MURRAY SINKS MAROON ENEMY

Lennon’s skilled crew outshine city foes and leapfrog them in table

IT had been trailed in some quarters as a battle royal. Well, the Edinburgh derby is rarely mistaken for a charity testimonial or celebrity kickabout.

However, amid the flailing arms, rattling teeth and crashing collisions of a typically full-blooded clash at Easter Road, the football still mattered.

And, in their first league encounter since 2014, newly promoted Hibs extended their unbeaten run in this fixture to an impressive eight games — by outplaying Hearts in all the areas where it mattered.

That they only had a single early strike from almost-forgotten striker Simon Murray to show for it should not be taken as a true reflection of this game.

Hibs won and they deserved to win. They triumphed in what both managers had euphemistically referred to as the ‘physical contest’ during the build-up

They also had the better footballers, men capable of putting their foot on the ball amid the mayhem.

They overtook Hearts in the Premiership table as a result. Just as importantly for home supporters, they also laid down a psychological marker against opponents who, once upon a time, used to delight in regularly dishing out beatings in this fixture.

Last night, Murray’s first goal since August, in his first start in over a month, put the home side ahead after just three minutes.

Only in the starting XI because of an injury to Anthony Stokes, the former Dundee United striker nutmegged John Souttar and rifled a right-footed shot into the roof of the net to leave Hearts stunned — and send three sides of Easter Road into an uproar.

Hibs could have scored more. Hearts might have nicked an equaliser. Few left feeling less than entertained by the return of a game that promises to be as diverting and delirious as ever over the course of this season… and hopefully beyond.

These games are always at their best when played with a sense of purpose and intensity from the opening whistle. Teams who look to settle in and find their feet during the first few minutes invariably pay a price. And so it proved last night, as Hibs burst into the lead.

Hearts looked vulnerable when the home side ran at them down the inside left channel, finding too much room between Souttar and Michael Smith.

That’s where the goal came from, Brandon Barker making good choices on the left wing and picking out Murray with a subtle pass, the striker doing the rest.

Cue an inevitable explosion of near bedlam among the home support, their greatest hopes realised in double-quick time — thanks to a player who had rather played his way out of Neil Lennon’s thoughts with a dip in form.

Goals change plenty, of course. And now Hibs fans saw Murray back at his mean, mad, marauding best. Chasing every ball, putting pressure on any opponent misguided enough to look for half a heartbeat in which to play a pass or make a clearance.

Here was the player who electrified Hibs and won over so many doubters during that incredible scoring streak at the start of the season, his ten goals in seven matches capped by an invaluable strike in the 3-2 win over Rangers at Ibrox.

That was back in August. He hadn’t found the net since. Well, timing is everything, right?

Hearts responded well enough to the loss of such an early goal. They did not collapse and gained a toehold in the match.

However, when Jamie Walker was scythed down by Paul Hanlon within tumbling distance of the penalty area, they should have done something with the free-kick. Rafal Grzelak’s shot into the wall was no kind of return for the effort put in by his team-mate.

Young Euan Henderson showed the odd flash of promise, too, while Kyle Lafferty, though often isolated, carried genuine menace every time he got near the ball.

In Barker and Martin Boyle, though, Hibs had a pair of wingers who had the running of their direct opponents Smith and Jamie Brandon any time they fancied it. They also had the best footballers on the park in the midfield pairing of John McGinn and, especially, Dylan McGeouch.

There was a feeling that, with so many threats on the park, Hibs were perhaps one more goal away from routing their old rivals. Which would explain the howls of anguish when Steven Whittaker thrashed a bouncing ball over the empty net.

Craig Levein threw another teenage phenomenon into the fray at half-time, 16-year-old Harry Cochrane replacing the generally anonymous Grzelak.

It gave the visitors an immediate injection of energy. But did little to stem the tide of green-and-white jerseys flooding into the Hearts box with intent.

Had Christophe Berra not kept his head to get a vital touch on a McGinn driven ball across goal, Murray would surely have bagged his second of the night.

By the time Levein ended the suffering of Brandon and switched to a three at the back, putting on Esmael Goncalves to give Lafferty more support, Hearts definitely needed something to change.

Hibs were now set up to hit on the break and might have added to their lead on a number of occasions, denied only by fine defending and their own tendency towards over-elaboration.

As the game entered the final 20 minutes, all the petty frustrations and desperate grudges began to add a genuine element of edge to proceedings. Referee Andrew Dallas did well to keep some sort of lid on emotions.

There was no preventing the outpouring of joy at the final whistle, the green-and-white legions raising scarves above their heads for a rousing rendition of Sunshine On Leith. Hearts fans can be forgiven for not enjoying it quite so much. And they’ll be sore for a few days yet. But, deep down, everyone in the Scottish game has missed this fixture. For the football, as much as the spectacle.

HIBERNIAN (4-1-4-1): Marciano; Whittaker 6, Ambrose 7, Hanlon 7, Stevenson 6; Bartley; Boyle 7 (Slivka 90), McGeouch 8, McGinn 8, Barker 7; S Murray 7 (Matulevicius 80).

Subs not used: Laidlaw, Gray, Shaw, F Murray, Porteous. Booked: Hanlon, McGeouch.

HEARTS (4-2-3-1): McLaughlin 6; Smith 5, Souttar 6, Berra 7, Brandon 5 (Goncalves 56); Randall 5, Grzelak 5 (Cochrane 45); Walker 6, Callachan 5, Henderson 5 (Stockton 71); Lafferty.

Subs not used: Hamilton, Milinkovic, Nowak, Moore.

Booked: Smith, Brandon, Cochrane, Goncalves. Man of the match: Dylan McGeouch. Referee: Andrew Dallas. Attendance: 20,165.