Hearts 1-1 Hibernian – as it happened

http://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2015/jan/03/hearts-v-hibernian-live

Version 0 of 1.

2.38pm GMT14:38

Full-time: Hearts 1-1 Hibs

And that’s that. The game petered out a little in the second half in terms of quality, but was still a rather engrossing spectacle. A draw was a fair result, maintains Hearts’ unbeaten record and while the Hibs fans seem quite happy about it all, it doesn’t do much for their automatic promotion hopes. They’re still 19 points back from the Jambos, who look to have top spot all sewn up. Cheers for joining us.

2.35pm GMT14:35

90 mins + 2: And one more change for Hearts - Keatings is off, Gary Oliver on instead.

2.34pm GMT14:34

90 mins +1: Gomis goes into the book, the referee totting up his indiscretions on his fingers. Looked like five, from here.

2.33pm GMT14:33

90 mins: Three minutes of added time are signalled.

2.33pm GMT14:33

89 mins: Another sub for Hearts - Buaben is off, and Scott Robinson replaces him.

2.32pm GMT14:32

88 mins: A penalty claim for Hibs, as Eckersley gets to a cross before Boyle at the back stick, but to call that a foul would’ve been harsh in the extreme, particularly as the defender wasn’t even looking at the attacker at the time.

2.30pm GMT14:30

87 mins: Close from Buaben - the midfielder picks up the ball out on the right and arrows it in the direction of the top-corner. It might have been a cross gone awry, but no matter as it tailed just wide of the goal.

2.29pm GMT14:29

85 mins: And Boyle so nearly makes an instant impact! First fellow sub Callum Booth has a shot cleared off the line, then he picks up the ball out on the right and crosses low into the six-yard box where Boyle awaits, but some desperate but effective defending from Ozturk manages to smuggle the thing away.

2.27pm GMT14:27

84 mins: Final change for Hibs - and it’s a zing for Cummings, removed in favour of new loan signing Martin Boyle.

2.26pm GMT14:26

83 mins: Close from Hearts again, but denied by some superb defending - Eckersley whips over a brilliant cross from the left aiming for Keatings in the middle, but Fontaine just - just - gets there ahead of him to hook the ball away with the goal a-gapin’.

2.24pm GMT14:24

81 mins: Oi vey. Stevenson sums rather up rather neatly by slicing a cross dreadfully out of play from a promising position on the left.

2.23pm GMT14:23

79 mins: All been a bit scrappy in the second half. Nobody’s really been able to build up any significant pressure, resulting in a rather bitty spectacle. Perhaps inevitable, mind.

2.21pm GMT14:21

78 mins: Ozturk gets a booking for going straight through Allan as the Hibs man advanced towards goal, but he got a big chunk of the ball there too. Thus, he isn’t too impressed by the whole thing.

2.19pm GMT14:19

76 mins: Brief nipper of a moment from Oxley in the Hibs nets. Nicholson jinks on the right and puts a low cross towards the near-post, which Oxley gathers, lets slip from his grasp then gathers again.

2.18pm GMT14:18

75 mins: A minor scramble in the Hearts box, as assorted Hibs players swing boots at the ball in an effort to divert it at the goal, but they can’t manage anything with any sort of substance.

2.16pm GMT14:16

73 mins: Sub for Hearts now - Jamie Walker goes off, which is a little surprising as he’s been pretty threatening, with Billy ‘Jean’ King on in his stead.

2.14pm GMT14:14

72 mins: The clock’s back! Looks like I’ve been keeping reasonably decent time. Something to go on the CV.

2.14pm GMT14:14

71 mins: Big save by Paterson - Cummings runs into the area then cuts it back to Allan, who dinks a nice cross towards the back post where Malonga is waiting to complete a formality of a header, but Paterson swings a leg and just gets enough on it to clear. Looks like he’s done himself some sort of mischief in the process, mind.

2.12pm GMT14:12

70 mins: Another chance for Hearts - Eckersley pops a cross in from the left, finding Nicholson all on his lonesome in the area, but he slightly mistimes his jump and can’t direct his header into any sort of threatening area.

