Hearts 1 Hibernian 0

By Lisa Gray, PA Sport Chief Scottish Football Writer

Another high-profile goalkeeping gaffe proved costly for Hibernian as Hearts claimed the points - and the all-important bragging rights - from the Edinburgh derby with a 1-0 win at Tynecastle.

Yves Ma-Kalambay had made an impressive debut here back in August but joined past Gorgie offenders Zibi Malkowski and Andy McNeill in the hall of a shame for a blunder which allowed Andrius Velicka the only goal of the game.

It was the sort of gaffe new Hibs boss Mixu Paatelainen would have relished in his playing days - he once famously netted at hat-trick against Hearts in a 6-2 drubbing - but he was sent back to Easter Road empty-handed in his first Clydesdale Bank Premier League game as boss.

Paatelainen was a veteran of such occasions as a player in his two spells with Hibs, while the clash at Tynecastle marked Stephen Frail's first derby since his promotion from assistant head coach to caretaker manager.

Hibs were without David Murphy after he sealed a £2million move to Birmingham midweek but were hoping the return of former skipper Ian Murray would help soften the blow.

Murray completed his switch to Easter Road from Norwich on Friday and, despite having not played a match since early November, was pitched straight into the side. Fellow new recruit John Rankin was named on the bench, along with Steven Fletcher, who had been out of action for four weeks with ankle ligament damage.

Hearts were keen to build on the positives from their last two matches and hoping a win would be the start of resurrecting what has been a woeful SPL campaign so far after just one win from their last 12 matches left them languishing second bottom of the table.

They were boosted by the return of goalkeeper Steve Banks, who returned from injury to reclaim the gloves, while Eggert Johnsson was given the nod ahead of Audrius Ksanavicius.

After a frantic opening spell, both teams settled down and began to carve out chances and Banks was called into action to smother a low free-kick into the box from Abdessalam Benjelloun.

At the other end, Michael Stewart pounced on Ruben Palazuelos' lay-off only to see his shot deflect just past the post.

Ma-Kalambay then did well to tip Deividas Cesnauskas' effort wide of the upright, before pulling off an excellent save to deny Palazuelos as Hearts cranked up the pressure.

The Gorgie side were edging their city rivals and were rewarded for their hard work after 19 minutes. Andrew Driver's corner found Christophe Berra at the back post and his flick-on was met by Velicka's diving header from a few yards out.

The ball was juggled by Ma-Kalambay after hitting his chest and the home fans looked on in glee as he allowed the ball to squirt over the line in what was the latest of a long line of howlers from Hibs goalkeepers.

Velicka then had a decent shout for a penalty after going to ground under pressure from Chris Hogg but could count himself unfortunate to pick up a booking from referee Kenny Clark for diving instead.

Hibs could have hauled themselves back onto level terms when Filipe Morais sent a cross from the right into the path of Benjelloun but he failed to connect properly and the chance was lost.

Tempers flared before the break and Paatelainen earned himself a lecture from Clark for charging out of his technical area following a collision between Robbie Neilson and Murray in what proved to be a tempestuous end to the first half.

Benjelloun was sacrificed for Fletcher at the break and the striker squandered a great opportunity to restore parity when he completely missed a Dean Shiels ball in front of goal.

Hearts, meanwhile, sent out a timely reminder that they were capable of causing more problems for their visitors when Driver rifled inches over the crossbar.

The home side made their first change of the day after 64 minutes when Stewart made way for Lee Wallace, before Rankin was handed his debut after replacing Merouane Zemmama three minutes later.

Rankin could have had an immediate impact on the game when he delivered a great free-kick to Hogg. The Hibs man did well to beat Christos Karipidis to the ball but was denied by an impressive block from Banks from four yards out.

Instead, Hearts held on for the win and the massive shot in the arm they were badly in need of.

Teams:

Hearts Banks, Neilson, Karipidis, Berra, Goncalves, Jonsson,Stewart (Wallace 65), Palazuelos (Nade 81), Driver, Velicka,Cesnauskis (Mikoliunas 70).

Subs Not Used: Bjornsson, Thomson, Beniusis, Ksanavicius.

Booked: Velicka, Driver, Nade.

Goals: Velicka 20.

Hibernian Ma-Kalambay, McCann, Hogg, Jones, Murray,Morais (Gray 81), Kerr, Beuzelin, Zemmama (Rankin 68),Benjelloun (Fletcher 46), Shiels.

Subs Not Used: McNeil, Chisholm, McCormack, Hanlon.

Booked: Jones, Beuzelin.

Att: 17,131

Ref: K Clark (Scotland).

Taken from sportinglife.com