Hibs bagged their first away win in the Edinburgh derby since Boxing Day of 2019 with a frantic and fiery festive showing at a packed Tynecastle. David Gray’s men thoroughly deserved a rare victory in enemy territory, with the Hibees leaping to seventh in the table – and now well clear of their oldest rivals.
A Kye Rowles own goal inside the opening 10 minutes, confirmed after a lengthy VAR check for offside, was cancelled out by Rocky Bushiri putting through his own net two minutes into first-half injury time. But substitute Dwight Gayle scored a beautifully-taken winner inside the closing quarter hour of the game, as the visitors got the job done.
Hibs flew out of the traps to put their hosts under immediate pressure, Martin Boyle forcing Rowles into a rushed clearance attempt that resulted in a VAR check for handball by the Hearts defender. And Boyle was involved in the opener just moments later, his out-swinging corner from the right headed past Craig Gordon by the hapless Rowles.
The goal was then disallowed for offside. But referee Nick Walsh, given a call to review the footage himself at the pitch-side monitor, pointed to the centre circle when it became clear that the ball had come off the Hearts defender, not Josh Campbell – meaning Rocky Bushiri couldn’t be penalised for being in an offside position.
Hibs were jubilant. And threatened to run rampant, hammering Gordon’s goal and pulling Hearts into all sorts of uncomfortable positions. Chris Cadden and then Campbell forced successive saves from Gordon – a point-blank stop from a Boyle cut-back, then a spectacular dive to prevent the midfielder’s header hitting the top corner – before half an hour had passed, while Elie Youan also tested the Scotland goalie from range.
For all the chances they created, though, Gray’s men could not bag the second goal needed to put Hearts in a very deep hole. And they paid the price when, from a Blair Spittal cross on the left, Lawrence Shankland’s header – which was going wide of the target - was, erm, shanked beyond the helpless Jordan Smith by the swinging leg of Bushiri.
The second half was a fairly brutal affair, in the main, with Hearts enjoying a good 20-minute spell of possession without much penetration. Having weathered the storm, Hibs might have made it 2-1 when Chris Cadden headed brother Nicky’s cross straight at Gordon with 20 to go.
The introduction of Gayle as a sub for Youan changed everything. His movement, his guile and – especially – his finish for the goal prompted delirious celebrations in the away end. The scenes at full-time were, as you’d expect, twice as raucous.

5. RWB Chris Cadden 6.5/10
Tireless as ever. Had a glorious chance to make it 2-0 with just 20 minutes gone, only to be denied by a Gordon leg save. | SNS Group

6. CM Nectar Triantis 6/10
Struggled with the early pace in a frenetic midfield. But did a lot of unseen work to make life easier for his team-mates – and took over as main man when Newell was withdrawn. | SNS Group

7. CM Joe Newell 7/10
Club captain lasted just short of 70 minutes, having limped out of the win over Aberdeen last weekend. Brought some composure to the chaos. | SNS Group

8. LWB Nicky Cadden 8.5/10
An absolute menace to Hearts going forward. Did a power of work in the recovery runs, too, as the home side looked to counter down his side of the pitch. And what a ball for Gayle to score such a vital goal. Player of the Match. | SNS Group