2.11pm GMT14:11

69 mins: Still no clock. Could be the year 2039 for all I know.

2.10pm GMT14:10

68 mins: Change for Hibs - Handling is replaced by Dylan McGeouch, returning after an ankle injury.

2.09pm GMT14:09

67 mins: Chances have dried up a bit here. Paterson has a header at goal from a Nicholson corner, but it loops over.

2.08pm GMT14:08

65 mins: Another big shout for a penner and this one looked like it had some merit. Walker jinks into the box from the right and seems to be blocked off right on the corner of the box by Stevenson, who even had an arm raised, but nothing doing from the ref.

2.07pm GMT14:07

63 mins: Craig bangs over a cross looking for Handling at the far post, and while it finds him the header is weak and easily gathered by Alexander. Meanwhile, the clock has disappeared from the corner of the screen, making getting the minute of the game right something of a crapshoot.

2.05pm GMT14:05

61 mins: Hearts waste a free-kick and Hibs attempt a counter, but Allan’s early ball forwards looking for Cummings is cut-out nicely by a retreating Pallardo.

2.03pm GMT14:03

60 mins: Challenges flying in all over the shop here. Lovely to see.

2.02pm GMT14:02

58 mins: Another penalty shout, this time for Hibs, as Gomis goes down in the box, but again the ref’s whistle remains unmoistened. Gomis then goes for a little revenge on the man he believed wronged him, and gives away a free-kick for the foul on Robertson.

2.00pm GMT14:00

57 mins: Buaben slings over the cross, it’s half-cleared, and centre-back Wilson tries a quick turn on the left flank. It goes about as well as you’d expect.

1.59pm GMT13:59

56 mins: Paterson wins himself a free-kick after being shoved over on the right by Malonga, shortly after he slightly misjudged a long pass from Gomis and it hit him in the face. A brief moment of mild comedy.

1.57pm GMT13:57

54 mins: Big shout for a penalty from Hibs. Stevenson fires over a slightly curious cross from the left and it evades most people in the box, but Handling and Pallardo collide in the box, the latter going to turf and claiming the foul, but the referee ain’t having none of it, squire.

1.56pm GMT13:56

53 mins: Allan clips in a free-kick from deep in the Hearts half, but it’s too gentle and just sails over the defence and into the arms of Alexander in the Hearts goal.

1.55pm GMT13:55

52 mins: More aggro here. Malonga’s heels are nibbled at by Ozturk, after a couple of other robust tackles in midfield. As long as nobody gets seriously hurt, this is what we want from a derby like this.

1.53pm GMT13:53

50 mins: A booking for Hearts - Prince Buaben sees yellow for a sturdy challenge on Scott Robertson.

1.52pm GMT13:52

48 mins: Allan stars where he left off in the first half and tries to fashion something for Hibs, but Handling can’t do much with his slipped pass into the box on the right.

1.50pm GMT13:50

46 mins: Early chance for Hearts in the second period, but a header from Keatings goes wide at the far post.

1.49pm GMT13:49

The teams are out for the second half, and it looks like a change for Hibs - David Gray (who requires a groin operation) is withdrawn, with Callum Booth comes on.

1.39pm GMT13:39

Indeed, this piece in the Daily Record calls Cummings the ‘King of zing’. Lordy.

Teenage sensation Jason Cummings is the self-proclaimed Mr Zing King. And after he scored a double for Hibs in their 3-1 victory over Rangers at Ibrox on Monday, the 19-year-old even claimed to have “a touch like an angel”.

Larger-than-life striker Cummings has been entertaining punters with his antics since he burst on to the scene last season.

His Twitter profile picture shows him signing a female fan’s breast, he wears boxer shorts with Sexy Beast on the waistband and he has Zing tattooed on his left foot.

1.35pm GMT13:35

Incidentally, yer man on the right of this picture is Jason Cummings. Dare we suggest that he might enjoy a spot of ‘banter’?

