Goodies 2 Baddies 0

Foran replaced Paterson at the left midfield position and the rest of the starting eleven were unchanged. Fir Park looked a treat at kick off with the sun shining down on the perfect surface and around seven thousand eager for the entertainment top begin.

The opening twenty minutes or so produced little in the way of goalmouth action as both teams concentrated on pressing. There was early evidence of the determination of both sides and referee Freeland was busy trying to calm down over exuberant players. Our first chance came in the twenty fifth minute when Clarkson picked up scraps and launched himself at the goal. Gordon snaffled the ball at his feet.

The opposition had most of the early possession but they found the ‘Well defence impossible to breach. The entire back row was on superb form and Kinniburgh fully justified his inclusion in the U21 international squad. There were signs that all was not well at the other end of the park. The Hearts defence looked unsure and we just had the better of the second quarter of the match.

Terry’s half time talk set our lads up for a bright start and there was early action in front of the Cooper Stand. A McDonald lob was just wide (though offside) then O’Donnell burst though from the halfway line. He charged towards the box passed to his left, carried on and got the return yards from the goalmouth but his touch let him down on this occasion.

An hour had passed when our continuing pressure resulted in a corner. The referee spotted a tug and pointed to the spot. McBride duly dispatched his second spot kick in consecutive games. One up.

Less than ten minutes later the scorer was involved again when he sent over an in-swinging corner. The ball finished with O’Donnell at the edge of the box and he let fly. It entered the net high into the left corner. The home support celebrated long and hard and Phil’s delight was there for all to see. He doesn’t score many but when he does they are beauties.

The Hearts’ players lost their discipline for a while as they tried to claw their way back into the game. A flurry of yellow cards was their only reward. Marshall hardly had a shot to stop though he clutched a few high balls under pressure.

‘Well fans love little more than beating the Jam Tarts and the final whistle was met with a standing ovation. That’s three wins in a row and we find ourselves in the top half of the table. The guys have a free week ahead and they are able to look back on an excellent start to the season. Well Done!