Hearts' winning run underpinned by a defence that's as strong as the old castle rock

Shankland plundering goals but the Tynecastle back line are posting impressive numbers too

Hector Nicol's lyrics sound evermore intense blaring out of Tynecastle Park's public address speakers just now. There is literally a defence as strong as the old castle rock underpinning Hearts' recent prosperity. It rose to the fore again at Easter Road on Wednesday night as another memorable Edinburgh derby victory played out for those of a maroon persuasion.

Lawrence Shankland's sumptuous winning goal in stoppage-time dominated headlines and pub chatter around the Capital city. However, the Hearts goalkeeper Zander Clark was also pivotal to the result along with a clutch of defenders in front of him. Wing-backs Alex Cochrane and Nathaniel Atkinson thrived, backed up by centre-backs Stephen Kingsley, Frankie Kent and Kye Rowles.

Hearts are enjoying a run of seven wins in their last 10 matches with six clean sheets recorded in that period. In 19 Premiership fixtures to date this season, they have managed 10 clean sheets and conceded only 15 goals in total. Continue in that vein and it is difficult to see them finishing lower than third in the table.

Whilst Kent has been an astute addition to the back line, Kingsley, Cochrane, Rowles and Atkinson have performed to a high standard for a number of weeks now. They and Clark set the foundation for Shankland to grab the glory against Hibs.

"Obviously, massive thanks to Zander because what a save that was from the [Martin Boyle] penalty," Rowles pointed out in an exclusive Edinburgh News interview. "The back line has been doing it for a few months now. We've been nice and solid and everyone is working so well together at the moment.

"We have Ross County on Saturday and then Livingston and we don't want to focus on resting until after that. Hopefully we pick up six points between now and then. We were always positive when results weren't going our way earlier in the season. We always kept each other going and kept the spirits high. Now, to be winning, that just comes easily. This is a great changing room to be in at the moment and the boys are loving life."

If anything, the defence tightened another notch following Shankland's late goal on Wednesday. "I felt it was maybe destined to be 0-0 after the two missed penalties, but it was good to be winning a game in the last minute for once," said Rowles. "It feels like we were conceding a couple of late ones earlier in the season. It showed in the celebrations. We knew we wouldn't concede once Shanks scored and that we pretty much had the points in the bag.

"It's probably a bit toxic but when he gets a chance, I'm like: 'He's going to bury this.' He doesn't need many and Wednesday showed that. There was the penalty but you know you will get something from him every time. Recently, he has been banging them in for fun so that always helps."

The full-time adulation bestowed upon Hearts from their supporters suggests belief is gradually being restored after inconsistent results earlier in the campaign. "The boys want to enjoy those moments, especially at full-time when you've won a big game. At the same time, you don't want to get carried away. We want to continue this run and keep enjoying it," said Rowles.

"You have your best times when you're having fun and enjoying it. Usually, winning helps that a lot. Morale is really high in the camp at the moment. You can see how much it meant to the fans getting one over on Hibs, especially at Easter Road. We lost the last game there last season. To win the first one this year is pretty special."