Heart of Midlothian 0-0 Hibs

Hearts extended their unbeaten league run against Hibs to twelve games, but were unable to secure the three points as they were held to a 0-0 draw in Thursday night's Edinburgh derby at Tynecastle.

John Sutton sent a header crashing off the crossbar in the 90th minute in what was the best chance of a close fought encounter between the two Edinburgh sides.

With Ryan McGowan finalising his move to China and Andy Webster suffering from illness, John McGlynn was forced into making changes to his back four. Dylan McGowan partnered Marius Zaliukas in central defence, whilst Darren Barr moved from midfield to right back.

Meanwhile, Arvydas Novikovas and Scott Robinson were handed starting berths in midfield and attack as the Jambos lined up in a 4-3-3 formation.

A sold out Tynecastle was a cauldron of noise as the game kicked off, with the opening period full of energy but notably short on chances.

It took 24 minutes for the first shot on target to be registered as Gary Deegan sent a volley straight into the arms of Jamie Macdonald from just inside the box.

Hearts then came within inches of taking the lead on the half hour mark when Ryan Stevenson lifted a delightful ball over the Hibs defence into the path of Scott Robinson. The midfielder went down to the right of goal, and with fans calling for a penalty, Andy Driver dragged the rebound inches wide of the far post.

The Gorgie side were dealt a blow minutes into the second half when Robinson, the liveliest player up until that point, hobbled off with a knock and was replaced by Jason Holt.

Despite the setback, the boys in maroon looked sharp and should have taken the lead when Ben Williams spilled a Mehdi Taouil shot, but Ryan Stevenson lost his balance and couldn't direct the rebound into the net.

Hibs then got a chance of their own when a long diagonal ball caught Hearts on the break, allowing Eoin Doyle to drift in from the right before powering a shot over the bar from ten yards out.

The tie remained firmly in the balance as the half wore in, with Sutton and Zaliukas both steering efforts wide of goal from close range.

It was end to end as the game entered the final ten minutes, with Wotherspoon very nearly putting the Hibees in front with a glancing header following a Leigh Griffiths corner.

Hearts immediately countered and Jason Holt's looked odds on to score as he jinked past the keeper, only to see his shot blocked by an outstretched Hibs leg.

Macdonald then had McGowan to thank as he spilled a Doyle shot from the edge of the six yard box, but the young aussie was on hand to sweep the ball off the line.

The last chance of the game fell to Sutton on 90 minutes as he leapt to steer a Jamie Walker corner off the crossbar, with Barr unable to convert the rebound.

Referee Willie Collum sounded the final whistle shortly after as Hearts extended their unbeaten SPL derby run to twelve games.

Hearts: Macdonald; Barr, D.McGowan, Zaliukas, McHattie; Stevenson, Robinson (Holt 47), Taouil; Novikovas (Paterson 67), Sutton, Driver (Walker 84). Subs not used: Enckelman, Mullen, G.Smith, Prychynenko.

Hibs: Williams; Clancy; McGivern, McPake, Hanlon; Doyle, Deegan, Taiwo(Stevenson 72), Claros, Cairney (Wotherspoon 54); Griffiths. Subs not used: Murdoch, Maybury, Handling, Caldwell, Donaldson.

Referee: Willie Collum

Top man: Andy Driver

Hearts World