I watched Hearts 1-0 Falkirk from the Tynecastle press box - here are my three conclusions

Another weekend, another Hearts win, and another seven days roll on with the Jambos firmly top of the Premiership.

Winter arrival Islam Chesnokov made a Tynecastle statement with the winner in Saturday’s 1-0 home win over Falkirk that puts the pressure on Rangers and Celtic beneath the league leaders to keep winning or risk falling away in a hotly-contested title race. It wasn’t easy against John McGlynn’s impressive Bairns but Derek McInnes’ team got the job done despite issues in their camp.

Next up is a Gorgie clash with Aberdeen where those in maroon will look to remain top heading into March. I watched the game from the Tynecastle press box and here were my three conclusions from proceedings.

Chesnokov springboard?

There’s not been too many signings in Hearts’ recent history that have been talked up pre-arrival more than Kazakhstan international Chesnokov. Some were beginning to wonder if he was an AI generated footballer as he was talked of for the entire first half of the season after a pre-contract was penned following time in his homeland at FC Tobol, but a scarf picture from Tynecastle still proved elusive. When he arrived, he was put into a mini pre-season to build fitness after a break following the end of his last campaign at Tobol, and it hadn’t quite happened for him in front of goal despite tireless defensive work but that changed here.

Set up brilliantly by Alexandros Kyziridis and Harry Milne, the winger took a composed touch and fired neatly past goalkeeper Scott Bain to make his mark on the title race. He looked confident, poised and a heightened threat after the goal now that first strike landmark had been hit. McInnes will hope it’s a sign of things to come in the run in.

“I think he's going the right way,” the manager said post-match. “He's got the trust of all his teammates. We see how honest he is. He works like a Trojan. He's probably the hardest-working wide player I've worked with and we feel he's getting more and more quality. He's got that quality. I think he's just slowly but surely finding his way and feeling part of it. His English is better than he makes out. He's getting better, and we're delighted with his contribution.”

Running on fumes

After they face Aberdeen next week, the Jambos have a two week break before they face Kilmarnock at Rugby Park, and another fortnight rest following a battle with Steven Pressley’s Dundee the following Saturday. There are three games to play for Hearts between now and the beginning of April, which could be huge for McInnes as title rivals Celtic play catch up with games in hand, while Rangers also juggle Scottish Cup commitments.

Beni Baningime and Craig Gordon were out of this squad with injury and Ageu pulled up in the warm-up with a thigh problem. Add into Lawrence Shankland, Cammy Devlin, Stephen Kingsley, Oisin McEntee, Calem Nieuwenhof and Finlay Pollock already missing out, McInnes has several injury issues. Alexander Schwolow battled through illness between the sticks to play his part and Stuart Findlay came off the pitch with an injury. Captain on the day, Craig Halkett, was another who struggled in the build-up to the game but played through the pain barrier.

Even with a bulky squad that is a lot of water to take onboard. Some like Baningime could be back against the Dons but McInnes could do with just getting through that game one way or another and putting his side on ice for a week to get some freshness back and allow for some concerns to pass.

Bouncing back

A big question posed at Hearts building into this game was could they bounce back from adversity. It’s not the first time they have been asked this query on the title charge and there isn’t really a whole lot for them to prove on that front, but again, losing a couple of games consecutively would be damaging for their glory quest.

McInnes spoke of a level of anxiety in their performance in the opening 20 minutes or so. Falkirk were never really a threat in an attacking sense for all their decent passing and it was a case of could Hearts find a way to crack open their defensive players, and Kyziridis managed to do so.

Losing at Rangers was a blow but not winning here would likely have been more costly. They didn’t need to be at their best but titles are won on a foundation of gritty wins when the top level isn’t being hit.