Hibernian 2 Hearts 2

Apr 4 2011 By Hugh Keevins

DEREK RIORDAN was chief sinner as Hibs' wait for a first derby win in two years went on after a last-gasp leveller had them tallying up the misses.

The home side, without victory over their rivals since May 2009, thought they'd ended that curse when Ricardo Vaz Te put them ahead with just 11 minutes left.

But 10-man Hearts, at a numerical disadvantage after the red card for Marius Zaliukas in the first half, found time to fire back with a closerange goal from Stephen Elliot. Hibs boss Colin Calderwood has now had three derby matches and failed to win any of them. His side have only themselves to blame for the latest disappointment.

They played 10 men for an hour and their misses had to be seen to be believed at times.

Riordan was the embodiment of fan frustration and his injury-time drive that went horribly wide of the target summed up his day and his team's general folly.

Hearts have now gone seven derbies in a row without defeat and, at this rate, their unbeaten run's good for a long while yet.

Neil Lennon took a seat in the stand to run the rule over Hibs before they meet Celtic on Wednesday night, pausing to shake hands with Gordon Strachan on his way.

And what they saw immediately was the kind of shoddy finishing from Riordan that might have explained why he wasn't a regular when Strachan was picking the team at Celtic Park.

Akpo Sodje picked Riordan out with a pass that hung in the wind and begged for a decisive finish, but the Easter Road enigma attempted a casual, side-footed effort that went harmlessly past.

It was the start of a derby that simply throbbed with excitement.

There were reckless challenges of the type that saw Martin Scott correctly booked for going through the back of Hearts' Ian Black.

And Stephen Elliot was unjustly denied a penalty when he went down under Paul Hanlon's tackle.

Nobody had come for, or expected to find, subtlety. This was a civic square go and when David Templeton was sent crashing for a free-kick by Scott, the ball was booted off him as he lay on the ground.

The foul should have led to a goal when Templeton got up to deliver a perfect cross for Ismael Bouzid, but he held his head in anguish after directing the ball past a post instead of over the line.

Inaccuracy in front of goal was a characteristic of the match until 23 minutes had gone and Ryan Stevenson put Hearts in front.

Callum Booth failed to clear his lines properly and Stevenson took the ball on the volley to give Mark Brown no chance.
Ryan Stevenson

But the lead was only good for 10 minutes, and Hearts were reduced in numbers, as well as brought back to equality after Zaliukas had brought down Sodje.

Liam Miller took the penalty kick after Zaliukas had been shown the red card and his composure was impressive after the referee told him to re-spot the ball.

Miller's reaction to scoring was less commendable and Brines booked him after his celebration had taken him too close to the Hearts fans behind Jamie MacDonald's goal.

Templeton, still feeling the effects of Scott's earlier challenge, had to go off at that point to be replaced by Jason Thomson. Jim Jefferies had then lost a major player to injury and another to misconduct after thinking his side had taken a stranglehold on the match.

And it would have been even worse if the referee had been tougher on Ruben Palazuelos.

The Hearts defender stopped a promising move with his hand and then went after the match official in aggressive fashion as he reached into his pocket for a yellow card.

If that was a let-off then Francis Dickoh's miss before the interval was a gold embossed reprieve. His header from inside the six-yard box should have put Hibs in front but, once again, the execution was faulty in the extreme and the ball flew wide.

Scott, Hibs' midfield enforcer, was kept in the dressing room at halftime and replaced by Portuguese incomer Ricardo Vaz Te.

The change seemed to imply Calderwood thought he could play his way into a lead as Hearts went into a lull on the back of their various disappointments.

Victor Palsson should have vindicated his manager's confidence but a deplorable miss eight minutes after the re-start put paid to that.

Miller's pass while the Hearts defence was all over the place was an open invitation to burst the net but the final shot sailed over the bar while Palsson threw himself to the ground in frustration.

It was the last input Palsson would have to make in the match. He was taken off to let David Wotherspoon on but changes in personnel made no difference to wasted chances.

Hearts had fallen out of the match but their rivals were making a dog's breakfast of punishing them for their disappearance.

Riordan had the goal gaping in front of him but managed to find the keeper instead of the net.

And so it went on until Vaz Te scored a memorable goal with just 11 minutes left to play.

Andy Webster was beaten to the ball and didn't have the pace to get back and prevent the former Bolton player from waiting for it to drop out of the air so that he could slip it beyond McDonald.

But even that wasn't enough to rid Hibs of their two-year jinx. Just four minutes later a free kick to the back post was headed across by Webster to Elliot and he finished with a volley.

It felt like a moral victory to the Hearts fans and a blow to the solar plexus for everybody in green.

Taken from the Daily Record