Jankauskas relishes 'friendly' derby

RONNIE ESPLIN

HEARTS striker Edgaras Jankauskas believes tomorrow afternoon's Bank of Scotland Premierleague clash with Hibernian at Easter Road will be a tame affair compared to his derby day experiences in Portugal.

The former Porto player missed out on the 4-0 demolition of Tony Mowbray's men earlier in the season at Tynecastle and will make his Edinburgh derby debut at the weekend.

However, the Lithuanian, who scored the only goal of the game against Kilmarnock on Wednesday night to maintain Hearts' three-point lead over Celtic at the top of the table, is unfazed by the prospect of travelling to city rivals Hibs.

Jankauskas, who also scored in the league win over Motherwell in August, said: "I've played in lots of derbies before and I've won some and lost some but it's always a special game.

"In Portugal, they have Benfica and Porto and it's unbelievable. The stadium is always full with 50,000 and the fans are aggressive, they fight, you can see blood and you can also see the burning cars.

"But in Edinburgh the fans are more friendlier and even drink together.

"I can't say I was scared in Portugal but when they are throwing bricks at your bus then it's not pleasant."

Jankauskas moved to Edinburgh in the summer on loan from FBK Kaunas and revealed his delight at doubling his league tally for the season against Kilmarnock.

The 30-year-old said: "It was a great feeling to score, especially as it was the winning goal. It was important, it's no secret that strikers need goals to give them confidence. But I haven't been losing confidence in the last few games, the most important thing was the team was winning. But it would be nice to keep it going against Hibs."

Taken from the Scotsman