Kevin Thomson and Steven Pressley led out the respective teams today in front of a packed Easter Road Stadium and a live television audience, with Hibernian having made three changes to the side that lost away to St. Mirren before the international break. There was a welcome return from injury for Rob Jones, while Kevin Thomson and Scott Brown returned to the side from their suspension with Konde, Shiels and Benjelloun all dropping back to the bench.

Hibernian kicked off towards the Famous Five Stand and immediately went on an attack that ended when Killen was adjudged to have fouled Pressley. The opening minutes were as frantic as you would expect with tackles coming thick and fast from both sides of the Edinburgh divide, but in the first piece of quality football seen in an afternoon that would produce much more, Hibernian moved into an early lead.

imageThere were just four minutes on the clock when Sproule made a fantastic run down the right hand side and despite the attentions of two Hearts defenders managed to find Stewart with his cross, albeit with the help of a deflection. Stewart shaped to shoot before cutting the ball cleverly back to Killen who in turn laid the ball into the path of Zemmama. The Moroccan could have blasted the ball, but instead he took a touch that wrong-footed Scotland international defender Steven Pressley, that opened up the goal and allowed Zemmama to calmly pass the ball into the far corner of the net to send Easter Road into frenzy.

It was a first goal for the club by Zemmama and like his fellow countryman Abdessalam Benjelloun he could not have picked a better time to score it, Benji having pulled a similar trick from his bag when Hearts last visited Easter Road. Pressley was clearly rattled as he became the first booking of the game when adjudged correctly to have illegally stopped a surging run forward by Scott Brown. Mikoliunas soon joined him on a caution, after he was guilty of a late foul on Whittaker in front of the Hibernian dug out as the Easter Road side had Hearts chasing shadows in these early exchanges.

The games first corner kick came to Hibernian in fifteen minutes and the end result of that was that Hibernian was 2-0 up. Zemmama was again involved, taking the corner kick and finding the head of Chris Killen at the near post, the New Zealand international stooping to divert his 9th goal for the club into the far corner of the Hearts net. If the home stands were rattling after the opener, they were positively bouncing at that point with Hibernian completely controlling the midfield while at the back the Jones/Martis central defence partnership was showing its worth once again.

It was however well against the run of play when Hearts managed to pull one back after 27 minutes. A long free-kick into the Hibernian area would have caused little problem for the central defence, but goalkeeper Zibi Malkowski elected to come out from his area, he never got anywhere near the ball as Velicka rose to glance a header into the now unguarded net from 16 yards out, with Chris Killen trying desperately to make ground and clear. That goal brought the visitors right back into the game and gave them hope, as to that point in proceedings it looked very much like the Tynecastle side were on to something of a hiding.

On the half hour a Hartley free kick from fully thirty yards was comfortably held by Malkowski on his goal line, and by this time the game was flowing form end to end as Hibs raced forward next with Zemmama finding space on the left. He jinxed one way then the next wrong footing Pressley but his strike from eighteen yards was block by the desperate lunge of Berra. With players from both sides throwing their bodies at the ball as it broke loose in the Hearts penalty area it was Stewart who was adjudged to have committed a foul and the free kick awarded to Hearts.

Ten minutes before half time Hibs were awarded a free kick in a scoring position, centre of goal and thirty yards out but Michael Stewart’s floated cross sailed over everyone and harmlessly out of play. A minute later Hearts won what was their first corner kick of the game, that taken by Hartley but it was headed clear by Brown in a packed penalty area. Hearts had a second corner and again it was a green shirt that was there first, Martis heading over. Thomson was shown a yellow card by referee Richmond that appeared more than a little harsh, before Zemmama again caused the Hearts defence all sort of problems, finding Murphy in space. His cross located Killen in space but he could not divert the ball on target from 8 yards out. That was the final opportunity of the opening 45 minutes, much more drama was promised after the interval.

