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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
Sport
Matthew Fulton

Hearts 3 Hibs 0 as Lee Johnson's men suffer derby disaster with VAR drama - 3 things we learned

Hibs fell to another derby day defeat as VAR took centre stage at Tynecastle in a 3-0 defeat for the Leith side.

It was Hearts' top scorer Lawrence Shankland who took the bull by the horns in Gorgie, pegging back Lee Johnson's men inside the first ten minutes with a top strike to open the scoring. Controversy struck in the first half with a very lengthy VAR check that eventually awarded Robbie Neilson's men a spot-kick that the Scot converted.

A second-half improvement from Hibs was short-lived as Stephen Humphrys put the icing on the cake in the late stages to seal their rivals' misery. Here's three things we learned from Tyecastle.

READ NEXT: Hibs 'keen' on Burnley's Kevin Long as Ryan Porteous transfer replacement with Watford ready to move

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Euro hammer blow and luckless run

Hibs' chances of edging towards a European spot are looking more and more unlikely after derby defeat.

The Jambos are now eight clear of their city rivals and despite poor runs of form from the likes of Aberdeen and Livingston, the Hibees remain rooted to the bottom half of the table but only three points off fourth.

Yet the alarming stat of just one win in the previous five games will concern the higher-ups at Easter Road with all eyes on upcoming games with Motherwell and Dundee United. It is only two wins in the last eleven, however if the Hibees can produce a display from the off as they did in the second half results should pick up.

Leaking goals in Leith

Lee Johnson won't want to look at the Premiership table much but perhaps a stat that has gone under the radar is the amount of goals his side are losing.

It was three on the day at Tynecastle as they fell to defeat but only two teams in the league have a worse goals against record than the Leith outfit.

Johnson's men have one goal more conceded than bottom-placed Ross County (32) and are joint-worst in the league with Kilmarnock and Dundee United. They have scored eleven less goals than rivals Hearts. At that rate, it can only spell danger for Hibs ahead of a key part of the season.

Identity question

Much was made of Lee Johnson's identity as a manger prior to arriving at Hibs with fans expecting to see the club play with a new identity going forward.

And while there has been a palpable change in operations day-to-day, fans may be wondering if the product on the park is much improved since the tenures of Jack Ross and the short-lived affair of Shaun Maloney.

Last weekend's 4-0 win over Livingston captured the essence of what Johnson wants to do but it still feels from a Hibs perspective that the gaffer's plans are not being laid out on a consistent basis.

BBC Scotland's Michael Stewart was quick to raise the question of identity during the game at Tynecastle and perhaps Johnson will look to respond with big games coming up.

READ NEXT:

- Zander Clark on his 'bittersweet' Hearts debut as he hails 'brilliant' Craig Gordon

- Hearts vs Hibs referee named as Nick Walsh takes charge of VAR for Tynecastle Edinburgh derby

- Lawrence Shankland backed to smash Hearts 20 goal barrier as Liam Boyce labels him 'perfect'

- Robbie Neilson details Craig Gordon Hearts vs Hibs derby involvement and Shankland captaincy call

- Hearts claim historic win in Perth over St Johnstone as they climb back to third - 3 things we learned

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