Falkirk beat Hearts 5-2 to take third as Celtic maintain four-point lead

Falkirk moved above Hearts into third place in the Scottish Premiership with a 5-2 victory at Tynecastle on Sunday, ending the hosts' unbeaten home league run stretching back to April 2025. According to the Press Association report published by the Guardian, the visitors also recorded five consecutive top-flight wins for the first time since 1995, giving the result significance beyond the change in league positions.

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Jacob Murrell scored twice, with Finley Barbrook, Owen Eames and Liam Henderson also on target as Falkirk established a 5-0 lead early in the second half. Hearts reduced the deficit through substitute Sabri Guendouz and a penalty from Cláudio Braga, but those goals came after the visitors had already built a decisive advantage. Falkirk finished the day one point ahead of Hearts, having played one match more.

Hearts were without 11 injured players, the report said, and the defeat left them with only two wins from their past 11 matches. Manager Wouter Vrancken criticised the performance, particularly the first half, and said responsibility had to be shared by himself, his staff and the players. The result brought an end to approximately 18 months without a home league defeat.

Celtic later restored their four-point lead at the top by beating Kilmarnock 1-0 at home. Liam Scales scored the only goal in the 26th minute, sending a Camilo Durán cross into the top corner. The defender's finish proved sufficient despite Celtic failing to convert a second-half penalty, which Benjamin Nygren missed.

Kasper Høgh also had an early effort disallowed and remained without a goal in 16 matches. His previous goals had come in a hat-trick against Kilmarnock on his second appearance. Celtic manager Martin O'Neill acknowledged the frustration of the disallowed effort while praising the forward's work for the team.

The leaders' victory followed Rangers' 2-0 win at St Mirren on Saturday. Ryan Naderi converted an 18th-minute penalty before returning captain Dan Neil added a deflected second shortly after the hour. That result extended Rangers' unbeaten sequence across all competitions to 12 matches, after draws at Dundee and Hearts in their previous two away league games.