Ross hopes his Hibs balancing act will send capital rivals crashing out of cup
It is the Hearts song that features the line about their defence being as strong as the old castle rock. But, when the capital sides face up at Hampden on Saturday, Hibs are hoping they will be the ones calling the tune.
As it stands, the Leith club have never bettered their neighbours at a neutral venue and while they have the more recent bragging rights on Scottish Cup duty, having vanquished Robbie Neilson’s side en route to the long-awaited success in 2016, head-to-heads at Hampden Park have been ones to forget for the greenand-white side of Edinburgh.
Conceding an accumulated nine goals to their rivals in their last two meeting sat the national stadium, that is only one fewer than the entire number of goals shipped in their first dozen Premiership games this season.
Which presents Hearts with a different proposition than previous encounters in Glasgow. While Tynecastle teams are, more often, attributed with organisation and solidity, Hibs have long since enjoyed a romantic view of themselves as a more cavalier enterprise.
That attack-minded at titude has always found favour with Hibs fans, whose main target has been scoring more than their rivals. A simplistic approach, up against Gorgie teams that could boa st solid defences and also pack a punch up front, statistics and history prove the respective tactics offered Hearts more satisfaction than Hibs.
But, Hibs’ ambitions are built on a more solid foundation these days, which make for an intriguing encounter.
This season they have recorded clean sheets in 50 per cent of their 12 league matches, and only once have they conceded more than two goals in a game. That represents a notable turnaround from last term. Until this season there had been a worrying see-saw that either tipped too far towards protecting their own goal at the expense of chances at the other end, or favoured more voracious attacking displays which left them exposed at the back.
Since his arrival almost a year ago, manager Jack Ross has worked relentlessly to pull together a more balanced team, one in which defence can galvanise attack but where the strikers are also the industrious frontline of his defence. So far, this season, it has paid off.
Which is why the team that managed only four clean sheets in his 22 games in charge last term are now a far more miserly proposition, completely nullifying adversaries at a rate of every second outing.
If not quite a Hearts blueprint, Ross’ side does doff its hat to Gorgie sides of old. Like the castle, performances are built on a rock-solid defence, while industry is also demanded of flair players.
Fortified at the back, like the Nor Loch that once kept the less determined attacks on Edinburgh Castle at bay, the work rate of strikers Kevin Nisbet and Christian Doidge offers the men behind them an extra layer of protection and means they bring more to the side than goals.
The defence may not be as strong as the old castle rock but, proving pretty impenetrable, it could be solid enough to underpin the dream of another Scottish Cup final.