Gordon singles out Sibbick for praise after role in RFS Victory for Tynecastle side

AS FAR as heroes go, Hearts found an unusual one as they sealed a second lucrative victory in Europe this week. Toby Sibbick’s beaming smile at full-time appeared as much to reflect surprise at the supporters’ reaction as it did pride in his own performance.

As the Jambos strove to hold firm in the face of an attempted comeback from their Latvian visitors, the defender kept a patched-up rearguard together. At times criticised by his own fans in the past, Sibbick’s name rung round a packed Tynecastle after one more crucial interception followed another vital tackle to seal a 2-1 success – Hearts’ first in seven matches.

“I have to give a special mention to Toby for his performance on Thursday, he never put a foot wrong,” said Hearts captain Craig Gordon. “He was absolutely fantastic. I am sure the fans will remember this result for his performance. That’s one of the best centre-half performances I have seen in a while.”

Sibbick’s two spells at Hearts have not gone to plan so far. On loan from Barnsley in 2020, the versatile defender played just twice because of a mix of injury, illness and the Covid-19 pandemic. Since returning permanently in January this year, he has found starts hard to come by.

“It’s massive for him,” continued Gordon. “He was absolutely outstanding and a leader on the pitch, which we absolutely needed. If it wasn’t for his display the result could have been all different. The fans were singing his name for the last 15, 20 minutes; he was absolutely first-class.

“He’s aware that he has come

in for a little bit of criticism at times, but he is still so young and he’s shown his class. That’s been coming and hopefully that’s the big turning point for him in his Hearts career.”

Now out of Europe, but with a final Conference League fixture away to Basaksehir in Istanbul on Thursday, Hearts need an upturn in form domestically if they are to return to the European stage next season.

“It was important to get back to winning ways,” admitted Gordon ahead of today’s trip to face Ross County as they seek a first Premiership win in five outings. “We got a good result against RFS, now we have to build on that and win matches in the league. We go to Dingwall with the confidence of Thursday night. We want to try to get back to Europe and the only way we can do that is by putting together a good run in the league now.”