HIBS 1 HEARTS 0

THEY say revenge is a dish best served cold and last night Rob Jones pulled a plateful out of the freezer and pressed it into the face of poor Craig Gordon.

The giant Englishman had been denied by an injury-time wonder save from the Scotland No.1 on the same ground in the 2-2 draw just three weeks earlier but the Hibs defender's moment arrived in the 31st minute of a pulsating encounter and this time he was able to celebrate.

Jones' left-footed strike from seven yards - after Hearts defenders Steven Pressley and Christophe Berra had attacked Merouane Zemmama's corner and missed it - was enough to take John Collins' side into the last four of the CIS Cup in only his second game in charge.

And boy did they deserve their night of joy because they outplayed a Hearts side that didn't get a single shot on target.

It wasn't as thrilling a display of open football as some of these encounters have been in recent years but that didn't bother the majority of fans inside Easter Road, who must now believe their team has a real chance of winning a trophy for the first time since this one was captured back in season 1991-92.

Back then it was known as the Skol Cup but Hibs won't care what it's called these days as long as it adorns their trophy room - and with both halves of the Old Firmout, they'll fancy their chances.

Collins had Scott Brown's drive and energy at his disposal for the first time and Chris Killen, too, was restored to the team after a ban to lead the attack.

Hearts made only one change from the team that should have beaten Celtic at the weekend and that was also an important one, captain Pressley having recovered from a virus to take his place in central defence.

Midfielder Deividas Cesnauskis was the man who made way for the Scot but there was an interesting development in that area of the pitch with Robbie Neilson being moved into the engine room from his right-back berth.

There was no place, not even on the bench, for Julien Brellier which seemed pretty bizarre. Then again, it was Hearts, wasn't it?

Celtic's defeat on Tuesday night left the destination of the CIS Cup wide open but, really, these teams didn't need any excuse to go at it hammer and tongs.

There were fireworks right from the start - literally - as some leftover rockets from Bonfire Night lit up the sky behind the east stand.

There was hardly a spare seat in the house and although the Hearts fans were outnumbered they were giving as good as they got in the singing stakes. Their team started brightly enough without testing the troubled Hibs keeper.

It was, in fact, the home side who carved out the first really slick passing move and it almost led to the opening goal in the ninth minute.

Killen found Michael Stewart, who was struggling after an early knock but still found a killer pass inside Ibrahim Tall for David Murphy to latch on to. The full-back cut the ball back for Killen, whose first-time shot was blocked.

Stewart limped off three minutes later to be replaced by Guillaume Beuzelin but the switch didn't affect Hibs' momentum as they continued to make tracks for Gordon's goal.

Marius Zaliukas - how he gets a game ahead of Brellier is a mystery - was the first person in trouble with the referee, the midfielder earning a booking for a trip on Ivan Sproule.

The winger was giving Jose Goncalves a torrid time of it and one jink inside the left-back gave the Northern Irishman a glimpse of goal but the alertness of Berra saved the day as the young Scot blocked the shot.

A smashing ball from Brown - his first meaningful contribution - midway through the half gave Sproule another chance to home in on goal but this time he screwed his shot horribly wide from a good position.

Hearts' best hope at this stage would have been to prey on Shelton Martis' inability to win a tackle. The Dutchman, a big strapping centre-half, went into two tackles like a ballet dancer and lost both to Hartley and Saulius Mikoliunas. To lose out to the Lithuanian ought to have been a sackable offence but on neither occasion were Hibs punished.

Keeper Gordon was forced into his first meaningful save on the half-hour mark, touching a Killen shot over the bar. But from the corner Hibs took the lead.

Zemmama delivered the cross into the heart of the box and Jones was given all the time in the world to bring the ball down and swing his left peg at it. The ball fizzed off the turf and up into the roof of the net from only seven yards.

It should have been 2-0 eight minutes from the break when Brown worked a sweet one-two with Zemmama on the edge of the box and found himself staring into the whites of Gordon's eyes from eight yards.

