Hibs 0-0 Heart of Midlothian

From Hearts Media at Easter Road.

Hearts stretched their unbeaten Edinburgh derby run to 13 SPL games as they played out a 0-0 draw with Hibs at Easter Road on Sunday afternoon.

The main talking point was the referee's failure to award Leigh Griffiths a goal on 77 minutes after replays showed his free kick came off the bar and over the line. It was a lucky escape for the Jambos, whom none the less deserved a share of the spoils in an evenly contested derby.

Interim bosses Gary Locke and Darren Murray made one enforced change to the side that defeated St Johnstone in midweek, as the suspended Darren Barr made way for Callum Tapping in central midfield.

The boys in maroon enjoyed a confident start to the game on a bitterly cold afternoon in Leith, with John Sutton going close inside ten minutes as he found space on ten yards before firing a shot into the arms of Ben Williams.

Michael Ngoo then saw a sidefooted effort miss the far post by inches as he pounced from the edge of the box having been teed up by Ryan Stevenson.

Jamie Macdonald was then called into action up the other end as Matt Done nipped in behind the Hearts backline, but could only poke his shot into the keeper's arms.

Scott Robertson then found himself in a similar position on the half hour mark, but again Macdonald got down quickly to block the shot.

Right back Fraser Mullen then saw his afternoon cut short as he limped off with a foot injury, paving the way for Brad McKay to make his first team debut. Fellow defender Danny Wilson then sent a header crashing into the side netting on the stroke of half time.

Hibs enjoyed a greater share of possesion in the second half which enabled them to apply pressure on the Hearts rearguard, but clear cut chances were at a premium during the early stages.

The Gorgie side instead looked to hit the hosts on the counter attack, but also threatened from set pieces and nearly took the lead thanks to some neat footwork by Captain Andy Webster. The Scotland international cushioned a free kick on his chest, before playing keepy-uppy on the edge of the box which resulted in a zapping volley that had Williams at full stretch as he tipped it wide of the right post.

Webster then turned provider soon after as he headed a cross into the path of Ngoo, but the Liverpool striker couldn't get his shot away and Hibs eventually cleared their lines.

Then came the major talking point as Leigh Griffiths sent a 30 yd free kick crashing off the crossbar, causing a brief goalmouth scramble before Hearts cleared for a corner. Replays showed the ball crossed the line by a considerable margin, but the hosts were instead awarded a corner, much to Hearts' relief.

Fenlon's men continued to pile forward during the final minutes, forcing several corners as the Jambos defended in numbers. The well organised maroon defence held on, however, and Hearts settled for a share of the spoils in a hard fought Edinburgh derby.

Hearts can now look ahead to next Sunday's trip to Hampden for the Scottish Communities League Cup Final against St Mirren.

Hibs: Williams; Maybury, McPake, McGivern, Stevenson; Wotherspoon (Doyle 74), Claros, Taiwo (Thomson 85), Robertson, Done (Harris 62); Griffiths. Subs not used: Murdoch, Deegan, Handling, Forster.

Hearts: Macdonald; Mullen (McKay 37), Webster, Wilson, McHattie; Stevenson (Holt 81), Tapping, Taouil, Novikovas (Walker 55); Sutton, Ngoo. Subs not used: Ridgers, G.Smith, Prychynenko, Carrick.

Referee: Euan Norris

Top man: Andy Webster

Hearts World