Hibs debrief: Martin Boyle's dream return, Lee Johnson's attacking changes, Youan having last laugh at Halkett

A look back at Sunday’s Edinburgh derby at Easter Road as Hibs leave it late to snatch a point.

Player of the match

Elie Youan struggled to make an impact for long periods of the second half, but he was impressive in the first period where he was by far and away the main threat in green and white, not to mention his run and cutback for Martin Boyle to score the late equaliser. He looks like he’ll be a good addition with manager Lee Johnson even saying he expects more to come from the attacker.

Defining moment

Hibs players and fans celebrate Martin Boyle's equaliser against Hearts in Sunday's Edinburgh derby. Picture: SNS

There’s only one candidate for this. It was clear Boyle was short of match sharpness and didn’t have the initial impact fans would have hoped after he came off the bench to make his second debut for the club, but he got more threatening as the seconds ticked away before making the home support explode with joy in the dying seconds. He helped start the move and then made a quick dash into the box to get on the end of the cross and stab it into the back of the net.

Ref watch

The home support were not impressed with some of the challenges Hearts were able to get away with during the game, while there was also a sense of injustice when the away side were awarded a couple of 50-50 decisions.

Benefit of hindsight

There could’ve been a more attacking or creative edge in the starting XI with a midfield of Josh Campbell, Joe Newell and Nohan Kenneh largely losing the battle in that area, but Lee Johnson made the correct changes and threw caution to the wind in order to get back into the game, which eventually paid off.

Moment you may have missed

Youan was frustrated earlier in the half when, while a Hearts player was down receiving treatment, Craig Halkett and Craig Gordon spent the time by throwing the ball to each other over the head of the Hibs striker. Halkett even feigned to pass it to Youan at one point before chucking it in the air again. Safe to say Youan got the last laugh and he wasn’t shy about letting Halkett know at full-time, give it a ‘you keep talking’ gesture as the home fans celebrated an unlikely point.

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