Somehow he managed to hit the keeper's right foot with the shot and it had to go down as a shocking miss rather than a great save.

The visitors were lucky to go in only one down at the break but restarted much more brightly.

However, the chances continued to come at the other end, a great challenge by Berra denying Killen.

Referee CalumMurray dealt sensibly with what could have been a flashpoint after Zemmama went down theatrically after Andrius Velicka had given him a clip on the side of the head.

The whistler could have waved cards at both players but a warning took the heat out of the situation.

Zemmama then produced a peach of a free-kick that Jones glanced inches wide.

Neilson was replaced by Nerijus Barasa in the 54th minute and then Jamie Mole took over from Mikoliunas, a move that allowed Hartley, who had partnered Velicka up front in the second half, to drop a little deeper in the hope he could get himself more involved.

The switch did perk up Hearts but they still couldn't test Malkowski, although he did have to race from goal to head clear in the 71st minute.

Collins also opted for change and it was Sproule, a mixture of terrific and terrible during his time on the field, who made way for Steven Fletcher.

Hibs almost scored immediately but it was the other sub, Beuzelin, who caused the problems with a lob that drifted just past Gordon's post.

As the minutes ticked away, tempers became frayed again and a flare-up led to Kevin Thomson and Tall being booked.

Seconds later Zaliukas was replaced by Juho Makela to ironic cheers from the Hearts support. Julien Brellier he ain't.

MAN BY MAN

HIBS

Zibi Malkowski 6 No calamities this time.

Steven Whittaker 6 Amix of excellent play and some hesitancy. Better in attack than defence.

Shelton Martis 6 All over the place early on but settled into abit of a game.

Rob Jones 8 Turned striker to take his goal well. When the ball came anywhere near him he tended to get it.

David Murphy 6 Lots of good runs and crosses down the left from one of the most under-rated players around.

Scott Brown 6 Terrible first-half miss from the pocketsized midfielder. Blew hot and cold.

Michael Stewart 3 Limped off after only 13 minutes.

Kevin Thomson 9 Best man on the park. Dictated play and made countless ghosting runs. A real captain's performance.

Merouane Zemmama 5 The frantic action didn't allow him to show off his deft touches.

Ivan Sproule 6 Seventy per cent of his game is absolutely brilliant but final cross or pass lets him down.

Chris Killen 7 Does well in lone striker role. A handful.

Subs: Guillaume Beuzelin - on for Stewart and picked up the pace straight away, 6. Steven Fletcher - got last 15 minutes, 3. Abdessalam Benjelloun - on in injury time, 1. Not used: Hogg, McNeil.

HEARTS

Craig Gordon 7 Two great first-half saves to deny Killen and Brown. Could do nothing at the goal.

Jose Goncalves 6 Made Sproule cut inside on occasion but roasted for pace at times.

Christophe Berra 8 Outstanding display by the youngster. The pick of the Hearts players with numerous blocks and tackles.

Steven Pressley 6 Given a rough old time of it by Killen but gave everything as always.

Ibrahim Tall 5 Had his hands full at right-back. Tried manfully, but caught out of position too many times.

Robbie Neilson 5 Never looked comfortable in right midfield role. Hooked after 55 minutes.

Saulius Mikoliunas 6 His hard work took him all over the park but spent a lot of his time tangling with Hibs players both on and off the ball.

Bruno Aguiar 7 The one Hearts midfielder who always looked for the ball.

Paul Hartley 6 Asked to play in the hole and shone when he got the ball but was wasted in that position.

Marius Zaliukas 5 Booked for a foul on Sproule after 13 minutes then spent the rest of the night annoying folk, sometimes his team-mates.

Andrius Velicka 3 Did not do one thing of note.

Subs: Nerijus Barasa - came on for Neilson and got stuck right in, 3. Jamie Mole - replaced Mikoliunas as Hearts went for a goal that didn't come, 3. Not used: Banks, Fyssas, Makela.

Referee - C Murray.

Taken from the Daily Record