Hearts extra: Neilson's 3 Musketeers, confidence return, set up for strong end to the season

Hearts increased their lead in third place to 12 months with nine matches remaining, winning 2-0 quite comfortably over Aberdeen at Tynecastle Park.

After four league games without a win, back to back victories have brightened the mood in and around Tynecastle. The weekend triumph in Paisley was a step in the right direction but last nights domination of a team that had take points off them in previous meetings this term suggested that after a dip in form, Robbie Neilson’s man could be getting back to the kind of form that propelled them into such an advantageous position in the league, well clear of the melee behind them.

While the clubs below them continue to scrap, scratch and bite in a bid to take points off each other and secure membership of the top six club when the league splits in too, their 12-point cushion means that pressure is off a Hearts side suddenly back in the groove, playing with greater intensity and working as a unit to set the opposition back on their heels as they take control early doors.

They did that against St Mirren, and, again, even more effectively, against Aberdeen.

With so many key players back from injury and illness and back to full match fitness, there is a confidence that hasn’t really been evident for most of 2022.

No longer looking like they are grinding out points, there was an ease to the play that suggested a victory was almost inevitable and even the crowd seemed to sense it as they waited patiently for the breakthrough to eventually come.

A team once again packed with leaders, there is a strong spine there, and a hungry line-up that is getting back into its stride just in time to press home their superiority as the season pushes towards a conclusion.

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