Hibs were shattered by a late Lawrence Shankland winner for Hearts in an Edinburgh derby of high drama and no little incident, as the Scotland striker’s injury-time goal – a stupendous finish after a break of the ball – saw the visitors leave Easter Road with bragging rights and three precious Premiership points. In a game where Nick Montgomery’s men created plenty of chances, the ability to finish proved the difference between the sides.
On a night when both sides squandered chances to score from the penalty spot inside a frantic opening quarter hour, Shankland hitting the post before Zander Clarke touched Martin Boyle’s effort onto the upright, Hibs will feel that they just edged proceedings. Hearts will disagree. Had Dylan Vente put away Martin Boyles cross from 10 yards inside the closing 20 minutes, however, you suspect that all arguments would have been rendered moot.
Yet Shankland’s eye for goal, pouncing as a ball fell between himself and Rocky Bushiri, would have left Montgomery cursing his luck. We think.
The cunning plan to have the Hibs boss wired for sound and broadcasting – in a very limited and specific way – to the Sky Sports audience was, unfortunately, torpedoed on game day by footballing authorities spooked by attempts to give viewers a little more bang for their monthly subscription, match day pass or dodgy firestick. At a time when sports all over the world are offering greater and more increased access, anyone tuning into Scottish football is left relying upon their lip-reading skills to gain insight into events in the technical area.
That the product is worth a little extra in the way of marketing is pretty clear. Especially a fixture that rarely fails to produce drama, if not always quality.
The opening exchanges here were frantic, frenetic and full of incident, not least in the awarding of two penalty kicks – both missed – before 15 minutes had elapsed. Rocky Bushiri and Kyle Rowles were the offenders, both getting pinged for handball infringements in the box.
When the ball wasn’t pinging around the penalty areas, causing defenders on both sides to treat it like a live grenade on occasion, the visitors seemed to enjoy a little more control during a high-tempo first half. But it was Hibs who arguably had the better chances.
Dylan Vente had another penalty appeal waved aside as he headed a Jair Tavares cross against Rowles, while Josh Campbell saw a shot blocked following a quick turnover caused by Dylan Levitt and Bushiri creating a Shankland sandwich in midfield. Vente was also about an inch away from connecting with a stunning Will Fish pass that beat the entire Hearts defence. And Tavares – the most obvious outlet for Hibs on that left wing – was unlucky to see a right-footed effort deflected behind for a corner.
The loss of Campbell saw Elie Youan introduced earlier than scheduled, almost certainly. But the winger was more than ready to take his chance, immediately adding threat on the right wing for Hibs.
But the home side could not find a way past Clarke, who really should have had no chance when Boyle found Vente in a perfect scoring position. Elite strikers don’t miss those. As Shankland demonstrated.
2. RB Lewis Miller 5/10
Endured a torrid evening with and without the ball, his positioning and passing both causing problems for his team-mates.
3. CB Will Fish 7/10
Picked out pass of game and coped well with threat of Shankland. An important step for the on-loan Manchester United defender.
4. CB Rocky Bushiri 5/10
Pinged for handball offence to concede penalty. Still causes unnecessary panic too often. Photo: Ross Parker - SNS Group