SCOTT-CHA; Severin cuts Hibs down after early howler in Capital derby.

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Byline: JOHN DOCHERTY

HIBERNIAN.......1 HEARTS ........... 2

IT was a classic villain to hero scenario for Scott Severin as Hearts won their first Edinburgh derby at Easter Road since 1997.

After being involved in a horrendous mix-up with goalkeeper Antti Niemi, which led to 18-year-old Garry O'Connor's opener for Hibs after just five minutes, Severin showed what he was made of.

Not only did he provide a brilliant block to deny O'Connor a second, he also grabbed the equaliser with a raking low drive five minutes before the break.

While it was a rollercoaster, Severin came through with flying colours - as did all the Jambos players, who can wrap up their place in the top six when they play St Johnstone on Saturday.

Europe is still a possibility with six games left.

As for Hibs, it was their first defeat under the charge of Bobby Williamson after knocking in six against St Johnstone and Livingston.

Williamson's players gave their all which is inevitably the case in a derby and, to be fair, it was a match that could have gone either way.

In the end, however, Hearts were the victors. Break point for Hibs came in the 88th minute when Gary Caldwell brought down Ricardo Fuller inside the box.

Willie Young pointed to the spot and unflappable Scotland defender and club captain Steven Pressley coolly slammed the ball into the corner, past goalkeeper Nick Colgan.

It was to prove an eventful night for the Irishman. He was booked for booting the ball away in disgust after the penalty award, thinking that Fuller had dived.

TV evidence showed this not to be the case and Young was correct.

Colgan was subsequently called into Young's office and given a second yellow card for "adopting an aggressive attitude" towards Fuller which means he will miss Saturday's meeting with Dundee United at Tannadice.

But there was joy - and a great sense of relief - for Severin.

His evening started badly when he gave away a corner following a massive mix-up with Niemi.

Hibs skipper John O'Neil swung over the corner, Caldwell nodded it on and there was O'Connor to smash the ball into the roof of the net.

Severin said: "It was a bit of a bad start. I did not hear Antti shouting so I kicked the ball out and Hibs scored from the resultant corner.

"I was just delighted we won and I got the goal before half-time which gave us a lot of confidence.

"I had played the last five games in midfield and was just getting used to it but the gaffer told me on Friday I would be playing at the back to watch Craig Brewster.

"I thought I did reasonably okay. Craig is a big lad who puts himself about and it was just good to get the result, our first for a long while against Hibs.

"We gave away an early goal the last time we lost at Easter Road and I thought 'here we go again'.

"When they scored, their fans made a lot of noise which can be quite intimidating. But we held out and got the goal before half-time, followed by the late penalty which Elvis put away superbly."

Severin and Pressley were towers of strength in the heart of the Tynecastle defence. Severin, who has scored two in three weeks, insists he does not mind where he plays.

He said: "I'd be happy to play anywhere as long as I'm playing every week. It does help knowing I can play a few positions, although I prefer midfield."

Scotland boss Berti Vogts was not at Easter Road, which was a shame because it was a highly-entertaining game.

Vogts will reveal his first squad to play France today and Severin , capped against Latvia in 2001,would love to get a call.

He added: "It was a tough derby and I thought we did really well."

After such a promising start, there was only frustration for Williamson and his players.

German star Mathias Jack, who is hoping to win a new deal, said: "It's disappointing. It looked like being a draw then came the penalty decision.

"We had a brilliant start and should have killed the game and we had enough chances to do just that. Credit to Hearts, they never gave up."

Jack was none too happy with referee Young when the whistler told him to get back on his feet after he was caught in the face by the flying boot of Hearts ace Stevie Fulton.

Pointing to a bruise above his eye, Jack said: " I was a little angry because as you can see, it's swelling up.

"The referee came straight to me and said I had been hit on my chest and I said: "No, no!."

"He was telling me to get up which was why I was angry."

Jack was out of the picture when Franck Sauzee was the manager but is making the very most of the opportunity presented to him by Williamson.

He said: "The team was not performing then as we should have been. On top of this I had a three-match ban because of yellow cards, which was a result of my own stupidity.

"Since Bobby Williamson arrived, I have played the last three games and there have been no yellow cards. Under Franck things did not work out very well, but that's football.

"There have been no talks about a new deal but I think that Bobby Williamson and my agent are going to put their heads together.

"It would be nice if something can be sorted out as it's fantastic working under Bobby Williamson and the coaches."

Hearts boss Craig Levein reckons Pressley is the best central defender in Scottish football at the moment. He said: "I cannot praise the players highly enough. They dug really deep and deserved to win."

Williamson, who insisted Hibs should have been given a penalty when Alen Orman was "clattered", said : "To say I'm disappointed would be an understatement. We did not deserve to lose the game. Decisions can go for you, they can go against you.

"We will sit down this week and see how much this has hurt the players. Until tonight we had not lost a goal and to lose two was bitterly disappointing."

MAN OF THE MATCH

Steven Pressley, Hearts

Taken from the Daily Record