Alan Cochrane @ Tynecastle

A well-deserved victory in the last away game of the season came as a welcome relief to the small but vociferous band of Killie supporters who invaded Gorgie this afternoon. If the first half was evenly split between the teams, the second period was dominated by the visitors, and 2-0 was probably about right.

In fact, the mid-field at Tynecastle was so congested during the first half, they could have been installing a tram system in the centre circle. This meant that goal chances were few and far between as the two teams cancelled each other out, and gave both keepers a fairly easy passage. Kingston was trying to make space for Hearts, Johnston and Taouil trying the same for Killie, but the defences were well on top. David Lilley shot wide following a Hamill free kick, and a Dalglish cross was too far ahead of Hay, while at the other end Ford made a good blocking tackle on Gary Glen, and Alan Combe had to watch carefully as a Kingston shot looped over the bar, but that was about it.

Two little aberrations did occur when firstly a loose David Lilley header gave the travelling support palpitations when it let Fernando Screpis run in on Alan Combe, but his shot was weak, and straight at the keeper, and then a long ball from Kingston almost released Stewart inside the Kilmarnock box. At the end of the half, David Lilley got a header on a Garry Hay free kick, but couldn't get enough power, so the most excitement of that first 45 minutes was a short but violent blast of thunder and lightening over the Tynecastle stadium which drew a round of applause from the crowd.

Killie looked much more lively after the break, and early in the second period, Taouil cut a ball in from the right for Fowler to hit first time, but his shot went over, and then Fernandez, Johnston and Taouil all had a chance to shoot as the ball pin-balled around the box. Finally, the Moroccan did hit it, but his strike went past the post, and he repeated the same trick ten minutes later, after working a 1-2 with Fernandez. Hearts' next moment of panic came when a high ball in from the left from Garry Hay caused keeper Steven Banks all sorts of trouble, and it took him three attempts to gather it under considerable Kilmarnock pressure. The pressure did eventually pay off for Killie when a straightforward corner by David Fernandez was met forcefully by Grant Murray's head to give Banks no chance, and put Kilmarnock ahead. Inside the last ten minutes, Killie made it two when substitute Paul Di Giacomo volleyed in a Fernandez cross after good work by Paul Dalglish. Before the end, Combe had to make a decent save from Gary Glen, and Jim Jefferies brought on David Cox to make his debut, but this was a deserved win for Kilmarnock.

After the game, Jim Jefferies agreed that Killie were the better side, and reminded us that we had played Hearts four times this season, and hadn't lost. He does think however that we still need fresh blood into the squad, and he will be trying to improve the quality. That might not mean transfer fees have to be paid, but it may require looking at the wage structure, as good players require better salaries. One game left - come and have a day out at Rugby Park!

Hearts: Banks, Zaliukas, Wallace, Cesnauskis, Kingston, Thomson, Jonsson (Ivaskevicius), Stewart (Mole), Screpis, Karipidis, Glen

Kilmarnock: Combe, Fowler, Hay, Lilley, Ford, Johnston (Di Giacomo), Murray, Fernandez (Cox), Dalglish, Hamill, Taouil (Locke)

Referee: Mike Tumilty