Dons game is bigger than derby

THE dust had hardly settled on Hibs' victory over Hearts than Easter Road star David Murphy was looking forward to this weekend's clash with Aberdeen, describing it as possibly even more important than the derby day triumph.

Another victory would end the Dons' slim hopes of overhauling Tony Mowbray's side in the race for fourth place in the SPL table as Hibs are already four points ahead of Kilmarnock and six in front of Aberdeen.

And, depending on the result from Rugby Park, where fifth-placed Kilmarnock face Champions League hopefuls Rangers, Murphy is well aware that he and his team-mates could confirm their fourth-place finish with two matches remaining.

By doing so they'd also keep their dream of UEFA Cup football next season very much alive, fingers at Easter Road collectively crossed in the hope that Rangers can reel in arch-rivals Hearts and pip them for second place in the league.

However, that particular scenario is outwith Hibs' control and Murphy insists all he and his team-mates can do is focus on their three remaining matches, their second trip to Pittodrie in the space of three weeks being followed by a home game against Rangers and then a visit to Kilmarnock.

The classy left-back said: "We had a disappointing performance and result up there but I think we are just one win away from fourth place, provided the result between Kilmarnock and Rangers also goes our way.

"We are in pole position but we cannot afford to take our foot off the gas as both Killie and Aberdeen are still capable of overtaking us.

"We also have to play Kilmarnock on the final day of the season while Aberdeen have to go to Tynecastle so any slip-ups will mean the race is most definitely back on.

"We have to concentrate on our own job, which is to get as many points as we can and, if we can go to Aberdeen and win, it would be a massive result for us.

"In fact, I think Saturday is just as big a game as the derby - if not bigger.

"I thought there was nothing between the two sides when we were up there the other week, apart, that is, from Scott Severin's brilliant goal which won it for them.

"It was quite a poor game, there was no atmosphere and it almost felt as if there was nothing at stake.

"Hopefully, Saturday will be better because there is something up for grabs."

Buoyed by their 2-1 win over Hearts, Murphy admitted the no-scoring draw between Kilmarnock and Aberdeen put an added spring into the step of Mowbray's players.

The Hibs squad, which has been wracked by injuries for weeks, is also finally showing signs of recovery with long-term absentees Scott Brown, Dean Shiels and Antonio Murray sitting on the bench for Saturday's derby.

Former Middlesbrough kid Murphy said: "Slowly but surely we are starting to get players back.

"We are getting closer to putting a really strong team out and, on our day, as we have shown, we are capable of beating anyone."

That said, Murphy admitted victory over Hearts was probably as important psychologically for Mowbray's players as the points following the bitter disappointment of their Tennent's Scottish Cup semi-final against their Capital rivals just three weeks earlier.

He said: "I don't think it takes away the pain of that day but I felt it was important we win the next game between us.

"It was a massive win for us, the only disappointment of the weekend was that Rangers couldn't manage a victory at Celtic Park."

And Murphy insisted the win against Hearts highlighted the character of Mowbray's side which, having dominated the first half by taking the lead through Derek Riordan, suffered the disappointment of gifting Roman Bednar an equaliser deep into added on time at the end of the opening 45 minutes. He said: "It was very frustrating to go in at half-time level. We had played really well, dominated the game and created a lot of chances.

"We had to withstand a great deal of pressure in the second half and, for half an hour, we were under the cosh a bit. We perhaps were a bit fortunate at times not to go a goal behind and we scored a bit against the run of play."

Moroccan striker Abdessalam Benjelloun made himself an instant hero with the Hibs support with his first goal for the club, a strike he celebrated by running the length of the pitch towards the Hearts fans, an action which earned him a booking and a rebuke from boss Mowbray.

But Murphy revealed he shared his manager's excitement at the prospect of seeing a fully fit "Benji" next season.

He said: "He's not fit at the moment although you wouldn't have thought that with the speed he ran off after scoring, he was like an Olympic sprinter.

"On a serious note, though, we think he's going to be a great player for us once he gets a good pre-season under his belt. We can see in training every day that he's going to be a big player, he has a terrific touch.

"There's a bit of a South American style to his play, he doesn't have a big backlift when he strikes the ball, he kind of punches through it, hitting it early which catches defenders out. He's a great finisher, he doesn't lash out at the ball but puts it into the corners of the net with either foot."

Like Mowbray, Murphy confessed to being surprised at the line-up chosen by Hearts interim coach Valdas Ivanauskas, who elected to leave Julien Brellier and Rudi Skacel on the bench while Scotland star Andy Webster didn't feature at all despite the fact fellow defenders Steven Pressley, Jose Goncalves and Takis Fyssas were all out injured.

He said: "I think of their back four only Robbie Neilson would probably play every week so it is encouraging when you see guys like Webster aren't playing.

"However, who Hearts choose to play is their business, nothing to do with us.

"They have a massive squad and all we could do is play against the players who were put out there against us and, thankfully, we came out on top."

Taken from the Scotsman