Claudio Braga’s second-half double ensured a delightful Rugby Park return for manager Derek McInnes as buoyant Hearts soared five points clear at the top of the William Hill Premiership with a 3-0 victory over Kilmarnock.
Backed by a 3,900-strong travelling support, the early-season pacesetters opened the scoring when centre-back Craig Halkett headed his third goal in as many matches.
Talismanic Portuguese forward Braga then notched twice in the space of four minutes around the hour mark, ensuring the Jambos were able to close out their fifth consecutive victory in comfortable fashion.
Hearts, who also enjoyed a fourth successive clean sheet, are now guaranteed to be top of the table when they host champions Celtic in a mouthwatering showdown at Tynecastle next Sunday.
Killie, who started the day in third place, made one enforced change to the side that defeated St Mirren before the international break as goalkeeper Max Stryjek missed out due to an unspecified health issue detected in a routine annual screening which, according to manager Stuart Kettlewell in a pre-match interview, “requires further investigation”.
Former Chelsea keeper Eddie Beach, 22, was handed his first league start in place of the Pole.
Hearts boss McInnes, who sent out an unchanged side for the fourth game running, was loudly booed by the home support as he emerged from the tunnel ahead of his first match in Ayrshire since ending his three-and-a-half-year stint in charge of Killie to take the reins at Tynecastle in May.
After weathering some early pressure from the hosts, the Jambos made the breakthrough in the 19th minute. Alexandros Kyziridis’ dangerous in-swinging free-kick from the right was glanced just wide of his own goal by Killie defender James Brown.
And from the resulting corner, taken by Harry Milne, home captain Robbie Deas misjudged the flight of the ball, allowing Halkett the chance to bullet home a free header.
Hearts’ tails were up and Kyziridis fizzed a dangerous ball across the six-yard box before Halkett threatened again from a corner.
Killie tried to summon a response, with Marcus Dackers threatening twice. At the other end, the lively Kyziridis curled agonisingly wide from inside the box before Braga glanced a header just past a post.
Hearts should have doubled their lead in the last action of the first half when Braga got away from Lewis Mayo on the right and laid the ball on a plate for Cammy Devlin, but the Australian fluffed his shot straight at Beach from 12 yards out.
The miss did not prove costly, however, as the rampant league leaders turned the screw after the break. The second goal came in the 57th minute when Braga fed Kyziridis on the left and followed up to blast home the rebound after the Greek’s shot was parried out by Beach.
The same pair combined again just four minutes later as Kyziridis seized on a loose pass from David Watson and drove forward before rolling a pass inside to Braga, who produced some lovely footwork to outfox Beach and put the visitors in full command.
