Derby winner Rafa talks injury-time save and 'best ever' atmosphere as Hibs hero reflects on Hearts win
Scotland striker Lawrence Shankland left holding head in disbelief as stunning stop helps Easter Road side win five-goal thriller
Derby winner Raphael Sallinger has spoken about his decisive injury-time contributions to yesterday’s thrilling five-goal encounter with Hearts at Easter Road. And the Hibs No. 1 has hailed his “best ever” footballing experience after revelling in the rivalry for 90-plus minutes.
The home side raced into a 3-0 lead early in the second half and might have gone even further ahead as they dominated the league leaders, with Jamie McGrath, Josh Campbell and Kieron Bowie all finding the net. Hibs were cruising until Lawrence Shankland scored for the visitors 15 minutes from time, while Cammy Devlin’s bundled close-range effort after 88 minutes created some late drama.
More was to come as Sallinger made a blinding point-blank save from a Shankland effort with the full 90 expired. And the Austrian goalie was also able to turn away a Beni Banigime effort in the last of six minutes added on for stoppages by referee John Beaton.
‘Better than Rangers or Celtic’ claim
Asked if there had been an element of concern, deep into injury time, that Hearts might spoil the party for Hibs fans who ended the afternoon serenading players with Sunshine on Leith, ‘Rafa’ said: “That is football, yes? That is a derby.
“When we conceded the second goal, the mindset is: ‘I will not let them get another goal, I just want to close the doors.’ And that is what I did. In the end I think it was a very deserved win.
“The saves at the end were very pleasing, especially for the team. It means a lot that I could help them at this time.
“But also for the fans, it is a big thing. I have never felt the atmosphere like this in a game so I am very happy … for Leith! And for this part of the city and especially for the team.
“It was absolutely amazing. The atmosphere and everything was the best I have ever had in a football game. Even compared to Celtic and Rangers it is much, much better. I think so. It was a big statement for the games that are coming in the future.”
‘Pure instinct’ stop from Hearts captain
Asked specifically if the save from Shankland had been pure instinct, Sallinger admitted: “I think so yes, because at 3-2 Jamie (McGrath) played me the ball from kick off and I just kicked the ball as far away as I could. I was thinking in my mind: ‘No, I will not concede another goal'. As you say, it was pure instinct. I tried to do my best in the situation.
“I never feel like one save is better than the other. I just wanted to make sure the ball did not go into the goal.
“As I said, I just wanted to win the game. To me it does not matter if I am the best player on the pitch or not. It is just the most important thing, especially today, to win the derby, to beat Hearts. That was all that was on my mind during the whole game.”
Assessing the impact this win might have on Hibs going forward, Sallinger pointed out: “I think it was the first win against a team above us in the league this season. I think we are starting to believe again we can beat everyone.
“I think when you compare this game to the last matches we have had, we have been ruthless at scoring goals. Because when we had a chance to score a goal, we took it.
“Hearts did not really have a chance in the first half and when we had it we took it and I think that was the only thing. Our defending was really good in the first half. In the second half I think it is a normal thing if you are 2-0 or 3-0 up that you settle down a wee bit and try to defend - but in the end it was a fully deserved win for us and we are very happy.”