History boy Shankland and Co pile the pressure on Johnson
Records tumble as Gorgie men produce repeat of this month’s derby win in cup while Hibs struggle again
IT was a day for records to fall at Easter Road yesterday as Hibernian and Hearts met in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup. Lawrence Shankland became the first Hearts player to score 20 goals in a single season since his legendary Tynecastle predecessor John Robertson did so 31 years ago, when he netted in the second half.
And Robbie Neilson finally savoured his first victory at the Leith ground 22 years after making his debut in the Edinburgh derby as his side ground out a hardfought but ultimately comfortable 3- 0 triumph.
Will Lee Johnson’s record as Hibs manager now lead to his departure?
The agonising loss came just 19 days after his side had slumped to a reverse in Gorgie by an identical scoreline in the cinch Premiership and it is fair to say the home supporters were far from happy.
The pressure is mounting on the Englishman now and with centrehalf Rocky Bushiri suffering what looked like a serious injury late on and Ryan Porteous poised to depart, he is well and truly up against it.
Here are five talking points from Easter Road.
1 Toothless Hibs, robust Hearts
Hibs started positively and went close to taking the lead on a couple of occasions; Hearts defender Michael Smith almost turned the ball into his own net after dispossessing Elie Youan and then Josh Campbell back- heeled an Aiden McGeady pass on to the right post.
But the defensive deficiencies which have proved so costly for the Easter Road club this season soon resurfaced – they failed to deal with a Robert Snodgrass free- kick into their area and Josh Ginnelly pounced on a loose ball and rifled beyond goalkeeper David Marshall.
Hibs had the better of the game and created the superior scoring chances thereafter – McGeady, Chris Cadden, Campbell and Porteous all forced saves from Zander Clark as they pushed hard for an equaliser.
However, Hearts soaked up their assault, came back off the ropes and hit their opponents with a sucker punch which Ken Buchanan, the former world lightweight champion boxer who took the match ball out on to the pitch before hostilities commenced, would have been proud of in his heyday.
Shankland cut inside from the left, played a neat one- two with substitute Stephen Humphrys and then fired a powerful shot into the Hibs net to effectively seal the victory.
The scorer was sent off by referee Don Robertson for a second bookable offence in injury time – but Hearts piled on the misery at the death to the delight of their followers when Toby Sibbick struck on the counter.
It would have been an entirely different story if Hibs had shown the same ruthlessness in the final third and organisation at the back.
2 Rash Porteous
With Italian outfit Udinese and English clubs Blackburn Rovers and Watford all being linked with Porteous in recent days, this could have been the defender’s final appearance for Hibs. If that proves to be the case, he bowed out with a whimper, not a bang.
Porteous has still, despite making his first- team debut for his boyhood heroes five- and- a- half years ago and facing Hearts on numerous occasions since, never been on the winning side in an Edinburgh derby.
His actions proved costly for his side yesterday. He gave away a free- kick just outside his penalty box with a pointless foul on Ginnelly, who was heading away from goal, when the score was 0- 0. Had he not been warned about how dangerous Snodgrass was at dead- ball situations? The away team took full advantage of the gift they were presented with.
The 23- year- old showed when he made his Scotland debut in the important Nations League match against Ukraine in Poland in September what a fine footballer he is. But it is fair to say he has still got to smooth off a few rough edges, not least a propensity to make rash challenges, in his play.
It is to be hoped that moving to a higher- profile league either down south or abroad improves Porteous and helps him realise his potential.
3 Shankland for Scotland
The Hearts captain took his tally for the campaign to 20 with his well- taken secondhalf strike. Can Scotland manager Steve Clarke ignore a player in such scintillating form up front?
Clarke is well placed for forwards with Che Adams and Lyndon Dykes both at his disposal. However, if the four- times capped predator continues to bang them in with such regularity he could find himself involved in the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Cyprus and Spain at Hampden in March in some capacity.
4 Jeggo debut Johnson
was forced to hand James Jeggo, who had only joined from Belgian club Eupen on an 18- month deal on Saturday, a start due to a lengthy injury list.
The 13- times capped Australian internationalist has played at a decent level and helped Sturm Graz to lift the Austrian Cup in 2018. Still, it was asking a lot of him to make his debut for Hibs in a derby. The 30- year- old picked up a booking for tripping Barrie McKay as he advanced upfield. That aside, he contributed precious little. His distribution certainly left much to be desired. He has work to do to justify his signing.
5 Proper The refusal derby
by both Celtic and Rangers to give visiting supporters a full stand whenever the Glasgow clubs have played at Parkhead or Ibrox in the past four years has had a detrimental impact on Old Firm games.
There was nothing wrong with the atmosphere when Hibs played Hearts at Easter Road yesterday – fans of the Tynecastle club filled every seat in the South Stand and chanted, cheered and applauded from kick- off to the final whistle. It is how a derby should be.
Something, though, really needs to be done about the continued use of pyrotechnics by supporters at Scottish games.
The start of the match was delayed because smoke canisters were thrown on to the pitch by both sets of fans. There were more fireworks when Ginnelly broke the deadlock.
The worrying trend has to be stopped before somebody is badly hurt.