HEARTS ARE PUMPING Elvis sends Jambos in to top six;

HIBS.................1 HEARTS.............2.

Byline: GORDON WADDELL at Easter Road

HIBS.................1 HEARTS.............2

STEVEN PRESSLEY kept his cool in the heat of a thrilling derby battle to drill home a last-gasp penalty and fire Hearts into the top six.

Jambos captain courageous was the man who stepped up after Gary Caldwell had caught Ricardo Fuller inside the box with only two minutes left of a pulsating match.

And it was sweet revenge for Craig Levein who had seen his side mugged for a point by a last-minute goal in the last derby.

The Tynecastle gaffer was facing his third different boss in the third city clash of the season and at last took the spoils.

For 19 weeks Hibs fans clung on to the last derby at Easter Road in October as their last fond memory of three points but since the arrival of Bobby Williamson they have been swamped with the feelgood factor.

With back-to-back wins and the same starting line-up for the third week on the bounce the former Killie gaffer couldn't have dreamed of a better build-up to his first Edinburgh head-to-head.

Levein wouldn't have been too unhappy either as the news filtered through before the start that Dunfermline, just a point above the Jambos on the cusp of the top six, had crashed 1-0 at Aberdeen.

The Tynecastle boss sprang one surprise, though, starting big Canadian Kevin McKenna up front alongside Fuller with Scott Severin lining up beside Pressley at the rear.

It's not the first time Levein has made the switch and he'll have been encouraged by McKenna's goal spree for his country as a striker in the recent Gold Cup.

But while it might have been a plan at one end the risk element proved to be all at the other. Again Severin hasn't done badly when asked to fill the post of marker before - his performance in shackling John Hartson at Parkhead was outstanding.

But communication is everything at the back and it was non-existent as Severin and Antti Niemi combined to cough up a corner in the fourth minute.

Hibs skipper John O'Neil swirled an inswinger from the left, Gary Caldwell nicked it on and BANG! Garry O'Connor was in the perfect spot at the back post to ram a volley into the roof of the net.

The Williamson gravy train already had plenty of steam going into the game. The early goal just fired another log into the boiler.

Hearts were toiling to get a foothold but at least Severin had a chance to make amends for his early mix-up with a superb piece of defending to deny Hibees a second after 16 minutes.

Freddy Arpinon's ball found O'Connor onside eight yards out but the Hearts man launched himself into a magnificent block as the teenager pulled the trigger.

The Jambos finally started getting hold of the ball though and carved out a coupleof great chances for an equaliser.

McKenna was inches away from connecting with Fuller's long cross from the left as he stretched out a boot at the back post. But Tommi Gronlund was a bigger culprit when he put a dream free header wide of Nick Colgan's post 30 seconds later.

O'Connor was on fire, giving even Hearts skipper Pressley plenty to think about.

O'Neil played O'Connor in and the youngster brilliantly held off the big centre-half only to see Niemi claw a save from his 18-yard effort.

The big striker may only be 18, but he's quick, powerful and direct. He always makes the keeper work and there's a whole lot more to come.

Still with only one goal in it no match is ever dead as Hibs showed in the last derby at Tynecastle when they came back from the dead to snatch a point in the last minute.

Gronlund had a great chance again to pull his side square in 23 minutes. McKenna did the donkey work with a great low ball in from the right, Fuller dummied but the Finn's finish lacked direction and Colgan saved with his legs.

Hearts were now carving out the better chances and Levein will be tearing his hair out when he watches a re-run of the next one.

Alen Orman tried to get cute as the ball was cleared to him from an O'Neil corner but he was robbed by the jet-heeled Ricardo Fuller.

They were 80 yards from goal but the charge up the park had more than a hint of the Keystone Cops.

Fuller had Robert Sloan and Gronlund chasing to support but he only had one thought in mind. And it proved the wrong one as he went it alone and hit his shot into the side net.

But if you knock on the door for long enough someone's bound to let you in and Hearts did just that five minutes before the break.

Hibs did a poor job of getting Fulton's corner out of the danger area and when it eventually fell to Severin his sweet right-foot shot from 20 yards flew threw a sea of bodies and into the bottom corner via a slight deflection off Orman.

It was always going to be tough to follow the thrills and spills of the first half after the break.

The middle of the park became the battleground and both sides were obviously under instructions to cut their opponents a little less slack.

It might have made good viewing for the armchair neutrals before the break but a dozen good chances in a half is more than any manager wants to see - unless they're all for his side!

Levein lasted 14 minutes into the second period before making two changes and switching to 3-5-2, clearly thinking the points were there for the taking.

Gary Wales came on for 18-year-old Sloan, whose first derby had passed him by, and Thomas Flogel replaced Stephen Simmons. The shuffle meant a return to defensive duties for McKenna as Wales went up front.

The change meant a period of adjustment for both sides though as they sparred and prodded for openings. And the atmosphere among the 13, 240 crowd grew noticeably more tense as the tackles started flying in.

Williamson eventually decided a change was needed as well and replaced the stifled O'Connor with Paco Luna.

Hearts looked like they might have had a penalty claim when Gary Smith appeared to handle Fulton's long free-kick but again ref Willie Young waved the game on.

The home side eventually got the spot kick they wanted and Pressley stood up like the leader he is and drilled the ball home.

REF WATCH

MIKE McCURRY marshalled the game well and in the main kept his cards in his pocket. No choice with the penalty, though, after Webster's crudely-timed tackle. McCurry did well to defuse a spat between Douglas and Adam as well as forcing a handshake rather than brandishing his yellow card. One minor complaint was the length of time he took to wave Fuller back on to the pitch when he was sent to the sidelines after treatment. Rating: 7/10

Taken from the Daily Record