Hibernian 1 Hearts 0

By Roddy Forsyth

Hearts fans have spent six months exulting at the humiliation of their city rivals in last season’s William Hill Scottish Cup final, but last night they were forced to swallow the fact that their own defence of the trophy stretched no further than a trip to Easter Road.

Revenge was a dish served bitterly cold in the freezing temperatures but the Hibs faithful felt all the warmer for the fact that David Wotherspoon’s crucial strike was helped greatly on its way to the net by a wicked deflection off the Hearts captain, Marius Zaliukas.

Purists will insist that it should be recorded as an own goal because the original strike was heading off target until it struck the Hearts defender, but Zaliukas will thank nobody for the distinction, while Wotherspoon insisted on securing the credit. "I’m claiming it," he said. "It’s gone into the net off my shot, so I’m taking it."

For Wotherspoon it was a profoundly satisfactory occasion for other reasons. The 22 year-old was dropped for last season’s final – some would say that was a mercy for him, given the 5-1 battering inflicted on his colleagues – but he saw it differently.

"It was disappointing to be left out of such a massive and historic game. I said to myself at the time that I had to keep my head up and get on with things. I remember sitting in the stands watching the game and it wasn’t a great feeling. That went through my head when I scored today. That goal just topped things off unbelievably."
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There had been talk beforehand of the Hearts players’ desire to extend their unbeaten sequence in derbies to 13 games and for most of the first half, with Arvydas Novikovas proving a pest on one flank and Callum Paterson causing trouble on the other, whenever he peeled to the right, it seemed as though it was only a matter of when Hibs would sustain customary damage. Indeed, Paterson could have had the Tynecastle side ahead in the first minute when he met a cross from Novikovas with a powerful header, but Ben Wilson managed to block the effort at the base of his left-hand post.

The goalkeeper had to display sharp reflexes at the first corner kick of the game when Zaliukas bounced a header that was going in just below the crossbar until Wilson clawed it off the mark. Novikovas came even closer with a swirling cross that confounded Wilson and skipped off the far post. However, the Lithuanian picked up an ankle injury that forced his replacement by Andrew Driver at the break and although it was a like for like substitution, Hearts’ momentum was never regained.

In truth, the proceedings were largely drab, as Cup derbies so frequently are, and the spectre of a replay began to loom over the match when, with six minutes left to play, Paul Cairney, switched the point of attack for Hibs with a cross-field ball to Wotherspoon, who took a touch and a stride before shooting. Zaliukas, exposed, thrust out a leg to intercept but the ball skipped off his boot and behind the stranded Jamie MacDonald.

Full time could not come too quickly for Hibs and relief at a victory of such totemic importance was evident in the outpouring of emotion from the home support, a display of feeling that lasted long after the last Hearts fan had made for the exits.

"It wasn’t a great spectacle but we’ve won and that’s all that matters," said the Hibs manager, Pat Fenlon. "I’m delighted for the supporters. It’s a great day for the Hibs fans and it’s been long overdue. It gives the players and the supporters belief in what we are doing here."

As for Hearts, they have more existential matters on their mind. Today the club will pay an outstanding tax bill of £450,000 to be paid to HMRC in a single instalment.

John McGlynn, the Hearts manager, put matters in perspective when he said: "The priority is the football club survives and we should not underestimate that.

Match details

Hibernian (4-4-2): Williams; Maybury, Hanlon, McGivern, Stevenson; Wotherspoon, Claros, Taiwo, Cairney; Griffiths (Caldwell 52), Doyle (Sproule 70).
Subs: Murdoch (g), Kuqi, Donaldson.
Booked: Cairney.
Hearts (4-5-1): MacDonald; R McGowan, Webster, Zaliukas, McHattie; Walker (Sutton 72), Taouil, Barr (Robinson 58), Stevenson, Novikovas (Driver h-t); Paterson.
Subs: Enckelman (g), Smith.
Booked: McHattie, Zaliukas, McGowan.
Referee: C Murray.

Taken from telegraph.co.uk