Lawrence Shankland became the first Hearts player since strike legend John Robertson to hit 20 goals in a season to help give Jambos boss Robbie Neilson his first EVER win at Easter Road and fire the men in maroon into the Scottish Cup last 16 with a 3-0 victory over Hibs.
Shankland - who was then sent off for a second yellow card in injury time - scored a stunner after Josh Ginnelly netted the opener for the visitors in Leith and Toby Sibbick completed the rout injury time. A jubilant Neilson, who watched from the stand as he served a touchline ban, to heap more misery on Lee Johnson and Hibs, who haven't won a derby since December 2019.
Hearts arrived unbeaten in their last eight games and without a derby loss since December 2019 but Neilson had incredibly never won at Easter Road as player or boss. The home side handed James Jeggo a baptism of fire with a quickfire debut following just one training session with his new team-mates after signing from Belgian side Eupen.
The Leith side started the brighter of the two as Ryan Porteous - in possibly his last appearance for the club - sent a long ball forward and Elie Youan latched onto it with Michael Smith alert to clear the danger. But Zander Clark spilled the resulting corner in a nervy start from the Jambos.
Hibs went even closer moments later as Chris Cadden sent Aiden McGeady racing away down the right and his cross found Josh Campbell who flicked the ball goal wards but it came back off the upright. But from that dominant start, Johnson’s men found themselves behind as Hearts scored against the run of play. Robert Snodgrass floated in a free kick which was headed out and into the path of Ginnelly and his sweet strike found its way into the back of the net to send the strong travelling contingent wild.
The hosts, though, responded well. McGeady was in the mood and brought out a save from Clark before a brilliant cross to pick out Campbell but he couldn’t quite get his header on target as the ball went just wide.
Hearts were still dangerous on the break and David Marshall was forced into a save to deny Michael Smith from Alex Cochrane’s ball. Hibs came out fighting in the second half but a moment of brilliance killed it for them. And it just had to be that man Shankland who played a brilliant one-two with Stephen Humphrys before rifling an unbelievable shot into the net to earn his place in Jambos folklore - and make sure of Hearts place in the draw.
But Shankland then received a second yellow in injury time to give Hibs a little bit of hope and Youan hit the woodwork at the death but it was too little, too late and it was Hearts who had the final say as Sibbick scored his first goal with a sublime finish on the counter.
Here's three things we learned from Easter Road
Super Shanks
Lawrence Shankland fired in his fourth derby goal and that earned him his place in the Hearts history books as he became the first player since John Robertson 31 years ago to hit 20 goals in a season. Robbie Neilson knew what he was getting from the sharpshooter when he brought him back to Scotland from Belgium, having worked with him at Dundee United. The man wearing the captain’s armband has really stepped up to the plate but was sent off in the dying minutes for a foul on Rocky Bushiri, his second yellow, which looked harsh.
Neilson ends Easter Road hoodoo
Incredibly, this was the 34th Edinburgh derby that Robbie Neilson had been involved in - 18 as a player and 16 as manager - and the was his FIRST win at the home of the Jambos’ fierce rivals. Given the length of time he has been involved with the men in maroon, and the success he has enjoyed, it was quite an astonishing record.
It was his rotten luck that when it finally arrived he wasn’t able to enjoy it to the full as he was serving a touchline ban. But it would have come as a relief to the 42-year-old who had almost a decade as a player and is now in his second stint as Gorgie boss. The challenge now is to go one better than last season when they were runners-up in what is their only realistic chance of silverware.
Hapless Hibs
Hearts fans chanted "Hibs are falling apart again" and they certainly have big problems. Pressure will mount on Lee Johnson after this thumping. Yes, they played well and the scoreline might have been harsh but there's no hiding from the bad run they're on. However, while there have been whispers that Lee Johnson might be happy to let Aiden McGeady leave Easter Road the 36-year-old has showed in recent weeks what he has to offer and the former Celtic man rolled back the years here. McGeady was at the heart of so much of the good play from Hibs and is vital to the Hibees. He was recently asked about the future of his former Sunderland boss when Johnson was feeling the heat and his response in a Sky Sports interview didn’t exactly appear to give his manager his full backing but performances show he’s certainly giving his all and he didn’t deserve to be on the losing side.
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