No day for record breakers

IAN PAUL

2 May 1994

NO-ONE was cheering at the end of another dreary Edinburgh derby, which came up with a 0-0 scoreline that tells a true story, but relief was very much part of the luggage Hearts took with them on to the team bus as they made their way from Easter Road.

In a precarious situation as one of the four teams striving to avoid the third-bottom spot in the premier division -- and the relegation that will go with it -- the Tynecastle club were as aware as anybody else that this was not the time to lose their unbeaten record against Hibs, which stretches for more than five years.

Taking on Hibs was not the problem, but tackling the law of averages is a different matter altogether.

There were a few folk in the Tynecastle camp who were convinced in their souls that Sod's Law would come into play and that Hibs would win their first derby after 21 games, at the same time putting Hearts into serious danger of relegation.

It was, therefore, with understandable satisfaction that the directors and management emerged.

Hibs, on the other hand, continue to wonder how they will ever beat the other lot.

Their midfielder, Michael O'Neill, perhaps best summed up the players' feelings when he said: "To be honest, we hope Hearts don't go down.

Apart from anything else, it means it will be a long time before we get the chance to end that record."

Not that we would wish it, but maybe that would be the only way Hibs could purge themselves of the embarrassment and refresh their approach to the traditional bash.

There seems to be no question that, whatever manager Alex Miller says and does, the Easter Road players are unable to ovecome a psychological barrier when they meet Hearts.

They may give the impression that they believe they will win, but an awful lot of what they produce is energy camouflaging uncertainty.

That was demonstrated all too cruelly by striker Darren Jackson in the first half when he should have put his team in front and perhaps on course to end the drought.

Keith Wright, who played well throughout, laid the ball across to his fellow forward and Jackson cleverly turned the ball around Craig Levein, and darted between him and Neil Berry, clearing the way for a shot at goal on the edge of the penalty area.

Then, having done all the work, he inexplicably passed the ball back to Wright, who was soon smothered out of a shot.

The Hibs manager found it impossible to understand, and it seems that Jackson himself could not figure it out, either.

If that is not a clear indication of collective trauma, it will do in the meantime.

Miller felt his team deserved to win while Sandy Clark, of Hearts, reckoned his lot could have "sneaked" a victory.

Both could have been right but that merely illustrates how appropriate a draw was.

The single point and the protection of their record until the new season gave exiled Hearts chairman Wallace Mercer good reason to smile as he kept in touch by phone from the south of France.

The chairman may be prepared to sell to the latest interested consortium but it hasn't happened yet and, even if it does (some of us remain unconvinced), his fondness for the club will not be diluted.

The spirit at Tynecastle has to be admired, considering the circumstances.

The manager insists that his players have given him 100% all season .

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"I have no complaints about how hard they are working for me and that is very satisfying." But it would be foolish to imagine that nerves have not been jangling in the Gorgie Road dressing room in the past few weeks as this desperate struggle at the bottom goes on.

The younger players, in particular, would not be human if they did not feel the pressure but older hands like Neil Berry have done much to keep the inexperienced minds on the job.

Berry, a journeyman of a player, has been especially effective during the hard times and, indeed, it is he rather than either of the internationalists, Craig Levein and Alan McLaren, who has been consistently outstanding in the defence.

As he says, though, he has been over this type of course before.

"When I was with Bolton more than 10 years ago I had this twice, once when we were relegated from the second division.

So I can understand why a few of the younger lads are nervous at times.

"The great thing for us now after three draws in a week is that we don't need any favours from anybody.

We can get there ourselves.

If we beat Dundee United on Saturday we will not need to worry about the final game."

Berry's own unselfish industry was rewarded at the weeknd when he was named as player of the year by fans in Prestonpans.

The player of the match, however, was Hibs' Graeme Mitchell, playing against his pal, Maurice Johnston.

Mitchell was terrific, both in negating the Hearts threat and urging on his colleagues.

Taken from the Herald