HIBS HIT WITH A HAMMER BLOW
Easter Road side’s hopes of second are over after derby loss
THERE will be no blockbuster end to the season for Hibs. No all-or-nothing crack at runners-up spot in Sunday’s home clash with Rangers.
If Hearts had long since been run out of anything but the minor placings in a year of turmoil and struggle, they could at least savour their part in this cruel coup de grace.
Their 2-1 victory on a typically uproarious Tynecastle night, after goals from Kyle Lafferty and Steven Naismith either side of a Florian Kamberi penalty, did more than just secure three ‘meaningless’ points for the hosts.
At a stroke, it ended the season of their great rivals, now looking condemned to finish in fourth place. That’s assuming they don’t get a 6-0 win over Rangers at Easter Road in the final game of the season on Sunday.
Fourth is not a bad return for a newly-promoted team, by anyone’s measure. When even a point here would have sent them into the final game in pursuit of second, though, it will feel like a failure.
With one loss in their previous 11 derby clashes, Neil Lennon’s men had arrived as favourites. But hardly stick-ons.
To put the scale of the challenge in perspective, Hibs hadn’t won at Tynecastle in almost precisely five years. That 2-1 victory on May 12, 2013 featured goals from Leigh Griffiths and Ross Caldwell. If that helps to date it a little.
Hearts needed to show something to their fans, given the struggles they have put them through. And Craig Levein clearly intended to go for whatever glory remained.
Naismith, only cleared to play because of the pedestrian pace of the SFA ‘fast-track’ disciplinary system, was joined in the Hearts starting line-up by pre-match injury doubt Lafferty.
Well, there’s nothing like a derby to make the sick rise from their beds.
The same rules clearly apply to the Tynecastle ground staff, who had been out with the very finest Flymo to get the pitch looking like a bowling green.
Perfect for all the ‘free-flowing’ football upon which this fixture’s reputation has been built.
There was just a moment, as Lennon and Levein grinned their way through the pre-match handshakes, when it seemed as if maybe we would witness a kinder, gentler celebration of this local rivalry. No chance.
It took just 16 minutes for the madness to manifest itself. A lively start turned tempestuous when John McGinn was clattered — fairly — by Demetri Mitchell on the edge of the Hearts box.
While play raged on, because there had been no whistle, Joaquim Adao — a player subbed before he was sent off at the weekend — spent ten seconds manhandling McGinn in a bid to drag the Hibs midfielder to his feet.
As the action switched to the other end, Lafferty overran the ball on the edge of the Hibs box, then went through Lewis Stevenson.
Cue the first booking, plus a word of admonishment from referee Craig Thomson for Adao. It was the spark that ignited this game — and actually gave Hearts the emotional lift they needed to get really motoring.
They took the lead after 25 minutes as Stevenson suffered a complete blank, allowing Lafferty to nip in and fire past Ofir Marciano.
Lafferty’s goal celebration, a careering run straight to the Hibs fans behind the goal, brought forth a rain of missiles. He’d probably say it was worth it.
The restart was held up by a maroon smoke bomb on the pitch, Efe Ambrose eventually dealing with it. Now he and his team-mates needed to put out the fire raging on three sides of the ground.
The quality of the play for the remainder of the first half may not have been particularly special, with one exchange of one long ball after another feeling as if it went on too long to be amusing.
But there were moments of promise, most notably Harry Cochrane forcing two fine saves out of Marciano either side of a Scott Allan curler punched clear by Jon McLaughlin.
It’s fair to say the half-time interval represented the most important ten or 15 minutes of Lennon’s season as a manager.
He had to get his players’ heads back in the game. Had to stop McGinn from wasting energy flying into tackles, instead of getting on the ball. Had to find some way of resetting his team in pursuit of parity, at least.
Lennon did not have to wait long to see if his men were ready to respond as, just three minutes into the second half, Stevenson dragged his team back into the game through sheer force of will.
First he won a 50-50 with Michael Smith inside his own half, then he charged down the wing, before laying the ball inside to Brandon Barker.
When Barker lost possession, the full-back was first to the ball — and was brought down by Adao.
Kamberi converted the penalty and the air was full of green smoke bombs and Hibs songs.
Hearts fans have had precious little to cheer for long enough. But, oh, how they celebrated the goal that put them 2-1 up here.
Lafferty set the situation up by getting a run on Paul Hanlon in pursuit of a long ball, drawing a foul in a dangerous area just before the hour mark.
When Cochrane whipped in the free-kick, Naismith made a darting run across the front post to score with a flashing header.
The rest of the game, a full half hour and more, plus six minutes of stoppage time, passed in a green-and-maroon flash.
At the very death, Hibs had their chances. Kamberi and substitute Jamie Maclaren each had chances to spin and shoot — but without the power or accuracy needed.
The game ended with an Adao clearance that might have taken down the International Space Station, as home fans sent up a visceral roar into the stratosphere. HEARTS (4-1-4-1): McLaughlin 6; Smith 7, Hughes 6, Berra 8, Mitchell 6; Adao 5; Milinkovic 5 (McDonald 89), Cochrane 6 (Callachan 84), Naismith 7, Amankwaa 5 (Cowie 68); Lafferty 7. Subs not used: J Hamilton, Moore, Henderson, C Hamilton. Booked: Lafferty. HIBERNIAN (4-2-3-1): Marciano 6; Ambrose 6, McGregor 6, Hanlon 5 (Maclaren 64), Stevenson 5; Whittaker 5, McGinn 5; Boyle 5 (McGeouch 41), Allan 6 (Slivka 77), Barker 5; Kamberi. Subs not used: Bell, Bartley, Swanson, Shaw. Booked: Whittaker, McGregor. Man of the match: Christophe Berra. Referee: Craig Thomson. Attendance: 19,324.