Hearts endured more derby disappointment as they lost back-to-back league games to Hibs for the first time in 16 years.
The Hibees won yesterday’s Edinburgh derby 2-1 after early goals were traded by Martin Boyle and Jorge Grant before Jack Iredale’s late stunner sealed the win and ensured another spine-tingling rendition of Sunshine on Leith after the whistle.
David Gray admitted he’s never seen Iredale hit it like that as he gave his players praise for responding to a nervous first half to improve as the game went on.
While Neil Critchley said Hearts were unrecognisable and admitted they didn’t deserve anything on the strength of their second half display.
Hibs go up to third while Hearts remain in seventh and are now all but out of the race for third and facing a fight to reach the top six.
Critchley refuses to answer Jorge Grant Hearts contract question
It counted for nothing in the end, but Grant’s strike to equalise after just eight minutes was a sweet one.
Meeting Rocky Bushiri’s poor clearance, the midfielder caught it flush on the half volley and perfectly controlled it while getting enough power to ensure it made it past Jordan Smith.
Having struggled for a game under Critchley’s early charge, Grant has been in the side quite a lot and performing quite well.
He is one of the Jambos stars out of contract in the summer but the manager wouldn’t be drawn on whether he would like to keep him.
Speaking post-match, he said: “Oh, you’re asking me probably at the wrong moment right now.
“It was a great goal for him today. He’s one of a few players out of contract and those talks will take place at some point. But obviously not right now.”
Critchley explains Hearts tweak vs Hibs
Critchley stuck with the diamond midfield that had served him well in recent matches and Hearts felt they had an element of control in the first half.
They seemed to lose that as Hibs grew into the game and the Englishman took off James Wilson and Grant for Sander Kartum and Calem Nieuwenhof to go to a flat 4-4-2.
Explaining that, he said: “In the first half the way they built from the back was different. We slightly defended differently at the top end of the pitch. But if you don’t get the press right and you’re passive behind it then the team becomes stretched and disjointed. The things that we were doing in the first half we stopped doing in the second half.
“The first goal was a really poor goal from us to give away which is very unlike us. It’s not a goal that you would associate with us in terms of the way that we conceded the goal. We showed a good response and then I think it was only Nicky Cadden’s hit across the goal.
“I think that was probably the only time that they got into our penalty area really in the first half. I thought we defended well and I thought we played some good football. But second half we lost belief in what we were doing and we lost our way.”