The greatest myth relating to this Scottish football season is that a country eagerly awaits a Hearts title win. For supporters of Celtic and Rangers, the league flag flying at Tynecastle Park for the first time since 1960 might just be palatable on the basis of no bragging rights in Glasgow. Others have no desire whatsoever to see Hearts become the team to break a four-decade duopoly. This is a tribal football country and unashamedly so.
Case in point was delivered here by a diminished Hibernian, whose supporters demanded they fight tooth and nail to burst the Hearts bubble. Emigration will appeal to those with a fondness for the green half of Edinburgh should the Hearts fairytale reach appropriate conclusion. It is now only four games from that point. Scottish football is delivering the most thrilling top-flight race in Europe, with the underdogs still ahead of Glasgow’s big two.
Hearts ended the day having extended their advantage over Rangers to four, helped by a stumble from the home team at Ibrox against Motherwell. Maroon clad punters cheered Motherwell goals on their way into Easter Road; partly on the basis of assisting their own team’s cause and partly because it simultaneously hurt Hibs’ plans for European football next season.
There was sweat in the away end thereafter; Hearts made it tougher than needed to be the case against nine-man Hibs but claimed what felt an inevitable three points courtesy of Blair Spittal’s 86th-minute composure. Wild scenes in the Dunbar End emphasised that followers of Hearts are past the point of caring how wins are achieved.
Derek McInnes, the Hearts manager, led the celebrations. He does not want “pats on the back” for “good old Hearts” by the time this campaign concludes. This ambition matches that of the club. Tony Bloom, a key investor, looked on from the main stand.
“I was pleased the players stayed calm,” said McInnes. “This was a big moment in our story, a significant away win for us.” Indeed, road form had threatened to disrupt Hearts until this trip across the city.
This was a curious derby. Martin Boyle’s early goal had shocked Hearts before the dismissal of the home goalkeeper, Raphael Sallinger, afforded the visitors hope. Hearts huffed and puffed with their extra man. Hibs’ indiscipline cost them again within three minutes of the restart as Felix Passlack collected a second booking.
The weight of history was not sufficient to burden Hearts now. Indeed, it would have been embarrassing for the men in maroon had they not seen off nine players when in such hot pursuit of a Premiership title. “You don’t practise against nine men so it was an unusual circumstance,” countered McInnes.
The spirit created by McInnes is worthy of huge recognition. Injured players such as Cammy Devlin and Oisin McEntee stood on the pitch, applauding their teammates into the dressing room at the end of their warm-up. The absentees were among the squad who sang with supporters at full-time. There are a multitude of reasons why Hearts may not win this league but collective attitude will not feature among them.
Boyle stole in with a fine volley to seize upon a moment of Hearts slackness at a Hibs free-kick. Rather than build on the opening goal, Hibs had to reorganise after Sallinger crazily picked up the ball outside his penalty area. With Pierre Kaboré racing through, the goalkeeper was sent off for denying a clear scoring opportunity. Kaboré’s willingness to chase an apparently lost cause justified McInnes’s faith.
The Hibs backup goalkeeper Jordan Smith saved excellently from Michael Steinwender, with Hearts otherwise blunt. Passlack assisted the Hearts cause by tripping Beni Baningime, collecting a second booking for his efforts. “The nine that remained on the pitch gave absolutely everything,” said the Hibs manager David Gray. “I think both decisions are right. Both were mistakes from our players and that is what has cost us the game. It is very difficult to win a game with 11, never mind nine.”
Lawrence Shankland’s cute backheel flicked off Warren O’Hora to restore parity. Smith denied Cláudio Braga. Marc Leonard cracked the Hibs bar. Enter Spittal, who strode on to Sabah Kerjota’s cut back to deliver a terrific finish. Rather than chase a third goal, which would have been at least feasible, Hearts applied wider context and settled for 2-1.
Hearts’ lead over Celtic is three. Rangers visit Tynecastle for a bank holiday Monday cracker. It is a game for which Hearts suddenly have leeway over the opposition. The unlikely, the unthinkable, is within touching distance.
