Five-star Falkirk thrash Hearts at Tynecastle to win five in a row and go third

Flying Falkirk hit Hearts for five at Tynecastle to make it five wins in a row in Scottish Premiership.

John McGlynn’s in-form Bairns continued their remarkable run of form with an incredible 5-2 victory over Hearts at Tynecastle on Sunday afternoon, ending the Edinburgh side's 18-month unbeaten home league record in the process.

Finley Barbrook is mobbed by his Falkirk team-mates after scoring the opener against Hearts (Photo: Mark Scates/SNS Group)

placeholder image — Finley Barbrook is mobbed by his Falkirk team-mates after scoring the opener against Hearts (Photo: Mark Scates/SNS Group)

The visitors were four goals ahead by half-time thanks to strikes from Finley Barbrook, Owen Eames, Jacob Murrell and Liam Henderson, before Murrell added his second shortly after the restart.

Hearts pulled two goals back through Sabri Guendouz and Claudio Braga, but the damage had long been done as the Bairns recorded a fifth consecutive top-flight victory for the first time since 1995.

In-form forward Jacob Murrell wheels away to celebrate his second and Falkirk's fifth goal against Hearts (Photo: Mark Scates/SNS Group)

The result sees Falkirk leapfrog Hearts into third place in the Premiership table, capping a remarkable week which also saw McGlynn named Manager of the Month and Murrell pick up the Player of the Month award for October.

Manager McGlynn made just one change from the side that defeated Celtic 2-0 last weekend, with Jack McMillan replacing the injured Ryan Strain at right-back.

Ipswich Town loanee bags first Falkirk goal

And Falkirk made the perfect start, taking the lead after just four minutes through Ipswich Town loanee Barbrook.

Scott Tanser's cross from the left took a slight deflection into the path of Murrell, whose close-range volley was brilliantly saved by Hearts goalkeeper Beau Reus. Barbrook was first to react to the rebound, however, drilling the ball into the far corner to put the visitors ahead.

Hearts almost found an immediate response when Josh McPake worked his way into the penalty area and picked out Landry Kabore, but the forward's effort on the turn was superbly blocked by Scott Bain.

It proved to be a crucial intervention from the Falkirk goalkeeper, with the Bairns doubling their advantage just seven minutes later.

A blocked effort from Yan Dhanda allowed Falkirk to break quickly, with captain Brad Spencer driving forward before releasing Eames clear through on goal. The Derby County loanee took the ball into the box and fired beyond Reus to make it 2-0 after just 17 minutes.

The hosts thought they had pulled one back almost immediately when Braga found the bottom corner, but a lengthy VAR check resulted in the goal being disallowed for a handball in the build-up.

Hearts then had a few half chances as they attempted to regain a foothold in the match, with Sabah Kerjota firing over from distance before Jordi Altena saw an effort comfortably gathered by Bain.

But it was Falkirk who struck again in the 33rd minute, with Murrell continuing his outstanding goalscoring form.

Deniss Meļņiks delivered a cross from the right and the American striker peeled away from his marker at the back post, looping a header beyond Reus and into the far corner.

Barbrook almost added another shortly afterwards, only to be denied by an excellent point-blank save from the Hearts goalkeeper following another close-range header.

The home side were struggling to contain Falkirk's attacking threat and things went from bad to worse in first-half stoppage time.

Scott Tanser's corner found its way to Henderson inside the penalty area and the defender produced a superb finish, lifting the ball into the top corner to give the Bairns an extraordinary four-goal advantage at the break.

The home supporters made their feelings clear as the players headed down the tunnel, with Hearts manager Wouter Vrancken making two changes at the interval in an attempt to turn things around.

Jacob Murrell nets brace for Bairns against Hearts

But any hopes of a comeback were dealt another blow just two minutes after the restart as Falkirk made it five.

Ethan Ross was involved in the build-up, with the ball worked across the edge of the penalty area to Murrell, who swept a first-time finish into the bottom corner for his second of the afternoon.

It was an astonishing scoreline against a Hearts side who had not lost a home Premiership fixture since April 2025.

The hosts did finally get themselves on the scoresheet three minutes later when substitute Guendouz collected a pass from McPake on the edge of the area before drilling a low effort beyond Bain.

Falkirk made their first substitution in the 57th minute, with Ben Krauhaus replacing an injured Brad Spencer in midfield.

Hearts were then forced into another change when defender Malachi Fagan-Walcott went down, with debutant Leart Kabashi taking his place.

The Swiss youngster almost made an immediate impact, forcing Bain into another impressive save as the Falkirk goalkeeper dived to his right to keep out his effort.

Hearts were handed the opportunity to pull another goal back in the 74th minute when Lewis Neilson brought down Guendouz inside the penalty area.

Braga stepped up to take the resulting spot-kick and sent Bain the wrong way to reduce the deficit to three.

The hosts continued to push forward in the closing stages, with substitute JJ Williams seeing an effort deflected over the crossbar before Kerjota forced Bain into another good save with a powerful half-volley from the resulting corner.

But Falkirk's commanding advantage was never seriously threatened, with the visitors seeing out the remaining minutes to secure one of their most memorable results in recent years.

Having already recorded victories over Hibernian, Kilmarnock, Aberdeen and Celtic during their recent run, the Bairns have now added Hearts to that list in spectacular fashion as the Scottish Premiership heads into the international break.