Hibs 2 Hearts 3: January 1, 1966

" Hearts needed a stimulant and in their first direct attack on Willie Wilson's goal, they hit the jackpot"

Hibs' lead at the halfway mark was anything but a realistic reflection on their superiority in that period.

Darting, dangerous Peter Cormack – far and away the best player afield in the first half – had swept his side into a two-goal lead inside 19 minutes.

The Easter Road favourite notched 182 appearances and scored 75 times during this first spell with the club.

And in November of the following year, 1967, he and another Hibs legend, Pat Stanton, both scored in the famous 5-0 home tie Fairs Cup thrashing of Napoli.

I'm sure any bookmaker would have offered 10-1 against Hearts at that stage because their passing was poor and the defence was scarcely surefooted.

Jim Scott missed a wonderful chance to finish the contest at the same time as the crowd swayed alarmingly at the Albion Road end, and there was a sizzling Jim Cruickshank save from a Stanton rocket.

Hearts needed a stimulant urgently to stay in the game and in their first direct attack on Willie Wilson's goal, they hit the jackpot.

A Danny Ferguson free kick dropped into a crowded goal-mouth and it was the head of 'Wispy' Wallace, pictured above, that sent the ball looping lazily into the left-hand corner of the net; an injury-time goal which was a sore blow to Hibs and the stepping stone to a glorious Hearts' revival.

The second-half saga was almost as one-sided as the first, though in Hearts' favour this time.

The Maroons had a clear-cut plan after the break.

They had noticed how John Baxter kept running with the ball to leave a gap behind him.

And Joe Davis was giving Johnny Hamilton amazing freedom on the right wing.

So Hearts pumped every ball in that direction and Hamilton became the vital link in their search for success.

Davis was run dizzy as all the play centred around him and George Miller struck a series of great passes in Hamilton's direction as the offensive built up.

Within three minutes, Wallace flicked down a Miller lob and the falling Don Kerrigan sliced the ball inside Wilson's left-hand post.

Yet, while the initiative had passed to Hearts, Davie Hogg and Jimmy O'Rourke had fairly simple opportunities to restore Hibs' lead.

After 70 minutes came the counter which won two points.

Don Kerrigan raced full tilt towards the bye-line and just managed to belt across a Hamilton pass.

In a flash the ball was in the net from a fantastic angle, and one wondered how it could have beaten Wilson.

The explanation was that the goalkeeper got his hands to the ball which struck McNamee on the leg and rebounded into the net.

A freak winner perhaps but a vital goal and a happy first-team come-back for Kerrigan.

And, of course, a continuation of the hoodoo which affects Hibs on their own ground.

Hibs unleashed a furious rally in the closing minutes.

Scott – and many others – thought he had scored with an angled drive that shaved the upright and, in their final bid, Cormack headed against the crossbar.

But Hearts were strong and purposeful when it counted most in the second half, and Hibs had only themselves to blame.

Taken from the Scotsman