Hibs goal hero chasing ultimate Edinburgh derby rush as Swansea loanee Myko targets home win over Hearts

Myko Kuharevich has already enjoyed the sweet sensation of scoring in an Edinburgh derby at Easter Road. Now the Swansea loanee wants to top that high – by finding the net in a victory over Hearts in front of a fired-up Hibs audience.

Kuharevich netted his fifth of the season in Wednesday night’s dramatic 3-1 win over Dundee United at Tannadice, the Ukrainian striker enjoying a moment of release as he netted for the first time since returning from a groin injury suffered in December’s 3-0 loss at Celtic Park – the last time Hibs experienced defeat in any competition. Eager to retain his starting place for Sunday’s renewal of local hostilities, the 23-year-old has a bit of personal history in the derby.

He scored the opener in October’s 1-1 home draw, with the joy of bagging a goal offset by the disappointment of conceding a late equaliser to James Wilson. That came, of course, at a time when throwing away leads in the closing stages of game was something of an epidemic for Hibs.

Kuharevich is sure that David Gray’s men are in a different place now, saying: “It was good to score against Hearts, a special feeling, one hundred percent. Especially at home.

“Hopefully we'll do it again, but with a win. Yes, it's a special feeling to score, but it's much better when we win a game.”

Admitting that it had hurt to see victory snatched away at the very end of the most recent derby at Easter Road, Kuharevich said: "Yes, it's happened in football. This time we got some late goals. It was not so good for us.

Gray’s men mentally strong

“But now we're a little bit better in this part of our game. We play until the end. If we don't lose a goal, even if we score our winning goal, it's good.

“I 100 per cent feel this team is mentally strong. When I got back after the injury, I felt that inside the team. When you sit on the bench, you really feel the confidence. Everyone is really confident to get a result.

“Even if it's not going well during the game, you have a feeling on the bench, on the field, that you're going to win. Everyone is so mentally ready, so good.

"I think now we have a really good form, a really good collective, a really good atmosphere inside the team. Everyone feels it, everyone stays for each other, helps each other. We feel a connection with our fans and just enjoy being in this place. Enjoy winning games and celebrating with the fans.”

Injury agony

There was plenty of celebrating on Wednesday night, with Myko right at the heart of the post-game scenes, the target man explaining: “For me, I'm really happy to come back with a goal. I worked so hard after my injury. It was so hard to get back and help the team, to be an important part of the team. I'm really happy.

"It was a hard one, because obviously injury is always hard. You have to be a little bit outside of the team, get a lot of jobs inside and outside. I'm so happy to be involved in the team right now and help the team get results.

GET THE LATEST HIBS NEWS DIRECTLY TO YOUR EMAIL INBOX WITH OUR FREE NEWSLETTER SERVICE

“Especially now we've got a really tough schedule. We have a lot of games, and everyone has to be ready to come and help the team. I think just everyone has to be ready to come, get into the game and help the team.”

Kuharevich watched the last derby, the festive 2-1 win in Gorgie, from the comfort of his sofa, admitting: “It was not so good if you compared to play and scoring, but we won. This is the most important. We also got some confidence from that win. So it's good.

“Everyone is happy in the team. We just try to keep going, keep working hard, keep believing. I think we will get as high as possible (in the table) in the end.”

Your next Hibs read - will flag-waving fan favourite be fit to face Hearts at Easter Road?