Half Time: Hibernian 2 Heart of Midlothian 1

Both sides returned unchanged as Hearts restarted the game and went straight onto the attack, a long ball forward resulted in Mole outpacing Jones before shooting well over from twelve yards, but it was enough to signal Hearts intent. The visitors won a corner two minutes later, Hartley sending that over but the ball broke to Ivan Sproule who immediately set off on a run that took him towards the Hearts half before he was chopped to the ground by Wallace.

image From a Thomson free kick near the touch line, Berra headed behind as Hibs won their first corner of the second half, from that Zemmama’s cross was hooked just wide of Gordon’s goal by Killen, that move ending very unfortunately for the striker who had done exceptionally well to get a shot in with his back to goal in a packed penalty area. Hibernian were again the side posing the great threat with Jones joining the attack at ever opportunity, the central defender flicking on a free kick but the ball was just out of reach of Killen. Murphy was then taken down at the edge of the Hearts penalty area, the free kick taken short by Stewart to Zemmama but the little Moroccan could not open up space for a shot this time around.

On the hour mark Hearts were further troubled when they found themselves reduced to ten men, Sproule causing the problem for the visitors when he broke up a Hearts attack and looked set to break free down the wing only for a frustrated Mikoliunas to chop him to the ground, that was a second yellow card for the Hearts man and he was correctly then shown the red. When play resumed Zemmama came close again with a swerving effort from 16 yards out, that coming just before Scott Brown was shown a yellow for a rash late tackle. Hibernian continued to press with Hearts restricted to occasional forays on the break, Wallace making a hash of clearing one Hibernian corner kick that broke to Stewart, his goal-bound volley headed clear for a corner by Hartley.

Hearts made the games first change when they replaced Mole with Beslija before Tall headed a Hartley free kick over the cross bar. Hibernian next made their first change when Stewart was withdrawn and Glass brought on. The visitors then shocked Easter Road with another goal against the flow of the game. It was a long ball from Hartley that pinpointed Velicka on the left, the striker however still had much to do but he shrugged off the attentions of Whittaker and with Malkowski showing a lot of his near post the Hearts striker took up the invitation, beating the Hibernian goalkeeper all ends up.

Moments later there was almost a repeat as another long ball from Hartley saw Beslija capitalise on a slip by Murphy, but this time Hearts hit the side netting. Hearts then brought on Aguiar for Zaliukas before Killen and Berra were yellow carded for the respective sides. Hibernian kept to the task of trying to get their heads back in front and thirteen minutes from time there was clear claims for a penalty as Gordon appeared to upend Sproule, referee Richmond waved play on with Glass’s shot being deflected onto the cross bar by Berra.

Scott Brown made a typical lung bursting forage forward when he ran from his own half, unchallenged before side stepping Pressley and shooting just over from eighteen yards with Zemmama unmarked in a better position. Both sides made further changes as Makela and Fletcher came on for Velicka and Brown. Cesnauskis pulled back Zemmama twenty yards from goal to hand Hibs a chance to strike at goal from a good position but before it was taken Sproule was replaced by Shiels as Hibs made their final change of the afternoon, when the free kick was eventually taken Fletcher shot just over with Gordon looking untroubled.

The late pressure was all Hibernian, and with two minutes remaining Murphy sent in a long free kick that was met by Jones was easily held by Gordon. Martis then had a chance as both Hibernian central defenders now appeared to be camped in the Hearts penalty area, but the best chance came in the final minutes of the three added by the referee at the end. A Thomson cross this time located the head of Rob Jones, and he looked to have snatched three highly deserved points for Hibernian when he met the ball perfectly. Not quite as perfect however as the save made by Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon, who threw himself to his left and somehow got a palm to the ball and diverted it wide, a truly world-class save to end a pulsating Edinburgh Derby.

Hibernian: Malkowski, Whittaker, Murphy, Martis, Jones, Brown, Thomson, Stewart, Killen, Sproule, Zemmama. Subs: McNeil, Fletcher, Benjelloun, Shields, Konde, Shiels, Glass.

Heart of Midlothian: Gordon, Pressley, Tall, Hartley, Mikoliunas, Cesnauskis, Berra, Wallace, Zaliukas, Velicka, Mole. Subs: Banks, Neilson, Fyssas, Aguiar, Bednar, Beslija, Makela.

Referee: Charlie Richmond

Attendance: 16,623