Inside Hibs vs Hearts: Transfer deadline day factor, beach balls, self implosion and contrasting ABBA fortunes
Here’s how Hearts and Hibs went down at Easter Road during Edinburgh derby battle.
Hearts downed 10-man Hibs 3-1 at Easter Road as the Tynecastle side claimed bragging rights in the latest Edinburgh derby.
James Wilson put the visitors ahead inside 13 minutes during this Premiership clash. Jacob Devaney hit the bar before half-time for Hibs and Laurent Mendy was soon up the other end to double Hearts’ lead. Adam Mayor cut the deficit and perhaps should have blasted home a leveller but Jack Iredale’s red card proved costly. Josh McPake netted his side’s winner.
The Hibees sit on six points after four games in the league while Hearts have nine. David Gray’s Hibs side meet St Johnstone away on Sunday - having just loaned academy graduate Josh Campbell to the McDiarmid Park side - while Wouter Vrancken's Hearts host Dundee at Tynecastle.
What was the build-up to Hibs vs Hearts like?
It’s not often that derby day build-up in the city gets overshadowed but that arguably happened here ahead of the first of this season. Hearts’ European squad deadline on Wednesday and transfer deadline day occurring mere hours before kick-off directed fan glances elsewhere. In the newsroom, talk was awash of a possible Hibs move for ex-England international striker Danny Ings, as Hearts signed Swiss teen Leart Kabashi in conjunction with Jamestown Analytics. Warren O’Hora and Campbell had also made way from Hibs with Marko Ivezic coming in, bringing a rare differential to derby day chatter, where not all of it was centred around beating the other.
The clock struck 5pm though, and with each deadline passed, thoughts immediately turned to Easter Road. Both had started this domestic season well, sitting on two wins from three games, as the Jambos prepared for Conference League football in the league phase. Those who would fill three sides of the famous Leith ground were still nursing late wounds of play-off exit to Gent exactly a week prior and hoped no more big game agony would befall them.
Predictions of a goal-fest had been cast but with trepidation that this is a fixture known for throwing up the drab and dreary. Hearts fans marching into Leith made their opponents’ continental departure clear with a ‘no Hibs in Europe’ chant bouncing off the walls inside the stadium. Now it started to feel like derby day was brewing. Fireworks, pyro, a pinched flag and banner digs added to it, as did a brief delay to proceedings with beach balls amongst items needing cleared off the pitch before home goalkeeper Raphael Sallinger could launch a long kick to begin proceedings. A few half chances were exchanged and Claudio Braga would have wanted his eighth-minute header back, perhaps not aware of the space he had, as it glanced wide.
Fans may have wondered when fixtures were released whether the popular Portuguese striker would make this clash beyond the summer window but seeing his trademark high-octane style here was of great joy for those leaning maroon. Perhaps the Hibs backline not so much as Braga engaged them in a game of chases all over the final third of the pitch he was facing. His strike partner would soon leave them head in hands as McPake breezed past Felix Passlack to set the Scotland international up for a simple finish.
As the Scottish FA prepares to host a pivotal youth development meeting in St Andrews on Friday, Hearts academy graduate Wilson is a player reborn after time on loan at Tottenham, the talented teenager showing composure beyond his years in enemy territory. It bookmarked Hearts’ positive start to the game with their opponents appearing unsure on how to engage Vrancken’s men. It was rabbit in headlights stuff as the Gorgie outfit toyed with their prey and a second goal even at a relatively early juncture looked likely to push this towards foregone conclusion territory. A pulse emerged when Nathan Lowe’s effort was saved by goalkeeper Beau Reus and Devaney cracked the Jambos bar with a follow-up attempt.
What happened during Hibs vs Hearts?
More was needed but it showed Hibs that there that was still something there for them in the second half if they could up their ante. The issue was they headed down the tunnel 2-0 behind. A Blair Spittal free-kick into the mixer left Mendy all alone in the box and he had the simple task of nodding his header into the bottom corner. It was nothing Hearts didn’t deserve as they’d been the superior team in this game across all aspects but they let their guard down five minutes after the restart. Mayor was on hand to punish Mendy’s loose moment in possession as he lost the ball and allowed the wing-back to rifle home an unstoppable blast.
It had rattled maroon cages and Oisin McEntee’s slack backpass needed Reus to make an important intervention to stop Martin Boyle scoring a dramatic leveller. Mayor then blazed over a glaring chance in the Hearts box with this game flipped on its head. Then madness struck. Iredale played a pass that almost trundled into his own net and Sallinger’s scrambled clearance ended with the defender clipping Calvin Miller with a high boot. Already on a booking, referee Don Robertson delivered marching orders, few complaining over that outcome.
Hibs had put in so much good work to get to the point where Hearts were on the ropes, but with one foot forward, they took two back. Played raged on for the best part of 30 minutes afterwards but Iredale seeing red was as good as an away winner. McPake then found that goal with a mazy run that sparked a mass emptying of the home stands. It was party time in the away end as they sung McPake’s name to the tune of ABBA’s Dancing Queen. Slipping Through my Fingers was perhaps a more apt tune for Hibs as they allowed their foes off the canvas to claim a memorable derby win.
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