A stunning Jack Iredale strike gave Hibs a victory their second half performance deserved in a thrilling Edinburgh derby at Easter Road.
A crazy opening to the game saw defences breached at both ends, as Martin Boyle’s sixth minute opener for the hosts was cancelled out just three minutes later, Jorge Grant seizing upon a loose ball to smash Hearts level.
Hearts dominated the first half from that point on, but couldn’t nudge themselves in front, and they were made to pay as some half time adjustments from David Gray allowed Hibs to seize the upper hand after the interval.
Iredale’s dipping, long-range winner gave them the victory that puts them right in the mix in the battle for third place, continuing their remarkable turnaround and stretching their unbeaten run to 15 games.
Here are the talking points from derby day at Easter Road…
Best derby in Scotland delivers on and off the field
News this week that away fans will be allowed into the next Old Firm fixture – albeit in reduced number than we are traditionally accustomed to – may make this a live debate once more, but over the last few seasons, there can be little doubt that the Edinburgh derby has been the premier spectacle in Scottish football.
Off the pitch, at least. The fare on the field hasn’t always lived up to the passion and colour that both sets of fans have brought to the occasion, with the mutual deal to maintain large away supports (despite reducing allocations for everyone else) always making for a tasty atmosphere.
That was always going to be the case again here with both teams flying, and the pre-match display and even a little bit of sunshine on Leith made for a wonderful setting.
The difference this time was that the game matched the intensity from the stands, with both sides fully committed and showing real moments of their quality amid the chaos.
Iredale desire makes the difference
When the ball was headed out of the Hearts area as the game entered the final quarter of an hour, Iredale was being pursued by the retreating Lawrence Shankland as he tried to latch onto it.
The defender simply wanted it more, though, and Shankland’s regret at not committing fully to tracking his opponent’s run was immediately apparent as the ball flew off his left boot and dipped and swerved past Craig Gordon and into the far corner to send the home fans wild.
The strike was sensational, and Shankland probably thought Iredale didn’t have that in his locker, given that he hadn’t scored for Hibs to that point. But it was a risk he didn’t need to take, and it was one that was severely punished.
All the credit goes to Iredale, but Shankland may regret not bursting a gut to stop him.
Hearts defending for opener suspect too
There were good aspects to the performance of Hearts, particularly in the first half, but their defending wasn’t one of them.
The last thing that Hearts would have wanted to do was to hand Hibs an early opener with the stadium already bouncing, but that’s exactly what they did as the visitors were caught out far too easily by a long ball into the left channel from Iredale.
Boyle is always a threat of course with his pace, but Gerard Taylor really should have reacted quicker to the bouncing ball. His hesitation allowed Boyle to sneak in, outpace him and outmuscle him, before producing a lovely first-time finish past Craig Gordon, who may also rue his decision not to come out and meet the ball a bit sooner.
Gray deserves credit as he flips momentum on its head
When the half time whistle blew, it looked as though there was only going to be one winner, as Hearts seized control of proceedings and posed Hibs all sorts of issues with their high press.
Gray’s men didn’t seem to know how to get out of their area, and were hesitant and slow in their passing.
The Hibs manager though managed to spark his team to life when he got them inside at the break, and suddenly they were moving the ball quicker and managed to push Hearts onto the back foot. And the manager would get his reward.
Bushiri’s bad habits resurfacing
The one blot on the Hibs copybook was their own defending for Hearts’ equaliser, and Rocky Bushiri won’t want to see it back.
The centre back has had a remarkable turnaround in fortunes of late, and was outstanding in the win over Celtic at Easter Road last week. But for all his impressive physicality, and the committed style that has made him something of a cult hero with the Hibs support, this was more like the Bushiri of old who was much maligned in the earlier part of the season.
The big man has always had a rash streak in him, and can often look technically awkward, and both of those faults were on display as he made a hash of his attempted clearance and teed the ball up perfectly for Grant to smash home the leveller for Hearts.
Another slash at the ball almost presented a second to Shankland, but he calmed down as the game went on, and he got away with it on the day.
His manager will hope that Bushiri has got that out of his system, and can get back to the fine form he has shown recently when Hibs travel to Celtic Park for next week’s Scottish Cup quarter final.
