to save.

However it was all too little too late and Falkirk suffered their second 4-2 defeat in as many weeks.

FT: Hearts 4 - 2 Falkirk