Hearts 10 Cowdenbeath 0 (Half-time 5-0)
It became a thoroughly 'heartless' demonstration of their superiority yesterday, as Scottish Championship league leaders Hearts put ten goals past strugglers Cowdenbeath. The one-sided game was yet another example of their dominance of the second tier of Scottish Football this season, after being relegated from the Premiership at the end of the last campaign. They now proudly look down on the rest of the division with a healthy advantage of twenty points over nearest team and near neighbours Hibs, with the once mighty Rangers in their slipstream.
The massive triumph also boosted their goal difference to a whopping plus fifty-seven.
The season for Hearts just seems to get better and better, following on from last season's bitter disappointment at losing their top flight status. There was probably some expectation that it would prove to be a close competition between the three stellar teams in the division, but Hearts have simply blown both Hibs and Rangers away so far, with Robbie Neilson's side having lost just once in the league from 26 games played. Their goal threat has been particularly potent, with 74 goals scored, but they have also been tight enough at the back to concede just 17 goals, resulting in that massive positive goal difference.
Rangers may yet come through to pip Hibs for the second place with games in hand, but they are hardly in a position to make any sustained advance on Hearts at the top. While they struggled to take a point at breezy Falkirk on Friday evening, drawing 1-1 at the end, Hearts had far too many gears to utilise against Cowdenbeath.
Hearts took their time before dismantling their guests yesterday, taking the lead as late as the 26th minute through Genero Zeefuik's penalty strike. The loanee from FC Groningen then proceeded to net a hat-trick in less than four minutes, adding a low shot and another penalty to his opener. The second penalty decision resulted in Cowdenbeath being reduced to ten men, as Lewis Toshney was sent off.
By 33 minutes it was 4-0, as Sam Nicholson scored from distance and he became the provider six minutes later to set up Jamie Walker for the fifth.
There was to be no let up for the hapless visitors in the second period, as Hearts pushed on in search of more goals. They had to wait until twelve minutes after the interval before adding further to their tally, when Morgaro Gomis was fouled in the area, but picked himself up to cheekily convert the resultant penalty with a chipped shot down the middle of the goal.
Their seventh was a cracking drive from Alim Ozturk just after the hour mark, which became eight on 68 minutes when Danny Wilson joined in the home fun.
The double-figure score was ensured through two goals for substitute Osman Sow.
The only real surprise was that with sixteen minutes remaining, Hearts did not add any further goals, but maybe they felt that would have been too greedy!
Cowdenbeath are nicknamed 'The Blue Brazil' and the way that they were torn apart by Hearts was indeed reminiscent of Brazil's semi-final destruction in a similar manner, at the hands of Germany in the World Cup last year. They have much work to do to pick themselves up from this disastrous display.
