HIBS ORDER HUMBLE PIE
Lenny joy as Easter Road men serve up a sizzler to make Levein eat his words
CRAIG LEVEIN has his natural order but Neil Lennon’s men put his Hearts in their place.
You just knew that line was going to come back and bite the Jambos and Hibs took great delight in sinking their teeth into their old rivals.
Scott Allan and Jamie Maclaren slotted stunners as they noised up the neighbours to go 12 points clear of the men in Maroon and just about end any argument over who will be the capital’s top dogs this term.
Levein might have been talking ancient history but Lennon is firmly the boss of the present.
His Hibs side were in total charge to avenge the January Scottish Cup defeat. That’s just one loss in nine derbies. How’s that for natural order?
As for the game, for long spells it was more of the usual order. There were fireworks on and off the field, a lighter lobbed at Hibs keeper Ofir Marciano and spells of play that would make the eyes bleed.
The rival gaffers shook hands at the end but this was a sweet moment for one and a bitter boot in the backside for the other.
It’s not like this clash needs much encouragement to catch fire. But Lennon and Levein have brought a couple of Jerry cans full of petrol just for good measure this term.
There might be plenty of respect between the gaffers but there’s a large dose of animosity that has been fuelled in and around each clash.
The fun and games in the dugouts only cranked things up a notch. Easter Road was packed and there were fireworks even before kick-off. Literally. Some bright sparks among the Jambos faithful jammed in the away end held up the first whistle by launching smoke bombs on to the pitch. Talk about a sign of what was to come. The smoke drifted into the night but there was no chance of the crazy fog lifting. At least not in the stands. On the park it was red-hot business as usual. It was hard to tell which was getting the biggest battering – the ball or Bobby Madden’s whistle. Right from the off it was fast and frenzied. Let’s face it, we wouldn’t want it any other way. The action swept to and fro – Hibs would have a go, string a slick move together, then Hearts would try to spring a break.
The Jambos superbly carved out the first real chance on the counter as the ball was worked across the pitch to Marcus Godinho and back to Michael Smith but Darren McGregor bravely hurled himself in the way to block.
There were some meaty challenges flying in but it wasn’t a bone cruncher that ended Harry Cochrane’s night after barely 15 minutes.
The youngster felt a tug of his hamstring after firing over a cross and that was his derby up.
It meant a rejig in Levein’s midfield but by that stage Hibs had taken control of the centre ground. Dylan McGeouch’s neat footwork was creating space while John McGinn drove into the box and fired over the bar.
Martin Boyle’s scorching pace was causing grief down the flank but the winger popped up with a burst through the middle from inside his own half as he opened the Jambos up before goalie Jon McLaughlin got down to smother his low drive.
Florian Kamberi bought a free-kick off John Souttar down the left and McGinn’s ball ricocheted around the Hearts box before being hoofed clear.
There was no time for blinking though as Kyle Laffery smashed goalward from 20 yards only for the ball to spin wide.
The lack of a cutting edge at both ends meant it was hardly a shock it was goalless at the interval. The only real surprise was ref Madden’s pencil hadn’t been used as much as his whistle and cards remained in his pocket.
It took the whistler just two minutes of the second half to dig out a yellow one though after Smith had hauled back McGinn.
There was not much let up as the pattern of this bizarrely enthralling dog’s dinner of a dust-up continued.
Amid all the fouling there was only the odd outbreak of football. There would be a neat turn or a cute flick from a McGeouch or a Lafferty.
But then there would be a rugged challenge or tug of a jersey and it left the midfield battle looking like a schoolyard game of British Bulldog.
It was screaming out for a moment of quality. Allan provided it. The playmaker was having a stinker then popped up with a stoater on the hour.
Kamberi and Paul Hanlon shuffled the ball to the edge of the box. When it landed on Allan’s chest there was work to be done.
But he superbly cushioned and then sweetly drilled into the bottom corner. There was no need for the pyro from the Hibs end – the finish was smoking.
Maclaren nearly made it two moments later with another rocket, only for McLaughlin to get enough of his glove on the ball to divert it onto the underside of the bar.
Hearts were getting swamped but were offered hope on the break until Steven Naismith spun his shot wide.
Hibs were not going to be stopped though. The ball dropped to Maclaren just inside the box and he superbly swung his left peg to leave to leave it nestled in the bottom bin.
By the end the Hibees were giving it laldy and taunting Levein. Naturally.