Players' fighting spirit is just the tonic needed for Jefferies after derby-day thriller

richard wilson at easter road

4 Apr 2011

THE only dismay for Jim Jefferies, the Hearts manager, is that this might have been the last Edinburgh derby of the season.

Unless Hibernian finish in the top six, yesterday's draw at Easter Road – which had four goals, a sending off, a cup of juice thrown at Ismael Bouzid and two Hearts supporters run on to the field of play and stand unchallenged in the penalty area to celebrate their team's late equaliser – was the last opportunity for the Tynecastle side to renew their sense of authority.

Hearts were seeking a fifth successive win over Hibs, but still celebrated the draw because it felt like a kind of victory, at least over the odds.

They were reduced to 10 men and had fallen 2-1 behind with 10 minutes left, but refused to allow defeatism or wariness to diminish them. Like his team, which was affected by injuries and suspensions, Jefferies was suffering, in his case from the flu, but the manner of his team's display rejuvenated the Hearts manager. "I was very doubtful," he said. "That's not the treatment you need, to be on the touchline at a derby, but the medicine was brilliant because of the way the team played. I shouldn't have been in the last couple of days, but you know what it's like in the run-up to a derby.

"We were missing a few people, so it says volumes for these boys to play the way that they did. It was fantastic to keep this wee run going. They were fighting for everything, and that shows the spirit."

It was May 2009 when Hearts were last defeated by HIbs, and the nature of this result told of the inferiority complex that must now trouble the Easter Road side. Once Marius Zaliukas was dismissed for knocking Akpo Sodje over in the penalty area – allowing Liam Miller to equalise Ryan Stevenson's opening goal – it was Hibs who enjoyed the majority of possession and chances. But still they could not overcome their old rivals.

"The way the opening half-hour went, we should have been three goals up," Jefferies said. "But then Hibs get a break with the penalty, which changed the game. I'm not complaining about the foul, but Craig Thomson thought the bounce was taking the ball into the goalkeeper's hands. But if the referee deems it as a goalscoring chance, then he's got to go off. Hearts are not going to give up easily and I just hope [Hibs] get into the top six so we can get them again at Tynecastle."

For Colin Calderwood, Jefferies' opposite number, the result only emphasised the frailties of his side. Only the promptings of Derek Riordan carried any threat, at least until the home team enjoyed a man advantage, but even once Ricardo Vaz Te put them in front with his first goal for the club, Hibs were still vulnerable.

"We should secure the victory," said Calderwood. "The difficult thing is to score the goal to go ahead. But we'll serve the punishment for not doing our job. We'd given the fans everything they were looking for, but snatched it back off them."

Hibs can still finish in the top six (they are seven points behind sixth-placed Motherwell, but with a game in hand), and despite an opportunity being lost, the players remain optimistic. "We've made it more difficult, but it's still achievable," said Vaz Te. "We just have to stay focused."

Taken from the Herald