Olly Lee scored twice in the first three minutes as Hearts booked their place among the seeded teams in the Betfred Cup second round with a 3-2 win at East Fife.
Andy Irving was also on target with a thundering strike as the Scottish Cup finalists continued their perfect start to the season.
Jack Hamilton and Ryan Wallace pulled goals back for the hosts who came close to a late equaliser.
But Hearts moved to 12 points to ensure they will be one of the four best group winners ahead of Sunday’s draw.
Manny Duku scored his second goal in the 90th minute to earn Raith Rovers a 3-3 draw with Inverness in the other game in Group A. Rovers earned the bonus point to move to five points and give themselves a slim chance of progress.
Dundee beat nine-man Cove Rangers 3-0 to move top of Group B on goal difference over Hibernian ahead of the deciding match of the group at Easter Road on Sunday.
Paul McGowan curled into the top corner from the edge of the box in the sixth minute and Blair Yule was sent off seconds before Charlie Adam hit the post with a penalty late in the first half.
Jamie Masson was shown a straight red card soon after the break and Danny Mullen netted six minutes before the end before Adam converted his second penalty attempt.
At the foot of the group, Forfar and Brora drew 3-3.
Ross County moved top of Group D with a 4-1 derby win at Elgin.
Oli Shaw gave County an early lead after the hosts failed to clear a corner but the Premiership side soon lost Carl Tremarco to injury.
Alex Iacovitti headed home following a 45th-minute corner and Harry Paton slammed home the third seven minutes after the interval.
Charlie Lakin rounded off the rout before Brian Cameron got a consolation.
Stirling beat Montrose 2-1 in the meeting of the bottom two teams.
Callum Morrison hit a double as Falkirk won 4-0 at Dumbarton to finish on nine points in Group E.
Conor Sammon and Anton Dowds were also on target as the Bairns matched Dunfermline’s goal difference, but the Pars have a game remaining.
Danny Whitehall also struck twice as Kilmarnock won 2-0 at Clyde but Alex Dyer’s side are already out.
Annan moved top of Group F to finish on seven points following a 5-1 win over Albion Rovers.
Maxwell Wright and Kyle Fleming hit doubles and Mark Docherty struck Annan’s fourth goal in the 35th minute. Kieran Dolan got a stoppage-time consolation.
Queen of the South also ended their campaign with seven points thanks to a 3-1 win over Queen’s Park at Hampden but will be removed from top spot in Group G before Saturday night.
Euan East, Niyah Joseph and James Maxwell scored for the visitors following Jai Quitongo’s early opener.
