The 5 Best Hearts v Hibs Clashes Of All-Time

Posted on Apr 16, 2012 in Features, Main Features | 1 comment

A last-gasp Hearts winner against Celtic at Hampden Park yesterday ensured not only their progress to next month’s Scottish Cup Final but also for the north of the border showcase to be a rather tasty all-Edinburgh affair. To whet the appetite further The Cutter looks back on five great derby-day clashes from the past.

April 28th 1941 Hearts 3 Hibs 5

Just 3000 people witnessed this thrilling derby made all the more incredible by a sixteen year old debutant scoring a hat-trick against the club he grew up supporting.

The scarcity of the crowd was due to the war and the young kid in question, ignoring the pull of Hearts on his heartstrings, became part of the Hibs ‘Famous Five’ alongside Bobby Johnstone, Lawrie Reilly, Eddie Turnbull and Willie Ormond.

Gordon Smith – who in those innocent times later gained the nickname ‘Gay Gordon’ – had to borrow a pair of boots for the game and was marked throughout by the fearsome Jimmy Dykes. Yet boy triumphed against man which in hindsight is perhaps not so surprising considering that Smith is now widely viewed as the greatest Hibees player of all time; an audacious number 7 who jinked and mesmerised as the prince of wingers in a royal frontline the match for any other.

March 1st 1958 Hearts 3 Hibs 4

Amazingly Smith’s schoolboy heroics was bettered some years later by 17 year old Joe Baker who bagged all four in this Scottish Cup quarter final tie that prevented their arch rivals from completing a memorable double that season.

Liverpool-born Baker was the first England international who had, at that point, played solely outside of the English football league and he continued his trail-blazing career path by joining Torino from the Edinburgh club in 1961. There he joined Denis Law and in the nascent days of paps and media intrusion they spent their days mainly miserably holed up in a small, shared apartment.

Despite scoring a winner in a Turin derby Baker endured a miserable spell in Italy even suffering life-threatening injuries following a serious car crash that left him on a drip for a month. Two years later he joined Arsenal for a club record fee.

Sept 8th 1973 Hearts 4 Hibs 1

The green half of the city had very much enjoyed the bragging rights throughout this era with Hearts not even notching a goal for the previous nine encounters. Eight months earlier the Jambos had been on the end of a humiliating 7-0 drubbing so this comprehensive dismantling of their rivals was a much-needed restoration of pride.

Sept 3rd 1983 Hearts 3 Hibs 2

If the 1973 victory signalled an end to Hibs’ dominance in this fixture this closely-fought encounter beckoned in a period of Hearts dominance led in no small part by the emergence of the ‘Hammer of Hibs’ John Robertson.

The poacher, who would go on to amass an astonishing 27 strikes against the Easter Road side, became an instant legend with two crucial goals, the first of which was a fantastic individual effort that involved two nutmegs before floating it in off the underside of the bar. ‘The next minute or two was and still is a blur. I went mental’ the player later admitted.

Bolstered by this win Hearts would go on a 17-game unbeaten spell against their neighbours.

January 2nd 2003 Hearts 4 Hibs 4

Graham Weir currently plies his trade at Stirling Albion and had an otherwise undistinguished six year spell at Tynecastle where he struggled to force his way into the first team. Yet in one half of Scotland’s capital city he will never go short of an offer of a free bed or pint after contributing to a quite remarkable and pulsating derby finale.

With the scores locked at 2-2 in windswept conditions and a minute left on the clock Hearts failed to deal with a corner and Craig James poked home what was surely a late Hibs winner. Moments later they extended their lead following a penalty and even with five minute additional time the game was up.

Enter stage left Weir who prodded home from a scramble in the Hibs box to give the home side a sliver of hope. With almost the final kick of the game the ball was punted down field and De Vries manoeuvred some space for himself on the right. He drilled a low cross which was met awkwardly by Weir. The ball bobbled into the far corner to send the Tyncastle hordes into ecstasy. Did he mean it? Nobody but the packed away section, watching in horror and disbelief after having a famous victory snatched from them in bizarre circumstances, cared a jot.