“@DyanEaston31: ZK!! @Jasoncummings35 pic.twitter.com/ayop4FgaPu” Goals

1.33pm GMT13:33

Half-time: Hearts 1-1 Hibs

And that’s the break. A fair score given the balance of play, and it’s been just the sort of to-and-fro you’d expect from a derby game such as this.

1.32pm GMT13:32

45 mins + 1: Paterson does superbly to almost literally wrestle his way past a couple of challenges down the right, but his low cross to the near-post isn’t quite good enough.

1.31pm GMT13:31

45 mins: One minute of added time will be played.

1.30pm GMT13:30

44 mins: Cummings, who is something of a character, is lucky not to get a second yellow after being caught offside, then kicking the ball away. In the realm of pointless sendings off, two bookings for over-celebrating then kicking the ball away would be right up there.

1.29pm GMT13:29

43 mins: Good game this. Just the right balance of frantic play and spicy challenges.

1.27pm GMT13:27

40 mins: Again, beautifully simple. Eckersley gets down the left, slips it inside to Walker and goes for the return ball. Walker uses him by not using him, cuts inside and arrows a gun-barrel straight shot into the top-left corner of Oxley’s goal, who paws at the air like a cat forlornly chasing some lint. No chance for the keeper there. Walker celebrates with some oomph, and like Cummings goes into the book for his joy.

1.25pm GMT13:25

GOAL! Hearts 1-1 Hibs (Walker 40)

What a goal!

Updated at 1.53pm GMT

1.25pm GMT13:25

39 mins: Bit of pressing from Hibs, with Allan poking and probing and trying to carve out some sort of clear chance, but he can’t quite manage it, only making a couple of half-openings.

1.24pm GMT13:24

38 mins: Aesthetically-pleasing note: Hearts don’t have a sponsor on their shirt. Looks good.

1.22pm GMT13:22

36 mins: Tackles flying in now - first Malonga goes down writhing after a coming together with Buaben, then Craig goes into the book for a studs-up number of Pallardo. No intent to hurt and he got some of the ball, but still one that could’ve ended in an ugly manner.

1.19pm GMT13:19

33 mins: Signs of life for Hearts here. Paterson comes forward from defence and tries to create something with Nicholson, but all they can fashion is a slightly half-hearted shot from the edge of the box that trickles wide.

1.18pm GMT13:18

32 mins: Not too much wind knocked out of Walker, mind. The Hearts winger picks up a bit of a flap at a cross from Oxley, beats one man on the left side of the box and shoots towards the near post, but it goes just wide and flutters the side-netting.

1.17pm GMT13:17

31 mins: Oof - big hit on Walker, who goes in for an aerial challenge with the beefy Oxley, and rather inevitably comes off worse. He stays on the turf to gather his thoughts and possibly a tooth or two, then gets up.

Updated at 1.19pm GMT

1.16pm GMT13:16

30 mins: Ach, and that should be two. Hibs work the ball out to Stevenson on the left, he crosses to the far post where Cummings is unmarked, but he heads down and wide of the back stick when he probably should have scored.

1.13pm GMT13:13

26 mins: All Hibs now - Gray gets down the right from full-back and nearly forces another chance with a fine low cross, but Wilson is there to block that one.

1.11pm GMT13:11

23 mins: Lovely, lovely stuff from the Hibees, and it’s devastatingly simple. Allan picks up the ball deep on the right flank and whips in one of those horrendous crosses for a defence to deal with, behind the backline but too far in front of the keeper for him to come out, and Jason Cummings shakes off his marker to side-foot a volley into the net. The youthful Cummings gets a booking for some rather over-enthusiastic celebrations, from the killest of kill-joy referees.

1.08pm GMT13:08

GOAL! Hearts 0-1 Hibs (Cummings 23)

And they deserved that.

Updated at 1.36pm GMT

1.07pm GMT13:07

21 mins: Woof! Eckersley, who has shown himself not shy of a robust challenge, puts in another as Cummings tries to get down the right flank. Perfectly fair, mind, just tough.

