Ghanaian midfielder Prince Buaben missed a penalty and scored later on in the game as Hearts of Midlothian thrashed Queen of the South by four goals to one on Saturday evening.

Hearts were then handed a glorious chance to double their advantage after Danny Wilson had given them the lead, Paterson went to ground following a tangle with Andy Dowie and referee Craig Charleston pointed to the spot.

But Buaben struck the outside of Zander Clark's right-hand post and the danger was cleared.

The home side continued to push forward and when Walker dispossessed Mark Kerr and bore down on goal he looked likely to score. His effort though was cleared off the line by Mark Durnan.

Queens boss Jamie Fowler made a change at the break with Derek Lyle replacing Kerr and the visitors looked much more of a threat.

Their new approached paid off when Russell fired home from their spot-kick, which was awarded for a foul on McShane by Paterson. Wilson headed in from a corner to give Hearts the lead a second time.

Buaben then made up for his earlier miss when he fired home a grounder following a neat turn on the edge of the box. And Eckersley rounded off the victory with a firm strike from Billy King's back-heel.

Buaben has netted five goals for Hearts this season as they remain unbeaten.