FLETCH IS THE HERO AS MIXU AIMS FOR EUROPE

Scorer: HIBS: Fletcher

HIBS boss Mixu Paatelainen set his side a top six mission after winning his first Edinburgh derby.

Both sides were reduced to 10 men before the interval but Steven Fletcher's second winner in successive games kept Hibs in sixth spot.

Now their gaffer wants them to stay there.

Hibs' Sol Bamba and Hearts' keeper Janos Balogh were both red-carded for last-man fouls but Paatelainen said: "It's a special day for players, coaches and supporters when you beat your local rivals.

"It means so much to so many people and it's a great feeling to have done it. It might only mean three points but it means so much more in terms of pride.

"We're not getting carried away but we've had a couple of wins which will be important in our bid to stay in the top six first and foremost. After we've achieved that we'll try and finish as high up as possible.

"I thought that the team's performance was evident today - defence, midfield and strikers were all excellent.

"There was no question about the first red card. It was an easy decision for the referee but I felt Sol Bamba's was questionable. He's looking the other way and it's more of a collision. He's not being over-aggressive and I didn't think it was a goal-scoring opportunity. The referee wanted to level it.

HIBS v HEARTS:

"There was an incident in the second-half when Michael Stewart was taking a free-kick and the referee made him move it but I thought the ref handled that moment well."

Hungarian Denes Rosa starred for Hibs and Paatelainen added: "He covered a lot of ground, defended well, showed great awareness and his ball at the goal was fantastic. He's a quality player.

"That was also Fletcher's second goal in succession. Strikers sometimes go on little scoring runs so hopefully he'll get five or six now!" Opposite number Hearts' Csaba Laszlo was downbeat after his side's lacklustre performance.

He sighed: "I don't like to criticise but we had a lot of chances and couldn't score.

"It's been a big problem for us all season.

"Christian Nade tried his best but he didn't have the killer instinct. He took too many touches but that's not a criticism of him and I'm not angry with him because he did his job. He's scored goals for us but he has to be more focused to score.

"The difference between professional and amateur football is that at this level if you have one chance you must score. You should not need five or six opportunities.

"We win and lose as a team and although I'm speaking about our strikers, at Hibs' goal our defenders were too far apart and the Hibs player had a free header. That was a big mistake and it was unlucky for Janos Balogh because it hit Fletcher's shoulder

"We hit the post and crossbar and the Hibs goalkeeper had two good saves, then in the second half we played 35 of the 45 minutes in our opponents' half but didn't have the luck."

Laszlo subbed midfielder Bruno Aguiar to bring on sub keeper Jamie MacDonald and Michael Stewart, who'd already been booked.

He insisted: "Aguiar's was tactical, it was nothing to do with how he was playing.

"Stewart wanted to do well against his old team but I didn't think he was close to a second yellow card. I just wanted Adrian Mrowiec on for his power in the air."

Laszlo felt his side were unlucky to lose Andrew Driver injured inside half an hour.

He said: "He felt his hamstring painful and we'll know how it is in the next few days."

HIBERNIAN: Szamotulski, Bamba, Hogg, Jones, Stevenson, O'Brien (Keenan 69), Rosa, Rankin, Riordan (Murray 88), Nish (van Zanten 46), Fletcher. Subs not used: Ma-Kalambay, Thicot, Chisholm, Johansson.

HEARTS: Balogh, Neilson, Karipidis, Jonsson, Lee Wallace, Obua, Stewart (Mrowiec 76), Palazuelos, Driver (Mikoliunas 26), Aguiar (MacDonald 45), Nade. Subs not used: Cesnauskis, Elliot, Zaliukas, McGowan.