Hurting David Marshall has warned Hibs not to allow their season spin out of control after slipping to another derby defeat.
The skipper reckons his side were better than Hearts for an hour of Sunday's capital clash. But the Jambos had the clinical edge to secure a second 3-0 victory over their rivals in the space of three weeks. Marshall admits it was a brutal blow but with Aberdeen up next at Easter Road in five days’ time the veteran goalkeeper said they can’t afford to feel sorry for themselves as they look to muscle into the battle for European spots.
Lee Johnson’s side sit sixth, 11 points off Hearts in third and four off Livi in fourth. The Dons are two points better off in fifth ahead of Saturday’s clash in Leith. And Marshall said: “We need to get some momentum going. We play Aberdeen next and we can get higher in the league.
“We’ve got a chance to do that. It’s a tough one after today but we need to find a bit of confidence, bit of spark and go again. If you look back at the game, we can take some positives in terms of performances, which has been potentially lacking in recent months.
“In the first half it felt like we had a lot of pressure around Hearts’ box but maybe nothing clear-cut. Chris Cadden had a chance that was blocked and Zander had a couple of saves but nothing outrageous.
"We felt certainly for the first half we played well. Obviously, they’ve been clinical. Shankland’s in a good run of form and we’ve been disappointed with the goals we’ve conceded lately. We started the season quite strongly defensively and we’ve slipped a little bit.
“You’re never as far away as you think and, for the first hour of the game, we matched Hearts and arguably were the better side. But it all comes down to goals.”
Marshall now expects to have played his final game behind Ryan Porteous with the Hibs hero set for an exit this week. And with Rocky Bushiri ending the derby with a serious looking injury it creates a potential defensive headache for Easter Road boss Johnson.
But Marshall said: “I think Ryan will more than likely go with his contract situation. Rocky went off injured as well so the manager might be looking to see how bad his injury.
“We’ve got Will Fish and also Paul Hanlon has come back from a small injury. In terms of that, we should be equipped enough to do what we want to do.”
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