Hibernian 1 Hearts 0

By Gavin McCafferty, PA Sport

John Collins enjoyed a memorable first win as Hibernian boss as his side reached the CIS Insurance Cup semi-finals in a one-sided Edinburgh derby at Easter Road.

Hibs strengthened their grip as the game progressed and Rob Jones volleyed the winner after a 32nd-minute corner.

Hearts failed to pose a danger for the entire game and Hibernian's only worry was their inability to turn their vastly superior possession into goals.

Hearts skipper Steven Pressley recovered from illness to replace Deividas Cesnauskis but the Jambos struggled to adapt to a 4-5-1 formation with Robbie Neilson in right midfield.

Scott Brown and Chris Killen returned from suspension with Steven Fletcher and Guillaume Beuzelin dropping to the Hibs bench.

Lengthy treatment for Michael Stewart and Kevin Thomson disrupted the opening stages and Stewart had to make way for Beuzelin in the 14th minute.

By that time Hibs had started to get a grip on the game with Ivan Sproule seeing a lot of the ball, without always making the most of it.

The wide man stepped inside Jose Goncalves but saw his shot deflected behind and almost broke free moments later but scuffed his effort well wide.

Paul Hartley was struggling to influence the game in an advanced midfield role but Hearts began to push forward more midway through the half.

However that left more space for Sproule and he skipped past Goncalves and laid the ball across for Killen, whose theatrical fall failed to impress referee Callum Murray.

Craig Gordon soon beat away Killen's powerful effort but the Scotland goalkeeper's outstretched hand could not stop the opener.

Merouane Zemmama's corner fell kindly for Jones and he volleyed the ball into the roof of the net.

Brown then burst through the middle and latched on to Zemmama's return pass but Gordon's foot turned his close-range effort wide.

The away fans responded to their rivals' dominance by chanting for Julien Brellier, whose fall down the pecking order saw him omitted from the squad.

Gordon easily held a Zemmama free-kick but had to scramble as David Murphy's similar effort curled just wide and Hearts were grateful for the half-time whistle.

Saulius Mikoliunas let slip a great opportunity to play in Hartley as Hearts came back out in determined mood.

But Hibs soon regained full control and Sproule and Zemmama flashed shots wide.

The Moroccan collapsed clutching his face after Andrius Velicka raised his hand but even his team-mates seemed embarrassed at his attempt to make something out of nothing.

Zemmama and Jones almost produced a second but the defender's glancing header fell just wide.

Zbigniew Malkowski - whose two errors had gifted Hearts a point last month - rushed off his line to prevent Hartley racing through in a rare Hearts attack.

Killen fell under a clumsy challenge from Christophe Berra but the Hearts defender was perhaps saved by the fact Zemmama's ball into the box was overhit.

Beuzelin robbed Pressley and may have gone clear on goal had he not just returned from a 10-month lay-off, but his clever lob still almost crept in at the far post.

Bruno Aguiar's late challenge on Thomson sparked a melee that ended with the yellow card count rising to six with bookings for the Hibees skipper and Ibrahim Tall.

Beuzelin then headed wide after a great break by Whittaker and Zemmama.

Hearts tried to throw the ball forward but they were unable to provide Malkowski with his first serious threat and they limped to their eighth game without a win in Leith.

Teams

Hibernian Malkowski, Whittaker, Martis, Jones, Murphy,Scott Brown, Stewart (Beuzelin 14), Thomson,Zemmama (Benjelloun 90), Sproule (Fletcher 73), Killen.

Subs Not Used: McNeil, Hogg.

Booked: Murphy, Killen, Thomson.

Goals: Jones 32.

Hearts Gordon, Goncalves, Berra, Pressley, Tall,Neilson (Barasa 55), Mikoliunas (Mole 66), Aguiar, Hartley,Zaliukas (Makela 83), Velicka.

Subs Not Used: Banks, Fyssas.

Booked: Zaliukas, Mikoliunas, Tall.

Att: 15,825

Ref: C Murray (Scotland).

Taken from sportinglife.com