1.06pm GMT13:06

20 mins: Jamie Walker is on the turf, and it’s not surprising either. He went up for a header with Hanlon, which he lost but after falling to the turf the Hibs defender’s studs landed spot on the back of his calf. Ouch. After a spot of treatment, he looks OK, though.

1.04pm GMT13:04

18 mins: Handling - whose nickname is hopefully GaryS - tries a shot from just outside the box, but it’s blocked. Nearly but not quite from both sides thus far.

1.02pm GMT13:02

16 mins: Neat work in limited space by Hearts, as some nice flicks and short passes between Nicholson and Walker produce a shooting chance for the former, but it’s blocked before it can trouble Oxley in goals.

1.00pm GMT13:00

14 mins: It’s been all Hibs thus far, but Hearts manage to mount an attack. Walker swings over a corner from the left, going directly into the one, single but powerful shaft of sunlight strafing across Tynecastle, thus making it difficult to see what actually happened to the ball. On close inspection, it seems Wilson headed over at the back post.

12.58pm GMT12:58

12 mins: Hearts are, well, perhaps not playing with fire, but toying with a small Zippo lighter as they try to pass the ball out of the back. It’s a noble theory and one that lessens the aimless hoofs from imagination-light keepers, but at this standard of football it’s...risky, to say the least. Once again, Wilson and Alexander exchange passes in a rather tight spot but just about manage to get away with it.

12.56pm GMT12:56

11 mins: Eeek, slightly hairy moment for Hearts as Craig takes a free-kick from way out that’s fairly weak, but it takes a big deflection which could’ve taken it anywhere, but luckily for the hosts it goes straight to Alexander in nets.

12.55pm GMT12:55

9 mins: Bit of aggro in midfield as Scott Allan advances forwards only to be halted by a robust challenge from Prince Buaben. A free-kick is give, Allan goes down as if an extra in the first 25 minutes of Saving Private Ryan, then like a child having a tantrum he hops up after noticing that nobody is paying him any heed.

12.52pm GMT12:52

6 mins: Some magnificently casual stuff from the Hearts defence, as Alexander plays it out to Danny Wilson, who wasn’t looking in the required direction, but the defender turns around just in time and ushers the ball to safety. He then gives his goalie a well-deserved and emphatic telling off for being so damn silly.

12.50pm GMT12:50

4 mins: There’s Craig again on the left, booming a big cross over from the flank to the back stick, but while Gray barrels in to go for the header he can’t do so without climbing all over Eckersley’s back. Free-kick given.

12.49pm GMT12:49

3 mins: Craig attempts a run down the left flank for Hibs, but Gray nudges him aside like a commuter would make themselves some room on a busy train.

12.47pm GMT12:47

1 min: And some action right away, as Ozturk dithers rather in midfield and is robbed, the ball moved to Cummings who shoots from about 25 yards out, but it’s more or less straight at Alexander in the Hearts net, and he pats it down and gathers.

Updated at 12.50pm GMT

12.45pm GMT12:45

The teams are out - and running, too, without any of that walking out, lining up and shaking hands nonsense that we have to suffer down in England.

12.38pm GMT12:38

In the last game between these two, over at Easter Road, Hearts came within a whisker of losing their unbeaten record but were saved by an absolute thrrrrrrrriiiker in the last moments by Alim Ozturk. Pick that one out.

12.32pm GMT12:32

Have some pre-game words from the two managers involved in this old stramash today. First, Alan Stubbs of Hibs:

It’s always important but unfortunately there’s a lot of emotion involved in derbies and players can get caught up in it. Some players control it better than others, some get wrapped up in it. But it’s important from my team’s point of view we have 11 players on the pitch. And if we are going to get a result we certainly need to do that.

So they are going to have to keep all that in check and not get wrapped up in the atmosphere of the game. It’s easier said than done I have to say. It can be difficult at times but we have to rise above that. I’m not going to say I never lost it in derbies, we are all human. If you were in their shoes it would be the same and it can be difficult. But they are professional footballers and they have a responsibility – and that responsibility is for them to keep it in check for Hibs and get a result.

