Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts defeated Hibernian 1-0 in a tense Edinburgh derby, with substitute Thomas Magnusson scoring the winning goal in the closing stages to cement their place at the top of the table.
The Icelandic midfielder burst into action at the crucial moment of the match in the 88th minute, sparking jubilation at Tynecastle.
The Jambos are six points ahead of Rangers, who have one game in hand, and nine points ahead of Celtic, who have two games in hand.
How did Hearts win the Edinburgh derby?
Thomas Magnusson (centre) celebrates with his Hearts team-mates after scoring a late winning goal
Head coach Derek McInnes handed January signing Islam Chesnokov his first start, while Frankie Kent started in place of Craig Halkett, who was suspended following his red card against St Mirren last Tuesday.
There were also two changes to the Hibs squad that started against Dundee United last Wednesday, with Jordan Obita and Elly Yuan replacing Nicky Cadden and Kai Andrews.
In an exciting atmosphere, Hearts got off to a bright start, with Landry Kabore cutting in from the right with a low shot just wide of the target, and Claudio Braga’s acrobatic effort going wide.
Hearts head coach Derek McInnes celebrates Magnuson’s late strike
In the 9th minute, Felix Passlack drove into the Hearts box and Hibs had a good opportunity to counter-attack, but the German over-hit his pass to supporting Martin Boyle, who teed Nicky Cadden up with a diagonal shot that Kent deflected.
In a typically frenetic derby, Hearts had a few half-chances but both teams struggled to maintain their quality, with goalkeeper Rafael Sullinger holding back Chesnokov as he tried to get on the end of the ball over the top before Aleksandros Kouridis fired home from just outside the box.
Hearts came close to scoring in the 41st minute when Kabore’s shot deflected off Munashe Garananga and into the path of Chesnokov, but the Kazakhstan fired from close range under pressure from Sullinger.
Hibs became a more confident team as the first half progressed and threatened just before half-time when Boyle turned around in the box and had a low shot saved by Alexander Schworrow.
Hearts tested Sullinger for the first time in the 53rd minute when Harry Milne teed up Kyzyridis’ deft corner and fired home a low shot from 20 yards.
Hibs started to increase the pressure from around the hour mark, with Cadden’s shot in front of goal being neatly cut away by Kouziridis, with Boyle lurking unmarked in the middle.
The visitors came close in the 69th minute when Boyle curled his shot just wide of Cadden’s.
However, Hearts found a breakthrough in the final stages when Milne’s low cross from the left was met by the onrushing Magnusson who pressed it home from close range.
What did the managers say?
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Hearts manager Derek McInnes praises his team for clinching a late win over rivals Hibs as he focuses on Sunday’s game against Rangers at Ibrox – live on Sky Sports
Hearts head coach Derek McInnes: “How many times have you seen Celtic and Rangers title-winning teams who always knew they could find a way to win the game? That’s how we felt tonight.
“Our players believed for a while that we had a chance.
“We feel we can win the game and we have 12 games left. It would be foolish to think we don’t have a chance with 12 games left.
“If Rangers and Celtic don’t win the league, it’s an absolute disaster for them. We’re just having fun.”
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Hibs manager David Gray reflected on their missed chance to close the gap to fourth-placed Motherwell and their late defeat to Hearts.
Hibernian head coach David Gray: “Like last time, there was very little in the game.
“Unfortunately, we neglected the basics for more than 90 minutes and three mistakes led to us conceding a goal in the last minute.
“There was nothing in the game and the quality was very limited so we have to at least try to get points.
“A draw would probably have been a reasonable result.”
Wednesday, February 11th 7pm
Kickoff at 8pm
