Hearts 0 Hibernian 0

An Edinburgh derby, to be watched with the sort of grim fascination that would attend two men taking turns to clang each other over the head with clubs, ended in a goalless draw which gives Hibs the edge over Hearts in this season’s collisions. It was not wholly a matter of attrition but had the spectacle been available for free in a public park there would have little compulsion to hang around to learn the outcome.

Willie Collum conferred the evening with a degree of indulgence that was presumably meant to encourage what occasional fluency was on show but which tipped on occasion into an amnesty for serious offence, as when Ryan Stevenson lunged at James McPake for what in almost any other circumstance would have been a red card but which went entirely unremarked by the referee.

Hibernian arrived at their arch-rivals’ citadel buoyed not only by their weekend victory over Celtic but also by the knowledge that they had prevailed in the most recent derby – Hearts’ first defence of the Scottish Cup in the fourth round of the current tournament – on Dec 2. On the other hand, no Hibs player had experienced the pleasure of winning a new year derby at Tynecastle, where the Easter Road side last tasted festive success in 1996.

Hibs’ most recent victory in Gorgie had been posted on May 7, 2009, when Derek Riordan netted the winner from the penalty spot after Hearts had been reduced to 10 men by the dismissal of Christos Karipidis. Those with a taste for esoteric statistics no doubt noted that Hearts’ had lost 1-0 in the last three evening games between the sides, two of which were at Tynecastle.

Neither side displayed any appetite for such dry stuff in the opening quarter of the contest, during which Hearts applied themselves vigorously to denying their opponents time and space to dwell on the ball. The tactic worked well enough up to a point, that being around the edge of the Hibs penalty area where gaps were few and swiftly closed.

There was nothing svelte about any of the action because Hearts’ battering ram approach repeatedly rebounded from Hibs’ compressed ranks, but not to Leigh Griffiths’ advantage. The gap of 30 to 40 yards which frequently opened between the forward and his midfield colleagues was the product of a decision by Pat Fenlon to have Hibs funnel deep whenever they lost possession – a cyclical process because Griffiths was asked repeatedly to feed on scraps which were gobbled up by Marius Zaliukas and Dylan McGowan.

McGowan, the younger brother of Ryan – who was absent, having signed for Shandong Luneng Taishan of China – had stepped into central defence in place of Andy Webster, victim of a virus. Darren Barr, in turn, had shifted from his customary holding role in midfield to McGowan major’s beat at right-back. However, the makeshift Hearts back line had not been troubled by the time the interval whistle sounded and only once did their Hibs counterparts look alarmed.

That was shortly before half-time when Scott Robinson chased a hopeful punt into the Hibs box but came down in a challenge from McPake while the ball squirted to Andrew Driver, whose shot flashed across the goalmouth and out beyond the far post.

Both the tempo and the agricultural nature of the contest extended into the second half but with an even more frenetic effort produced by Hearts which bent Hibs back upon their own lines but still lacked the moment of technical expertise or vision that was needed to break the deadlock. The best of the evening was left until the latter stages as tired limbs became less of an obstacle to attacking moves.

Hibs came close with a header from David Wotherspoon – who had replaced Paul Cairney – from a corner kick, only to be almost skewered when Hearts broke upfield. Another substitute – Jason Holt, who had come on for the injured Robinson – saw the replacement forward lope around Ben Williams but with a goal looking certain he saw his shot blocked by Ryan McGivern almost on the line.

In another swirl of end to end action Eoin Doyle had a shot blocked by Jamie MacDonald and Griffiths was thwarted by McGowan, although the points were almost edged by Hearts at the death, when John Sutton struck the crossbar with a header from a corner kick. Stalemate, though, was an appropriate conclusion.

Match details

Hearts (4-5-1): MacDonald; Barr, D McGowan, Zaliukas, McHattie; Novikovas (Paterson 68), Taouil, Stevenson, Robinson (Holt 47), Driver (Walker 84); Sutton. Subs: Enckelman (g), Smith, Prychynenko, Mullen.

Hibernian (4-4-1-1): Williams; Clancy, McPake, Hanlon, McGivern; Deegan, Claros, Taiwo (Stevenson 73), Cairney (Wotherspoon 55); Doyle, Griffiths. Subs: Murdoch (g), Maybury, Handling, Caldwell, Donaldson. Booked: Hanlon, Wotherspoon, McGivern.

Referee: W Collum.

Griffiths waves to fans in a way that says goodbye

Hibernian striker Leigh Griffiths gave the impression that he will be leaving the club in the January transfer window after waving to the visiting supporters at the final whistle.

Griffiths’s loan spell from Wolves is coming to an end and the player has made no secret of his desire to stay in Edinburgh.

Hibs manager Pat Fenlon has already admitted he is keen to keep Grififths at Leith but unless a deal can be agreed with Wolves the Scot’s last match for the Easter Road men could be against Dundee on Jan 19.

The manner in which Griffiths waved to the fans suggested he was saying goodbye and all Fenlon could say after last night’s match was: “I’m due to sit down with the chairman in the morning, so we’ll have a chat then.”

He added: “It was never going to be beautiful. We looked a bit leggy after Saturday. We knew we’d have to come and put in a real battling performance.”

John McGlynn, his Hearts counterpart, added: “I thought we played the better football – we were dominant and deserved to win. It’s another game we’ve dominated and not got what we’ve deserved.”

Taken from telegraph.co.uk