Heart of Midlothian 1-0 Kilmarnock

Hearts missed two attempts from the penalty spot but held on for a scruffy victory over Kilmarnock at Tynecastle.

Jamie Walker saw his early spot-kick pushed on to a post by Jamie MacDonald but the ball fell back to the winger to chip home.

Sam Nicholson hit an upright with a header as Hearts were pushed back and relied on counter-attacks.

A second penalty for the hosts brought another MacDonald save, with Abiola Duada's weak effort kept out.

The defeat leaves Kilmarnock in second bottom spot, eight points ahead of Dundee United, who won at Ross County.

For Hearts, it was a welcome victory following back-to-back defeats.

The game's only goal arrived after seven minutes along with an element of controversy.

Prince Buaben latched on to a long through ball inside the Killie box and was poised to shoot before he was bundled to the ground by Stuart Findlay.

It looked a certain red card for the defender but referee Don Robertson opted for a yellow after awarding the penalty.

MacDonald did well to get a hand to Walker's effort but was helpless to prevent the rebound going in as the ricochet off the woodwork favoured the hosts.

Kilmarnock ought to have scored before then when Josh Magennis played in Craig Slater but, from just 10 yards, the visiting midfielder pulled his effort wide.

There was a debut for Julien Faubert, the former West Ham and Real Madrid midfielder who joined Killie in midweek, when he replaced the injured Mark O'Hara.

And the Frenchman was given a quick introduction to the frantic nature of the Scottish game, with play roaring from end to end.

Hearts defender Callum Paterson was well placed to clear a Conrad Balatoni header off the line and on the breakaway Dauda set up Gavin Reilly, but MacDonald again denied his former club.

As half time approached MacDonald was again called into action, palming away an Alim Ozturk free-kick then diving low to deny Nicholson as the winger cut in from the left to fire in a shot.

MacDonald performed well against his old team but ended up on the losing side

Nicholson came within inches of doubling Hearts advantage three minutes into the second half.

Walker delivered a teasing cross from the right with Nicholson leaping above Lee Hodson but, although his header beat MacDonald, it crashed off the inside of a post and rolled along the line before being cleared.

Hearts then were handed the opportunity to wrap up the points with 10 minutes left with their second penalty of the day - their 15th of the season.

From a corner, Igor Rossi's goal-bound header came off the arm of Magennis.

Dauda took this one and MacDonald again saved low to his left, with his team-mates able to scramble the ball away to safety.

New Killie boss Lee Clark brought on veteran striker Kris Boyd as they attempted to find an equaliser but despite pushing hard late on they could not find a way through a stubborn Hearts defence.

Juanma should have snuffed out any chance of a Killie comeback when he raced clean through in stoppage time but the substitute striker delayed his effort and allowed the chasing defenders to recover.