Gordon Smith is a maroon hit as he lives up to famous name by making mark in spectacular style

Published Date: 04 January 2010
TRUST the Edinburgh derby to bring an official end to the season of goodwill. There was enough red heat produced here to melt the ice-cap that is the Lothians. But the dismissals from both sides were not the whole story, and were a long way from it in fact.
That Gordon Smith struck the opening goal is a detail which catches the eye. Yes, yet another, and the third to play for Hearts alone. One is his father – Gordon 'Pogo' Smith – and the other is someone who a lot of people once wished was theirs. The latest Gordon Smith let no-one down, and scored the kind of goal the Gordon Smith who won championships with Hearts, Hibs and Dundee would have been proud to claim. His sweetly hit left-foot drive gave Hearts an interval lead and amounted to a rare moment of finesse in yet another raw encounter between these teams. Hibernian equalised in the second half through Anthony Stokes, and then came the obligatory flashpoint. It was an extended one too, with Ruben Palazuelos simply not willing to accept the referee's decision. Charlie Richmond handed the maximum punishment to both the Hearts midfielder and Darren McCormack after they head-butted each other outside the Hibs box as they awaited a corner.

This was less about first footing, and more a case of simply being sure-footed as the fans made their way to Easter Road for a derby that had somehow escaped the icy clutch of snow.

The pitch was perhaps the one patch within Edinburgh and environs which remained green, save for those scarves tightly knotted around the throats of the home fans treading gingerly down the thoroughfares deemed sufficiently safe for pedestrians and drivers by the Lothian and Borders police. They, clearly, take a more lenient attitude than some of their colleagues in other forces when it comes to the issue of judging stadium accessibility. But their deliberations seemed to be shot through with good sense, and probably took into account the minimal distance which even the away supporters had to travel.

Even so, the Hearts supporters must have supposed they were suffering from snow blindness when the away starting XI became apparent to them. They had expected to see one G. Smith making his debut yesterday. But this was Graeme Smith, the former Motherwell goalkeeper who had been hastily signed by Hibs manager John Hughes on Friday. The away fans got a better view of him in the second half as he defended the goal in front of them. They gave him the 'who the hell are you?' treatment, but in truth many might have asked the same question about the slight figure wearing the No 44 jersey for their own side as the teams emerged from the tunnel.

Csaba Laszlo shook up his selection again and took many by surprise by naming Smith and also fellow league debutant Marius Cinikas in his side. There were two theories behind the former's inclusion. One is that Laszlo was sending out yet another message to Vladimir Romanov that he is working with one hand tied behind his back, and thus forced to turn again to a teenager in such high-octane circumstances.

The other – and this grew more plausible as the game wore on – is that the crafty manager had been itching to start the 18-year-old for some weeks, and selected the derby in the hope that his starlet might have maximum impact. He is not, it seems, the reigning manager of the year for nothing.

Lending weight to this reading of events is the fact that Laszlo has not needed too much excuse to talk up Smith in the past. There was a sense of a destiny being met here, while the past must also be acknowledged too. Smith's father was a striker in a Hearts side that might be regarded as even more limited than the present one. He was, though, in the home end yesterday, and is a Hibs fan. Smith junior hoped he would be allowed back into the house last night.

Laszlo's thinking, whatever it was, proved inspired, though even he would surely admit that Smith's early efforts suggested this promotion from the reserves and youth sides amounted to cruelty. Smith was, perhaps, further inhibited by the knowledge that he had passed up a fine opportunity to open the scoring in the opening ten minutes. It was a passage of play out of keeping with a generally dreadful first-half.

Michael Stewart exchanged passes with Christian Nade, and then sent a ball across goal. Smith was a late arrival into the box, and proved just too far away to apply the final touch in front of a gaping goal. He was guilty of slight hesitancy, though this was to be expected as he sought to catch his breath in the frantic opening stages.

Smith was a willing helper at the back, thumping balls up the flanks to safety. But all this had not anticipated his contribution on the stroke of half-time, and a finish which took everyone by surprise. There was no mistaking the quality as he wheeled and rifled a low shot into the bottom left corner after Palazuelos' cross. His composure was remarkable for one so young, and even his celebrations, while joyful, were brief. He dusted himself down and got on with the job, and might have had a second goal after picking up a cleared corner. His shot, however, dipped just over, and he was replaced by Ian Black soon after.

It had been a magical hour for the youngster. Remember the name. But then of course you will.

Taken from the Scotsman