And now, Robbie Neilson of Hearts:

It was a difficult last year with the things that went on at the club. We feel we have turned the corner now and it is a positive environment to be in for everyone. We need to continue that and keep the spirit at the club. Everyone at the club is appreciating the good times after what we went through.

We all appreciate the hard work put in by everyone associated with the club – the fans, the board, the administrators. There have been a few periods in the past when it has been really good but it can go up and down in football. You just don’t take anything for granted in football, not just at Hearts. Everybody knows things can change in a couple of minutes on a pitch. We will work hard and, if you do that, you get the rewards. If that reward is winning the title, then great.

12.13pm GMT12:13

So while the Guardian’s impeccable impartiality absolutely will not be questioned, who should we want to win this one? We should apply only the most rigorous criteria, and present the best case for both sides.

On the one hand, Hibs have this, perhaps the finest song appropriated by a football club of all time - the magnificent ‘Sunshine On Leith’ by the Proclaimers. Watch this and and I challenge you, I dare you, I DOUBLE dare you not to get a massive tingle right from the nape of your neck to the crack of your bottom, and possibly do a small cry as well.

But on the other, Hearts definitely win in a game of the kits, specifically their Argentina-esque, blue and white stripes away number which is, if you’ll excuse the teenage American way of putting things, way cool. They won’t be wearing it today, but will you just take a look at it...

pic.twitter.com/LI5HCIAnkX

11.55am GMT11:55

The teams

Hearts

Alexander, Paterson, Wilson, Ozturk, Gomis, Walker, Nicholson, Pallardo, Buaben, Keatings, Eckersley. Subs: Gallacher, Robinson, Holt, King, Oliver, McKay, McGhee.

Hibs

Oxley, Gray, Hanlon, Fontaine, Stevenson, Robertson, Craig, Handling, S. Allan, Malonga, Cummings. Subs: Perntreou, Stanton, Heffernan, Boyle, Booth, McGeouch, Kennedy.

Referee: Steven McLean

Updated at 12.09pm GMT

11.45am GMT11:45

We should probably start with a clarification. It’s quite an important clarification, and on behalf of the green bit of Edinburgh, we probably need to make it. Hibernian Football Club of Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland, are not Hibernians Football Club of Paola, Malta, and this weekend of all weekends, they’re quite keen for you to know that. It’s an important clarification at the best of times, but when one of the admittedly easily confusable clubs in question has just offered a contract to a convicted rapist and one of them hasn’t, it’s even more important.

Just to clarify we are #Hibs of Scotland and not #Hibernians of Malta. Should that ever change we'll let you all know. See you the morn, HFC

Hibernian were rather quick to make clear their identity after Hibernians stretched out their hand and decided, compassionate souls that they are, to give Ched Evans another chance on Friday:

Malta’s Hibernians, 15 points clear at the top of the country’s domestic league, having dropped just two points in 16 games, revealed they have made an offer to Evans for the remainder of the season.

Club vice-president Stephen Vaughan said: “We are looking to secure the services of a top striker and Ched fits the bill. We’ve spoken to his agent and have offered a deal from now until the end of the season.

That out of the way, a more pressing immediate concern for Hibs is to do something about their league situation, trailing their cross-town rivals as they do by a whopping 19 points and being in more danger of dropping out of the playoff places than they are of actually challenging for automatic promotion. This season was always going to be something of a bun fight for elevation with three teams so used to being in a rather loftier position scrapping it out for two promotion places, but the Hibees are currently third in a three-horse race behind the gradually undulating shambles that is Rangers and those blokes across town.

Ah yes, Hearts. While the other two big boys have floundered rather this season, the Jambos have had a cracking time, flamboyantly bogling their way to the top of the league having dropped just four - four! - points all season, and not a single one at home. In those nine games at Tynecastle they have scored a whacking great 30 goals - 30! - and conceded just five - five! It would take an act of sensational shambles for them to muck things up from here, but if anything can start a collapse like that, it’s a defeat to their most hated rivals. Let’s see if that will happen.

Kick-off: 12.45pm

11.45am GMT11:45

Nick will be here dreckly.