HEARTS are playing like champions.

On Saturday, they were awful in Alloa, second best to a part-time team, but they won. The hosts buzzed, scurried and harassed their visitors, created chances but could not score. And at 0-0 as the clock ticked down, there was a sting in the tail for these brave Wasps.

More than how they perform on their park, though, the Tynecastle side are doing all the right things off it as well. Nobody ever blundered their way to a league title, and Rangers' decision to postpone their tie with Cowdenbeath thanks to international call-ups looks even more moronic now. Hearts' stitch in time has won them a gap of nine.

In the end, only Marius Zaliukas would have missed the game in Fife. Bilel Mohsni, absent with Tunisia, is currently suspended, and Dean Shiels - hardly the rock of Ibrox - was only on standby for Northern Ireland. Ally McCoist faces the frightful task of entering Tynecastle next month with the prospect of falling a dozen points behind.

Alloa played well on Saturday, without managing to score the goal their display merited. Ryan McCord was clever and showed sharp vision in midfield, though he fired a chance wide. Kevin Cawley was slipped through in the first half, but his touch could not take him past Neil Alexander - the save was as good as a goal. Edward Ferns, the substitute, was set loose down the right but chose to shoot at the near post rather than across the goalkeeper. His effort struck the side netting.

Alloa's heartbreak came from a free-kick, the kind that had been defended innocuously all day. This time though, Adam Eckersley clipped the ball in, it took a horrible touch off Kyle Benedictus and sailed into the bottom-right corner. "It's just getting like that every week now," sighed Stephen Simmons, standing in a pitchside blue council bin full of iced water, leaning on the lid. "Absolutely gutted. We've not got what we've deserved. We'll need to start again next week."

It says much for Hearts' mood that their captain and defensive lynchpin, despite keeping a clean sheet, was dissatisfied with his own display.

"I didn't play well today," said Danny Wilson, who had to come off with a knock and left his side to finish the game with 10 men. "It was annoying, but the boys got the job done in the end. I don't think we turned up at all today, but that feels like a pretty sweet win for us."

Nine points ahead. Game on.