Hearts 1-0 Falkirk: Islam Chesnokov strike moves hosts five points clear at top of Scottish Premiership
Hearts beat Falkirk 1-0 at Tynecastle; Islam Chesnokov scored the only goal to move the home side five points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership; Hearts have played a game more than second-placed Rangers and two more than Celtic, with the Old Firm duo both in action on Sunday
Saturday 21 February 2026 19:38, UK
Islam Chesnokov scored the only goal of the game as Hearts edged Falkirk 1-0 at Tynecastle to extend their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership to five points.
The Kazakhstan international's well-taken strike on the stroke of half-time, his first for the Edinburgh club, was enough to see off a stubborn challenge from the visitors, who knocked Hearts out of the Scottish Cup on penalties on their last visit to the capital.
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As a result, Derek McInnes' side have moved five points ahead of second-placed Rangers and six clear of Celtic in third, with the Old Firm duo both in action on Sunday, albeit Hearts having played a game more than the former and two more than the champions.
How Hearts answered critics by beating Falkirk
McInnes made two changes to the Hearts side that started last Sunday's 4-2 defeat at Rangers, with Beni Baningime and Oisin McEntee dropping out through injury.
The manager was then forced into a third alteration when Eduardo Ageu had to be replaced by Blair Spittal after sustaining an injury in the warm-up.
Falkirk boss John McGlynn had to field an unfamiliar centre-back pairing of Filip Lissah and Coll Donaldson, with Liam Henderson and Lewis Neilson unavailable, and Connor Allan only fit enough to start on the bench.
Falkirk began brightly and Brad Spencer's strike from long range was almost diverted in off the toe of team-mate Barney Stewart before Kyrell Wilson saw an effort from the edge of the box blocked by goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow.
Hearts had a brilliant chance to take the lead in the 10th minute after Claudio Braga burst in from the right and set up Spittal 10 yards out, but the midfielder's shot flew over the top.
The hosts were otherwise struggling to generate any fluency, and Stewart had an opportunity for the visitors when he found himself clean through in the 18th minute, but his low shot from the edge of the box was saved by Schwolow.
Hearts had another let-off in the 37th minute when Ben Broggio blasted just over after being set up by Keelan Adams following an intercepted pass that led to a swift counter-attack.
The league leaders, having looked nervy for most of the first half, then got themselves in front in the 45th minute.
A corner broke to Harry Milne on the right, who fed in Alexandros Kyziridis, who in turn slipped a pass through to Chesnokov, and the Kazakhstan international got away from Dylan Tait to toe-poke a low effort with his left foot beyond Scott Bain from the edge of the six-yard box.
The Jambos almost doubled their lead seconds after the interval when Braga drilled agonisingly wide and the Portuguese forward threatened again when he had a ferocious shot pushed wide by Bain.
Kyziridis was also denied twice by the Falkirk keeper in the closing stages as Hearts, who had lost two of their previous three matches, closed out a much-needed victory to reassert themselves at the top.
What the managers said...
Hearts boss Derek McInnes:
"Sometimes those 1-0 wins are the bedrock of any success a team can have. I think that's been demonstrated in history.
"The first half, there was a 20-25 minute period where we looked really anxious. I thought our out-of-possession stuff was good the whole game, but our in-possession stuff needed to be better.
"I thought we were far better in the second half than we were first. We were the team that looked more likely to score a second goal in the second half.
"I watch Falkirk often enough and they normally pepper teams, they normally put endless crosses in the box, they normally create so many chances.
"Very rarely do they not score. But it wasn't really like that. I thought the second half we were comfortable enough, we kept them away at arm's length.
"I thought we thoroughly deserved the win."
Falkirk boss John McGlynn:
"I was frustrated with our performance. We didn't really do enough to win the game.
"We got ourselves into some good positions in the final third but created very little from it.
"We've not got any real complaints with the result. Hearts deserved to win the game, absolutely.
"Scott Bain made two or three good saves in the second half that probably kept the score down."
Hearts not going anywhere - but injuries are mounting
Analysis by Sky Sports' Adam Binnie:
"They just won't go away.
"The bubble won't burst, McInnes won't crack, and Hearts shall not be moved (for this week at least).
"The Jambos are approaching five months at the top of the table and, once again, they answered their critics after losing - for the third time since the turn of the year, McInnes' side respond to a defeat with a hard-fought victory.
"However, the injury list continues to grow.
"Four further casualties added today: Craig Gordon, Baningime, Ageu and Findlay - bringing their first-team absentee tally to ten players.
"The squad has coped so far, but they could do with Cammy Devlin and Lawrence Shankland hurrying back for the run-in.
"Five points clear. Ten games to go. 66 years since…"
