Hearts keep Celtic at bay

The first Old Firm match of the season, at Ibrox on Saturday, could be a window of opportunity for Hearts. The Tynecastle side regained the Premier Division leadership on the back of an extraordinary 4-1 victory at Aberdeen and, given the possibility of a mutually destructive conflict in Glasgow, they could extend their advantage by winning their own derby in Edinburgh.

A challenge from the east is no bad thing, even if Jim Jefferies' team have yet to show that it can be sustained. They have, for example, lost both the matches they have played against Rangers and Celtic already.

Now they lead Celtic by virtue of the number of goals scored, though their lofty position is down to the giants' failures elsewhere. Celtic's defeats in their two opening games and Rangers losing seven points in two draws and one loss have created a very close community at the top.

Trailing at the interval to a goal from Dean Windass at Pittodrie, Hearts' counters - Thomas Flogel's double, a single from Neil McCann and an own goal from gary Smith - demonstrated once again that they are the best side in the league. Celtic's 2-0 victory at Dunfermline was not as impressive as most of the other seven they have strung together since losing to the same opponents at Parkhead in August.

But it confirmed the suspicion that they are developing the habit of securing victory through perspiration on those days when they are short of inspiration. Regi Blinker needed a freakish deflection from the challenging Greg Shields to help his drive enter the net and give the Dutchman his first league goal for the club. Hen rik Larsson's clever goal near the end was much more satisfactory.

Rangers, however, not only managed to win without playing well, but to win well while playing poorly. Their 4-1 defeat of Kilmarnock at Ibrox was not achieved without a great deal of anxiety among their supporters. Marco Negri's hat-trick took his total for the season to a seemingly impossible 26 - with 23 from 10 league matches, the Italian has the potential to shatter a collection of records - but it had seemed for long periods an unlikely eventuality.

Negri had headed the first after only four minutes, but Ally Mitchell's equaliser just before the break left the score still tied with five minutes remaining. The ordering off of the Kilmarnock defender Kevin McGowne for a second yellow card proved crucial. Sergio Porrini restored the lead and Negri converted a penalty and headed the fourth as the visitors capitulated.