McPake Caps Hearts Derby Win as Celtic Extend Perfect Start

Hearts claimed a 3-1 Edinburgh derby victory over 10-man Hibernian at Easter Road, extending their unbeaten run to seven matches in all competitions. According to an Agence France-Presse report published by The Guardian, the result gave Wouter Vrancken a win in his first derby as Hearts manager and continued the team's recovery from four straight defeats at the beginning of his tenure.

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James Wilson and Laurent Mendy put Hearts two goals ahead before half-time. Hibernian responded after the interval when substitute Adam Mayor reduced the deficit, but their attempt to complete a comeback suffered a major setback when fellow substitute Jack Iredale was sent off.

Josh McPake then secured the points with Hearts' third goal in front of Scotland manager Sebastien Pocognoli. McPake carried the ball through the Hibernian defence before his finish took a deflection off Grant Hanley on its way in. The victory lifted Hearts above Motherwell after Motherwell had ended Wednesday in third place.

Celtic, meanwhile, continued their perfect start to the Scottish Premiership season by beating Aberdeen 3-0 at Parkhead. Camilo Duran opened the scoring in the 14th minute, collecting a pass from Benjamin Nygren and striking from long range via the crossbar. Nygren and Yang Hyun-jun added the other goals as Celtic settled the contest before half-time. Duran has now scored six times in five matches for Martin O'Neill's side.

The defending champions have won their opening four league games and hold a two-point lead over St Mirren. St Mirren stayed second by winning 1-0 at Kilmarnock, their first victory at Rugby Park in 13 years. Fraser Taylor scored his first goal for the club in the third minute to decide the match.

Rangers earned a 2-1 win over Falkirk through two Lawrence Shankland goals. Shankland struck in the seventh minute, while a Kosta Nedeljkovic own goal brought Falkirk level shortly before the break. The Rangers captain curled in the winner in the 79th minute. Elsewhere, Motherwell defeated Dundee United 3-0, and St Johnstone rescued a 1-1 draw against Dundee through Josh Fowler's 90th-minute equaliser after Charlie Reilly had scored in the 87th minute.