15th April 2023 Hibs 1 Hearts 0

 

  

Well here we are for another Edinburgh Derby. Hibs are no longer issuing programmes but I ordered a copy of the fans issue online. It costs £2 but with p&p it will be £4.10 and will arrive next week. I was at home until 11.00 before leaving home for the 12.30:kickoff. I walked to Princes Street and then caught a 34 bus to Easter Road. I got off at the top of Easter Road and then walked down and over the bridge at Bothwell Street to the ground. Getting in was a nightmare as there were barriers then stewards searching fans before getting through the gates. What made it even worse was seeing that Hibs fans were not being searched getting in yards away. After I entered the ground around 12.10 and headed up to my seat in the main stand upper. I was in row BB, the second row of the upper level and had a great view of the teams warming up. This changed just before kickoff when five ‘rather large’ (fat) guys arrived in row AA and decided they were not going to sit meaning that when the match started Ihad to stand to watch the action on the pitch. Surely in the front row they could have taken their seats to watch the game.

With interim manager Steven Naismith in charge Hearts made a few changes after last weeks defeat against St Mirren. Despite comments about youngsters being given a chance this was not the case. Toby Sibbick came into central defence in place of James Hill and Barrie McKay started in place of the departed Robert Snodgrass. Snodgrass had left Hearts with mutual consent after being told his game time would be limited for the rest of his contract until the end of the season. Hibs had their older players in defence with the experienced Lewis Stevenson and Paul Hanlon in the starting eleven. Up front Kevin Nisbet was the main attacking threat.

The game started badly for Hearts when Michael Smith turned to chase a high ball and went down injured. It looked like a hamstring problem and he was helped off the opitch to be replaced by Nate Atkinson. To be honest Hearts were awful in the first half. Alan Firrest was probably their best player as he was willing to run at the Hibs defence. Zander Clark did well after Thody Youan broke through on the right. The keeper did well to push away the shot with his foot. Andy Halliday came close with a header after a corner from McKay which Marshall saved. But to be honest the first half was awful with neither side looking positive. 

If the first half was bad the second was even worse as Hearts were never really in the game. Youan was Hibs most dangerous player and Clark made another good stop from his shot early in the second half. Nisbet then had a chance when he outmuscled Kye Rowles but curled his attempt wide of Hearts goal. The decisive goal came after sixty-six minutes when when Joe Newell hit a corner to the far post. Hanlon won the ball in the air and headed it back across goal where Nisbet volleyed the ball into the top of the net past Clark. Hearts brought on Stephen Humphrys as a substitute and he forced a good save from Marshall in the  Hibs goal. As the game moved into injury time Lawrence Shankland won a free kick on the edge of the penalty area after a fouled by Hanlon. The Hibs player who had already been booked have received a red card but the referee decided not to show the card. Stephen Kingsley took the free-kick for Hearts fired his attempt into the Hibs wall just before the final whistle. 

After the final whistle I was disappointed with the lack of fight and effort from the Hearts side. I walked up from Easter Road to Meadowbank and caught a 26 bus to Haymarket after the worst Hearts display in a Derby I have seen for years,

Teams

Hibs: Marshall, Egan-Riley, Fish, Hanlon, Jeggo, Doyle-Hayes. Stevenson, Cadden, Newell, Youan, Nisbet. 

Subs: Campbell, kuharevich. 

 
Hearts: Clark, Smith, Rowles, Sibbick, Kingsley, Devlin, Halliday, Grant, Forrest, McKay, Shankland. 

Subs: Atkinson, Humphreys, Cochrane, Kio.