Hibs star David Wotherspoon: Winner against Hearts earned me place in father-in-law's hall of fame

THE midfielder realised he had made it at Easter Road when his Hibee dad-in-law added him to his haul of memorabilia.
David Wotherspoon scored against Hearts David Wotherspoon scored against Hearts

DAVID WOTHERSPOON secured his place in the Hibs history books by scoring the goal that ended a tortuous three-year wait for a derby victory over arch-rivals Hearts.

More importantly for the loved-up midfielder, however, it earned him a spot in the Hibees shrine at the home of his girlfriend’s dad.

Framed pictures of Easter Road greats like Pat Stanton and Lawrie Reilly take pride of place as part of a huge collection of memorabilia lovingly compiled by Hibs-daft Steven Appolinari, father of Wotherspoon’s girlfriend, Sophie.

And as if impressing the potential in-laws under normal circumstances is not a terrifying enough prospect, the shellshocked Wotherspoon could not help but notice his own absence from the stack of mementos.

He smiled: “My girlfriend’s dad is a massive Hibs fan so that always plays a part in the build-up to derby day and gets me right up for the match. Not the tactical side of the game, but in terms of everything else.

“He has been a loyal supporter for so long and has the club in his heart and you react to passion like that.

“The intensity of the fans and the atmosphere they create makes this game special when you go out on that pitch, at either stadium. You know the supporters would kick every ball for you if they could.

“It was a lot of pressure at first! Steven has a room through the back of the house with mountains of stuff about Hibs’ past, the historic wins and great players.

“It was great for me to look at and learn, especially when I didn’t know much about the history at the time – although I quickly realised my picture wasn’t up on the wall.”

That situation was rectified in December as Wotherspoon’s drive from the edge of the box clipped the foot of Jambos captain Marius Zaliukas and sailed in the corner of the net –
securing a 1-0 win for Hibs in the fourth-round of the Scottish Cup.

It was the first time since May 2009 that the Easter Road side had defeated their city foes – a drought that had lasted for 10 fixtures.

That triumph represents the start of an unbeaten run against Hearts that now spans three matches and has generated whispers of a power shift in Edinburgh.

Wotherspoon added: “Everybody saw the satisfaction on my face after getting that goal, particularly after our 5-1 defeat in last season’s Scottish Cup Final. That spurred me on to make a difference in another derby.

“My picture is in the centre of the wall now! As soon as I scored against Hearts in the cup, my picture went up and then a few others after it.

"So I think I have just about won him round. Steven talks about the old days when people like Stanton, real legends of the club, were playing for Hibs. But it would be perfect if he put up more pictures of me – it would mean I’m doing OK.”

As well as keeping the diehard Hibs fans like Steven happy, he knows that a triumph over Gary Locke’s Jambos is the only way to keep gloating Hearts fans quiet after the humiliation at Hampden last term.

The 23-year-old said: “There are a few players in the camp who went through the mill that day and it will still hang around in the back of our minds.

“Hearts had the town to themselves that weekend but the way to keep them quiet now is by beating them on the pitch and that is what we need to do.”

Taken from the Daily Record