Atkinson stresses the positives from ‘passionate’ derby at home to Hibs
Surveying the debris of another Edinburgh derby, the Hearts defender Nathaniel Atkinson recognised positives and negatives from the 1-1 draw at Tynecastle. The hosts were at times subdued by a dynamic Hibs performance, but again produced admirable resistance and refused to crumble under pressure.
The point they earned increased their lead in third place in the Premiership table to 12 points. Hearts remain overwhelming favourites to finish third, even though Wednesday was not one of their better nights.
"I think it was a classic derby, not much football being played, so we were a bit disappointed in that. We pride ourselves on being a footballing side, but I think we can all agree that wasn't our best performance," admitted Atkinson, who felt his team missed an opportunity to win.
"Yeah, of course. Getting the win late on at their home ground earlier on in the season, it was a good opportunity to come back after a poor performance last weekend, as well to get back on the winning run. You've got to take the positives; we got a point and extended the gap a little bit."
Last weekend saw Hearts lose 5-0 away to Rangers and many observers were keen to see their response to a result that ended their 12-match unbeaten run.
"I think it was a bit of a wake-up call. I don't think it was a confidence thing, being on such a great run recently," said Atkinson. "That's football – you are not going to win every game. You'd like to. No player wakes up and thinks: 'I want to lose.'"
Resilience underpinned the 12-game run and Hearts proved against Hibs that it is still one of their prominent qualities.
"They got a goal early and they wanted to defend that," the Australian internationalist pointed out. "We started to gain a bit of confidence and get into the game. In the first half there was a bit more football played. We got the penalty and the goal. The second half wasn't a great game if we are honest. You take the point."
Captain Lawrence Shankland showed admirable composure to score what was a disputed penalty. Away fans threw objects at Shankland during the VAR delay before the penalty, and after he scored other missiles rained down.
"That's a derby, isn't it? You've got fans in the background wanting to chuck stuff on the pitch," stated Atkinson. "I don't look into it too much. It's a bit of a stupid thing; let's get on with the game. They are passionate fans; we don't agree with it, but what can you do? I think [Shankland] had a bite of a pie after he scored the goal. He came in at half-time and said it was a bit of a spicy one. He's a worldclass player and nothing is going to put him off."
Both teams stretched the game in the second half, something that can’t be comfortable for a full-back, who is instructed to leave space behind him.
“It's tough,” Atkinson explained. “You are a fullback and you are going to come up against the tricky players and the quickest players. For me personally, it was just about getting through the game; I've been battling a bit of a flu the last week or so. It's about doing a job for the team and doing your job, helping the team not to lose. You want to win games. We are a team here; when someone is not playing well, you get the other boys picking up. We defended the box well, they got in behind us a bit but it's just good not to lose.”
[Lawrence Shankland is] a world-class player and nothing is going to put him off