Ofir Marciano confident ‘on-form’ Hibs will banish derby flop

Hibs goalkeeper Ofir Marciano was unable to prevent Hearts winning Tuesdays derby.

Ofir Marciano is confident Hibs can banish their derby misery by finishing the season strongly.

The Israeli admits his team deserved their 3-1 defeat at the hands of Hearts on Tuesday. However, he is keen to stress that Hibs have generally been in “good form” since the winter break and is eager to ensure they get back on track with a strong performance away to Aberdeen today.

A victory at Pittodrie would allow the Easter Road side to move within two points of the fourth-place Dons. “We are in good form at the moment,” said the Israeli goalkeeper. “We have had a good run, we have gathered points and haven’t lost many games since the new year but the derby was a disappointment for us and we have to try to put it out our mind now and move forward and try to build the momentum again.

“The Aberdeen game is massive for us, especially because of where we want to go this season and what we want to achieve. We must stay focused and not forget what mistakes we made on Tuesday but learn from them. We have to try to be better in our approach and in the tempo of the game and try to get as many points as we can.”

Marciano was gutted by the manner of the derby defeat but he insists the deficiencies which were evident on Tuesday can be remedied. “The feeling the night of the game was tough but the next day I watched the game and analysed the things that me and my teammates could do better and we will try to move forward and try to do better,” said the goalkeeper.

“First of all, they played well and they made it hard for us, they pressed us high and we couldn’t find solutions. I don’t think we managed the game well and in parts of the game they were better at winning the second ball and doing the dirty bits of the game. At the end of the day, those are the things that win games of football.”