Raphael Sallinger made two crucial stoppage-time saves as Hibernian held off a late fightback from Hearts to defeat the Scottish Premiership leaders 3-2 in the Edinburgh derby at Easter Road.
Hibs were three up and seemingly coasting early in the second half after Kieron Bowie added to first-half goals from Jamie McGrath and the substitute Josh Campbell. But Hearts hit back through Lawrence Shankland and Cammy Devlin, setting up a grandstand finale in which Shankland and Beni Baningime were denied by Sallinger, as Derek McInnes’s side suffered only their second league defeat of the season.
David Gray, the Hibs head coach, made one change to the side that started last weekend’s 1-1 draw at Dundee United as Warren O’Hora replaced Zach Mitchell at centre-back. There was also one tweak to Hearts’ defence as Craig Halkett came in for Frankie Kent after missing the 2-1 win over Rangers with a knee injury.
With smoke from the pre-match pyro display still billowing around the ground, Hibs went ahead in the third minute. Nicky Cadden received a diagonal pass from O’Hora wide on the left and got away from Michael Steinwender before delivering a cross for McGrath, who guided home a lovely shot on the bounce from 10 yards out.
After a passive start, Hearts built their way into the game and had a golden chance to equalise in the 17th minute when Shankland powered a free header just wide from Stephen Kingsley’s cross. Oisin McEntee then glanced a header wide from a Kingsley free-kick before Tómas Magnússon’s shot was blocked behind by Grant Hanley.
Hibs were forced into a change in the 29th minute when Cadden went off injured and was replaced by Campbell. But the home side, despite having to soak up some Hearts pressure as the half wore on, doubled their lead in the 45th minute. McGrath got away from McEntee on the left and floated in a lovely delivery for Campbell, who looped a brilliant near-post header beyond Alexander Schwolow.
McInnes made a double change for the start of the second half, replacing Kingsley and McEntee with Harry Milne and Baningime. But the leaders’ plight got worse within three minutes of the restart. Stuart Findlay’s attempted clearance on the left was charged down by Josh Mulligan and the ball broke into the path of Bowie, who drove into the box before guiding a low shot past Schwolow from 16 yards.
Just as the game looked to be drifting away from Hearts, Shankland gave them a glimmer of hope in the 75th minute when he nodded in Alexandros Kyziridis’s cross from the right.
They pulled another goal back in the 89th minute when Devlin knocked in the rebound after Sallinger parried Kyziridis’s shot into his path. The Hibs goalkeeper then made two big saves to ensure victory and deny their city rivals what would have been a stunning fightback.
