Hibernian 2 - 0 Hearts

Michael Grant at Easter Road

IT hardly seems fair when someone else does the expanding and you are the one who suffers the growing pains. For all the talk of Rangers and Celtic being threatened by Hearts it has actually been their neighbours, Hibs, who have worried about them most. The result which set all the alarm bells ringing about how potent Hearts might be this season was their 4-0 humiliation of Hibs at Tynecastle on August 7. Over the garden fence they have watched the Vladimir Romanov revolution with a mixture of envy and anxiety. Yesterday brought relief and redemption.

Almost unnoticed, Hibs have hoarded 27 of their available 33 points since that derby and this win, more satisfying even than their 3-0 raid at Ibrox, hoisted them into a gorgeous position in the table. Let others obsess about leaders Hearts and Celtic, who will replace them at the top if they win today: Hibs are tucked just four points behind and six points above defending champions Rangers. On only a fraction of the media coverage they have successfully held on to Hearts’ coat-tails.

Losing that first derby and crashing out of the Uefa Cup to Dnipro seemed like torpedoes to Hibs’ season, but Tony Mowbray has again demonstrated his leadership to the point that there was something in the air before kick-off at Easter Road which hinted that this would be the fixture which finally brought down Hearts. So much for the bookmakers always knowing best: odds of 5-2 for a home win were generous in the extreme and there were plenty of takers.

Their money was secure as a consequence of Edgaras Jankauskas’ 61st-minute red card, one of a series of punishments to Hearts – they had four others booked to Hibs’ none – as referee John Underhill fought to keep the lid on a tight, ferociously competitive derby. Jankauskas had been booked for persistent fouling in first-half stoppage time. The absurdity of his second yellow was evident from the fact he had earned a free-kick for Scott Brown’s foul on him but reacted by forcefully shoving the Hibs midfielder to the ground only yards from Underhill. He cut a sorry figure as he took an age to troop off the field. Hibs soon cranked up the tempo another notch for the remaining half hour’s play and Hearts yielded and lost for the first time this season.

The match was a fine addition to the catalogue of roaring derbies witnessed at Easter Road over the years. By kick-off the atmosphere was simply bubbling, a cauldron of noise and passion. Anyone hoping for some considered play, or even a little patience or composure, was in the wrong place. From the moment Underhill put the whistle to his mouth for the first time the game had the unremitting speed and momentum of a downhill ski race.

At least those supporters who contributed so much of the drama were able to pause for breath occasionally: for the players there was no respite. Only once, when news came through of Caledonian Thistle’s half-time lead at Ibrox, did anything from the outside world intrude on this utterly compelling Edinburgh battle.

For an hour it was tight. Garry O’Connor’s early header wide, Derek Riordan’s elusive run and fierce shot over the crossbar and a Guillaume Beuzelin shot which deflected narrowly wide off Andy Webster illustrated Hibs’ bright first half. Hearts’ passing was less assured than usual, a victim of the unrelenting pace, but there was some of their usual menace in a couple of Rudi Skacel shots and, a couple of minutes before Jankauskas’ second booking, fine interplay between Skacel and Hartley which put the Scotland midfielder through on Zibi Malkowski. His finish was unusually tame and Hearts’ best chance was gone.

Even a defence as sound as Hearts’ was up against it when Hibs had the extra man and began to find space through the pace of 66th-minute substitute Ivan Sproule. They held on for more than a quarter of an hour, but the momentum was with the home side and, finally, Hearts succumbed.

Caldwell fed Sproule down the right and as soon as he drove towards the byline the danger to the Hearts defence was obvious. All that was required was an accurate cutback and Sproule delivered, finding Beuzelin positioned to steer the ball in off Craig Gordon’s right foot post with a low shot scored with the side of his right boot. If Easter Road had been bubbling up to then, suddenly it was boiling point. The home stands erupted.

The second would have followed almost immediately if Lee Wallace had not shown terrific awareness, not to mention pace and athleticism, to cut out a long ball which had Sproule racing clear. But Hibs did not have long to wait. Hearts could not properly clear a corner and when David Murphy played the ball back in their defenders made a vain attempt to claim O’Connor was offside. He was nothing of the sort, and buried the finish for his 50th Hibs goal.

By the end the Hibs supporters had bastardised the recent Hearts chant and mockingly converted it into “you’re not unbeatable”. At the end of a deafening afternoon, the song resounded throughout Leith.

Taken from the Sunday Herald