Tale of two goalkeepers turns thrilling derby on its head

HIBERNIAN 2
HEARTS 2

ENTHRALLING, emotionally draining and vastly entertaining, the Edinburgh derby yesterday further enhanced the reputation for excitement and unpredictability it has acquired in recent years. It has always been accepted as one of the key games in Scottish football, but now, surely, it deserves wider recognition. The crowds may be bigger in Manchester, Liverpool and north London, but the matches can appear insipid by comparison with this frenzied fare.

Four goals, ten bookings, a sending-off for Saulius Mikoliunas for a second yellow card, two excellent examples of how to make the most of your chances from Andrius Velicka - these were just the bare bones of a marvellous match. Add in some exquisite football in the first half from Kevin Thomson, Michael Stewart and Merouane Zemmama, yet another gaffe by Zibi Malkowski in the Hibs goal and a breathtaking late save by his opposite number, Craig Gordon, and you are maybe beginning to flesh out a portrait of the afternoon.

Supporters of either side no doubt found more to be pleased about in the matches last season, when there were four home wins as well as a comprehensive victory for Hearts in the Scottish Cup semi-final. Over the piece, though, this was a more satisfying contest, because of its greater balance. If this did not quite match the 4-4 game on New Year's Day 2003 for drama, it at least had a similar script. Yesterday, as in that match, Hearts were two goals down before they properly started the game, yet somehow clawed their way back.

The most notable difference between this game and the 4-4 match at Tynecastle was the slightly different ending. Then, Graham Weir's stoppage-time double snatched a point for the home side: yesterday, Hearts drew level with some time to play, and made sure of the point only when - again in time added on - Gordon used his albatross-like reach to get a hand to a net-bound header by Rob Jones.

The comeback and the save both made this feel more like a win than a draw for Hearts, and more like a defeat for Hibs. The reality, though, was that the major beneficiaries of this result, and of the weekend's SPL card as a whole, were Celtic, who have gained two points on all of their would-be challengers. Second-placed Hearts are at least now a point further ahead of Rangers, but Hibs, for all their aesthetically pleasing moves, remain no better than seventh in the table - a position which the successor to Tony Mowbray will be expected to rectify quickly.

With this being Hibs' first game since Mowbray's departure to West Brom, and probably their only match under the joint stewardship of caretaker managers Mark Venus and John Park, there was understandably much speculation beforehand about how they would respond. Within minutes of kick-off we had our answer, as they raced into a fourth-minute lead through Zemmama. Ivan Sproule did the initial damage by breaking free down the right and getting the ball to Michael Stewart.

The former Hearts player's pass reached Chris Killen, who touched the ball back to the Moroccan. Zemmama dinked it wide of Steven Pressley and Ibrahim Tall as they slid in to try to close him down, then calmly poked it past Gordon. Hibs were flying after that, and it was no surprise when they extended their lead after quarter of an hour. It was a straightforward move: Zemmama took a corner from the left, and Chris Killen headed it into the far corner of Gordon's goal. Scott Brown initially appeared to have got the final touch at the far post, but replays suggested he had made no contact and that the New Zealander should be credited with the goal.

While Hibs were close to irresistible in that opening spell, it should be added that Hearts were not helping their own cause any. Their midfield quartet included two out-and-out wingers in Mikoliunas and Deividas Cesnauskis, which meant they were spread too thinly.

Hibs' 4-5-1 formation, in which Zemmama and Sproule came forward as required to support the lone striker, Killen, thus meant Hearts were outnumbered in the centre of the park. As a result, the visitors were frequently forced to bypass their midfield altogether and send aerial balls straight from defence to attack. At first that did not look like yielding anything positive, but then fate intervened in the shape of a Polish goalkeeper.

When, following a tapped free-kick, Lee Wallace crossed high to the edge of the box, the high ball should have been a straight contest between Jones and Velicka. Even if the latter had won it, the defence was there in numbers to mop up. But, instead of relying on his centre-back or other outfield team-mates, Malkowski opted to take matters into his own hands. Unfortunately for him, one thing he did not take into his own hands was the ball: he was beaten to it by Velicka, whose header nestled into an empty net.

Hibs were still the better side for the rest of the half, but after the break the match became much more even. Then, in the 58th minute, Mikoliunas, who had been booked in the first half for sliding in on Thomson, was cautioned again after fouling Sproule, and Hearts were a man down.

As it turned out, though, that was not necessarily a disadvantage, as they became tighter and more effective in midfield, whereas Mikoliunas had lost possession too easily and too often. Mirsad Beslija came on for Jamie Mole to restore Hearts to four in the middle, and the visitors became more able to break from midfield rather than simply seeking the long out ball from the back. When Hearts' equaliser came, though, it was precisely one of those long passes from within their own half which brought it about. Pressley tapped a free-kick to Paul Hartley, and the latter's raking ball found Velicka, who shot low first time into the right corner of the hapless Malkowski's net. The goalkeeper should probably have covered his near post better, or Steven Whittaker should at least have got a leg to the shot. Instead, both appeared surprised by the striker's decision to go for goal instead of holding the ball up and awaiting help.

Hibs' urgent attempts to restore their lead left them more vulnerable at the back. Bruno Aguiar, on for Hearts with quarter of an hour remaining, harried them incessantly from box to box, and his hyperactivity surely inspired his near-exhausted colleagues to soldier on. In the end, though, it was Gordon, yet again, who ensured that the visiting side would emerge with a point. Jones was already beginning to celebrate with Killen when he headed back across goal from a chipped cross, but the Scotland No 1 somehow kept the ball out.

Taken from the Scotsman