LEVEIN LAMENTS ‘POOR’ HEARTS DISPLAY

THE anguish was clear in the maroon half of Edinburgh last night as Craig Levein admitted this latest defeat to their fierce rivals was ‘a sore one’. Reflecting on the fact that Hearts have now failed to beat Hibs in the last seven meetings across all competitions, the Tynecastle boss said: ‘I’m disappointed, which you would expect, but I’m more disappointed that we turned up with the right attitude but just didn’t play. That has disappointed the players as well. ‘I’m pleased with the effort they put in, but we didn’t pass the ball well enough and never really got a grip of the game.’ With challenges flying in as expected in a fiercely contested derby, it was the quality of Hibs’ football that shone through. Dylan McGeouch and John McGinn dominated the midfield and, after conceding Simon Murray’s early opening goal, Hearts offered little in response. ‘I think the first half was really poor and we didn’t get going at all,’ confessed Levein. ‘I didn’t think we were being cut open, but we never moved the ball as we needed to. We ended up giving it away, defending, giving it away, defending. ‘We wouldn’t take the ball in areas where we needed to go.’ Levein opted to start teenage duo Jamie Brandon at full-back and Euan Henderson in midfield but, with just two shots on target all night, Hearts were outbattled, outplayed and outfought by a Hibs side who now leapfrog them in the Premiership table. Levein will clearly be hoping for an improvement when his team host Rangers at Murrayfield this Saturday lunchtime. ‘It is a learning curve,’ continued the former Scotland boss. ‘For players who haven’t played in this derby before, they’ll know what it’s about for the next time. ‘I expected better. I didn’t feel we got to levels we needed to have a chance of winning. But we now move on to Saturday.’ Sixteen-year-old midfielder Harry Cochrane impressed after being introduced by Levein at half-time, but could also have found himself on the end of a straight red card moments before the end following a cynical foul on McGinn. ‘I don’t think it was (a red),’ insisted Levein, who had a full view of the incident from his dugout. ‘The referee saw it as a booking and that’s what he gave. ‘The second half we were better and I thought Harry made a real difference. He got on the ball for us but, when he made the passes, we just didn’t do enough.’