If events of the coming weeks dictate that the season of Hearts’ dreams goes down in print then no chapter will be more salient than the one which recalls this extraordinary day.
Having seen a once handsome lead at the top of the Premiership table steadily eroded, another stumble at Easter Road would have strengthened the view that Derek McInnes’ men were floundering at the wrong moment.
Instead, a famous triumph on enemy soil will see their reserves of self-belief replenished.
One down, four to go in the post-split fixtures. What was previously thought to be impossible is now well within their grasp.
While a draw would ordinarily be no disaster for Hearts in Leith, in the context of this season, it would have been far from ideal. In the context of this match, it would have felt like a wounding blow.
Derek McInnes’ men were behind when Martin Boyle signed off from this fixture with a quite brilliant goal. But the pendulum swung in Hearts’ favour when Raphael Sallinger, the Hibs keeper, was sent off for brainlessly handing the ball outside his box before the match had settled.
Blair Spittal drives home the late winner for Hearts against nine-man Hibs at Easter Road
Hearts skipper Lawrence Shankland celebrates his equaliser in an extraordinary match
Hibs striker Martin Boyle gives them an early lead in what will be his last Edinburgh derby
The task facing David Gray’s men got a whole lot harder shortly after the restart when Felix Passlack also took an early bath for picking up a second booking which was equally as ludicrous as his first.
Two men down for 42 minutes, Hibs did all they could to try and keep Hearts at bay. But with the introduction of Sabah Kerjota giving the visitors fresh impetus, Hibs’ resistance was eventually broken.
First Lawrence Shankland turned the winger’s cross home via the leg of Warren O’Hora. Then, with four minutes remaining, Blair Spittal capitalised on more exhilarating wing play by Kerjota to find what proved to be the winner.
The scenes at the end were extraordinary. Were Hearts to defeat Rangers at Tynecastle next Monday, the gap to the Ibrox men would be seven points with just three to play. Danny Rohl’s side would be almost out of it.
Celtic can draw level on points with the leaders the previous day if they beat Hibs, but goal difference is not in their favour.
This simply felt like a monumental result for the men in maroon. Having already lost five times away from home, going down for a sixth time to nine-man Hibs would have been unthinkable.
A first win at Easter Road since December 2023 felt like a gargantuan step towards the title.
Hibs now have it all to do if they are to catch Motherwell. Six points behind the Steelmen, their hopes of fourth place are hanging by a thread largely thanks to the idiocy of Sallinger and Passlack.
The tension inside the arena was extraordinary. By common consent, given what was at stake, this was the biggest meeting between the sides since the 2012 Scottish Cup final.
After his side found themselves three goals down inside 48 minutes on the last visit in December, McInnes demanded a fast start. He didn’t exactly get it.
With Hibs pressing, Nicky Cadden won a cheap free kick on the left side of the box. Jamie McGrath’s deliver was deep and precise. With Hearts’ defenders impersonating mannequins in a Princes Street shop window, Boyle was on his toes. His cushioned right-foot finish was magnificent, flying into the top corner with Alexander Schwolow left without a prayer.
On his last derby, the veteran had the moment he’d have dreamed of.
It soon ought to have got even better for the home side. Boyle won the ball back and fed McGrath. With Owen Elding waiting, McGrath scuffed his pass. Chance gone.
All over the park, players undercooked and overhit passes. Few could handle the enormity of the occasion.
When Sallinger then went to gather a loose ball with his hands, he panicked. Rather than stepping back into his box, he grasped it outside. You knew what was coming.
At the next break in play, referee Don Robertson jogged over to his pitch-side monitor and was left with no decision to make. The red card was brandished. Jordan Smith was sprung from the bench for his first appearance since September 13 with Cadden sacrificed.
Although Smith brilliantly saved Michael Steinwender’s point-blank header, Hearts rarely cut the opponents open. McInnes’ side had most of the ball, but they lacked guile and imagination.
You had to hand it to Hibs’ defence. They stayed with their men and produced some outstanding blocks.
On one of the rare occasions that Stephen Kingsley found a yard of space down the left, Claudio Braga’s header from his cross sailed harmlessly over.
Hearts fans erupted when news of Motherwell’s late winner at Ibrox reached them. At that point, their own side were giving them few reasons for cheer.
Having pretty much vanished as an attacking force, Hibs were relishing the task of shutting the door on them. Passlack then Jordan Obita roared at the home end after they stood up to Shankland and Pierre Landry Kabore respectively.
An ill-tempered first period concluded with Kingsley and Passlack being booked for squaring up. How costly that would soon prove for the Hibs defender.
Three minutes after the restart, he needlessly wrapped his leg around that of Beni Baningime to prevent the Hearts’ midfielder reaching the halfway line. A red card followed the inevitable second yellow.
With no option but to load the sandbags, Gray took off Elding and threw on Kanayo Megwa.
Hearts’ pressure became relentless. Stepping on to a through ball, Braga was denied by a superb stop from Smith.
Craig Halkett’s raking drive was watched all the way by the substitute keeper and turned away for a corner.
A Baningime strike was kept at bay by Rocky Bushiri before Leonard struck the bar with a fizzing strike from the edge of the box. It would have been a gross understatement to suggest that Hibs’ goal was leading a charmed life.
With Hearts making the park as big as possible, the home side began to look exhausted. By the law of averages, something had to eventually give.
The leveller came on 65 minutes, the source the fresh legs on the right of Kerjota. The winger did brilliantly to accelerate away from Jordan Obita. Lawrence Shankland improvised with a back heel. It clipped the shin of Warren O’Hora on its way in.
The remainder was watched through the fingers of most home supporters. But for all it had long become a game of attack versus defence, the roof didn’t cave in.
Smith was right behind Kerjota’s strike as he lost patience and lashed the ball towards goal from the edge of area.
Anxiety began to creep into Hearts’ play. They gave away cheap fouls which gave Hibs welcome breathers.
With time fast running out, they needed a moment of quality. Kerjota again provided it, bursting down the flank and picking out Spittal with an inch-perfect pass. The midfielder calmly despatched the ball into the corner of the net with the aid of a deflection.
Hibs’ depleted numbers were already done for. Hearts began dreaming of the title.
HIBS (3-4-1-2): Sallinger 1; O’Hora 6, Bushiri 6, Obita 6; Passlack 4, Barlaser 5 (Newell 64), Chaiwa 6, N Cadden 4 (Smith 15); McGrath 6 (Campbell 64); Boyle 7 (Suto 64), Elding 6 (Megwa 50). Booked: O’Hora, Passlack, Newell, Bushiri. Sent off: Sallinger, Passlack. Manager: David Gray 4.
HEARTS (4-3-1-2): Schwolow 7; Steinwender 6.5 (Spittal 58), Halkett 7, Findlay 7, Kingsley 7 (McCart 90); Baningime 7, Leonard 6.5, Altena 6.5 (KERJOTA 46); Shankland 7; Braga 7 (Chesnokov 93), Kabore 6.5 (Kyziridis 58). Booked: Kingsley, Shankland, Leonard. Manager: Derek McInnes 8.
Referee: Don Robertson.
Attendance: 19,502.
