Hearts 1 Hibernian 2: match report

By Roddy Forsyth, at Tynecastle

5:54PM BST 12 May 2013

Four years of sterile trips to Tynecastle were ended with a flourish by Hibs – courtesy of exceptional goals from Leigh Griffiths and teenager Ross Caldwell, early and late in the second half – that also means that Hearts finish a season for the first time since 2001 without a success against their city rivals.

Moreover, it is only the second time in 35 years that Hearts have failed to prevail in these internecine affairs. Neither team has achieved their targets for this campaign – both had aimed to be in the top six of the SPL – but if Hibs beat Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on Wednesday they will leapfrog Hearts in the table.

“I do believe the balance of power is beginning to shift. It hasn’t completely shifted – not just because we’ve gone one season undefeated – but we are getting there,” said Caldwell.

“It’ll take years of finishing above us before they can say that,” was the retort from Darren Barr, scorer of Hearts’ goal from a scramble inside the Hibs box in first-half injury time.

Be any of that as it may, more to the point for Hibs right now is the imminence of their second successive Scottish Cup final on May 26 at Hampden Park, where they will meet Celtic.

Last season’s 5-1 battering by Hearts was as wounding as any episode in Hibs’ history, but by knocking the Tynecastle side out of the Cup in their first match in this season’s tournament, Pat Fenlon’s players have displayed a resilience confirmed by the league derby sequence of three draws and Sunday’s victory.

Fenlon believed that Hibs had been the better side in the first half, although that was not a view shared by Ryan Mania, the Grand National winning jockey, who made the half-time draw. Asked what he had made of the opening period, Mania answered: “Boring.”

Hearts, though, had gone into the dressing room with the comfort of Barr’s goal, a stabbed effort on the rebound from Michael Ngoo’s blocked effort. The stadium announcer helpfully informed the crowd of 15,194 that this was the first time Barr had found the net since May 19, 2012.

Home advantage was brief, however. Despite Gary Locke’s warning that his players should beware the concession of free-kicks within Griffiths’ range, Mehdi Taouil needlessly fouled the impressive Alex Harris 30 yards out.

Griffiths duly measured the target, identified a couple of squares in the rigging above and behind Jamie MacDonald’s left shoulder, and duly planted the ball there with such precision that the shot has a firm claim to goal of the season in Scotland.

The contest now yielded its best passages, with decent passing play from each side, although Hearts’ forays ended in frustration for the two front men, Ngoo and John Sutton.

Hibs, though, maintained tempo and concentration until the end and drew blood again in injury time when Hearts made a mess of a throw-in and might have conceded a penalty kick for Andy Webster’s foul on Scott Robertson.

However, the ball ran on to Caldwell, who displayed admirable coolness to lob neatly over MacDonald and trigger bedlam among the Hibs fans in the stand behind the goalkeeper.

“I certainly enjoyed that and I’m sure the supporters are enjoying it as well, which is great,” said Fenlon. “I don’t think there’s any doubt that we were the better side.

“I thought in the first half in particular we played really well and created some chances but got hit with the sucker punch just before half-time. I said to the players, 'You’ve shown them that you are better on the day so just go back out and win the game.’

“It’s progress and it’s a step on the ladder but we won’t get too carried away because we’ve got a couple more games to go and then a massive cup final. But we’ll take great confidence out of today.

“I’ve probably got a headache now for the cup final because some of the boys went in and did really well. I don’t get caught up in finishing above Hearts. I wanted to finish top six but if we can finish seventh, win the cup and get to Europe it will still be a very good season.

“That is the target for us, we’ve gone three or four games unbeaten and now we’ve got to continue that.”

Match details

Hearts (4-4-2): MacDonald; Hammill, Barr, Webster, McHattie; Holt, Stevenson, Taouil (D Smith 79), Walker; Ngoo (Carrick 72), Sutton.
Subs: Ridgers (g), G Smith, McGowan, McKay, King, Carrick
Booked: Walker.
Hibernian (4-5-1): Williams; Maybuty, Forster, Hanlon, Stevenson; Caldwell, Taiwo, Thomson (Robertson 79), Claros, Harris; Griffiths.
Subs: Murdoch (g), Deegan, Doyle, Wotherspoon, Handling, Donaldson.
Booked: Thomson.
Referee: Steven McLean.

Taken from telegraph.co.uk