Hearts edge out Hibs as season 2021/22 attendance figures revealed

Over 25,000 more fans entered through the gates at Tynecastle Park than Easter Road this past season.

Hearts posted an average attendance of 14,471, while Hibs trailed not far behind with an average of 13,348. The mean for each club’s league campaign was 15,886 and 14,972, respectively.

Each of the Edinburgh rivals hosted 23 games in the 2021/22 campaign: 19 home fixtures in the league and additional four each in cup competitions.

Hearts enjoyed a thoroughly enjoyable season after returning from the Scottish Championship, finishing clear in third place and reaching the final of the Scottish Cup. In total, 332,835 watched games in Gorgie over the space of 10 months.

A crowd of 19,041 watched the Edinburgh derby at Tynecastle in April. Picture: SNS

Though Hibs enjoyed success in the cups, reaching the latter stages of both the Premier Sports and Scottish Cup, including the final of the former, they did struggle in the league before ultimately finishing in eighth place. The total number of spectators in Leith was 307,013.

Both teams were impacted by crowd restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The first home league game of each team’s season was impacted, while Hearts’ Premier Sports Cup group stages and Hibs’ Europa League qualifiers also saw reduced attendances thanks to social-distancing measures.

Hearts were the only team to play a game behind closed doors as their Boxing Day clash with Ross County was played in front of an empty stadium.

The average attendances for matches without Covid-19 restrictions were 16,931 (17,386 in the league) for Hearts and 14,536 (15,493 in the league) for Hibs.

Edinburgh derby matches were responsible for the highest attendance at each stadium. A crowd of 20,419 watched Kevin Dabrowski put in a man-of-the-match performance on his Hibs debut to ensure a 0-0 stalemate at Easter Road in early February, while 19,041 people watched Hearts defeat Hibs 3-1 at Tynecastle in April with Andy Halliday scoring a double.

Hibs also attracted 19,585 for spring-time contest with St Johnstone thanks, in part, to the ‘Football for a Fiver’ scheme.

The smallest crowd at Easter Road for a league match came in February with 13,227 taking in a 1-0 defeat to St Mirren. Hearts, meanwhile, had 15,527 watch a 2-1 midweek defeat to Dundee in the same month.

All attendance stats come courtesy of BBC Sport Scotland

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