Hibs 0 - 0 Hearts: Derby gives Yogi mixed emotions

JOHN HUGHES departed Tynecastle, the scene of his first Edinburgh derby as manager of Hibs, admitting to mixed emotions, the satisfaction at doing so with a point when his team had fallen short of the standard expected barely masking his frustration of knowing how much better they could have been.

As the Easter Road boss insisted, a draw in Gorgie when not at their best was a promising indication of how things are progressing on the east side of the Capital but, nonetheless, it was a performance which left Hughes and fans alike to wonder just what might have been.

While Hughes' counterpart Csaba Laszlo has had time to contend with a number of long-term injuries, it was a spate of late casualties which found Hughes having to shuffle his side for the first time in five matches, forcing him to deploy Colin Nish as a lone striker rather than the virtual 4-2-4 formation preferred in previous weeks.

Playmaker Merouane Zemmama and defender Sol Bamba were out, leading scorer Derek Riordan confined to the bench after picking up an ankle problem having, apparently, fallen over his bulldog Bruce while Anthony Stokes overcame a bout of illness and midfield pairing Kevin McBride and Liam Miller shook off injuries sustained in that controversial match against Aberdeen a week earlier which had threatened their participation almost right up to kick-off. In came Lewis Stevenson for his first game of the season, slotting in at left-back as Ian Murray shifted inside to partner skipper Chris Hogg in what proved to be a formidable partnership in central defence, while John Rankin, confined to the bench for the five previous matches, was handed the unenviable role of taking over from Zemmama on the right of midfield.

It was, perhaps, understandable then that Hibs struggled to find their feet throughout the opening 45 minutes, Nish often seen desperately waving his team-mates forward to support him as he battled alone, and for the large part in vain, against the physical presence of Ismael Bouzid and Jose Goncalves.

However, both Stokes, operating wide on the left where he rarely got the better of young Hearts defender Jason Thomson – preferred on this occasion to his namesake Craig – and Abdessalam Benjelloun in particular singularly failed to do so, the upshot being the home side enjoyed the upper-hand without really looking as if they could turn their superior possession into goals.

It's been a failing of the Gorgie outfit, just nine goals in 11 SPL matches, not just this season but one which stretches back, almost into the mists of time it seems, and, unsurprisingly, was again the main thrust of Laszlo's after-match comments.

Other than a clever piece of inter-play between Michael Stewart and Arvydas Novikovas which saw the Hearts skipper fire just wide, and a thrusting run from Andy Driver which ended with a tame shot straight at Hibs goalkeeper Graham Stack, the home side relied in the main on the all-too-predictable tactic of hitting the ball long for Christian Nade or turning to the long throws of Goncalves, more in hope rather than the certainty of a goal- scoring opportunity being created. Corner after corner also followed but, again, with Stack left relatively untroubled as Hogg and Murray repelled all assaults on his goal.

Hughes, right, said: "I felt Hearts were the better side first half but not with any great football. They were playing it long looking for second balls, long throws into the box. But we had to defend it and we did that very well. I felt Ian Murray and Chris Hogg were immense in the centre of defence but, again, they had to be."

While Hearts huffed and puffed to find an opening there was little but scraps for Hibs up-front although Stokes should have done better when Nish, getting the better of his opponents for once, glanced the ball down into his path. The Republic of Ireland sriker, being watched by a member of Giovanni Trapattoni's backroom staff ahead of the upcoming World Cup play-off matches against France for which the Hibs star and his team-mate Miller have been named, however, could do no more than scuff his shot straight at Janos Balogh.

The introduction of Riordan and a further reshuffle of the pack, though, saw Hibs improve rapidly, young David Wotherspoon intercepting a stray pass from Novikovas before striding forward to unleash a shot which caught the head of Nish and looked destined for the top corner of the net until Balogh somehow got a hand to touch the ball onto the post, then smothering the rebound before Riordan could get to it.

Balogh again had to look sharp as Riordan wheeled to deliver a shot which threatened to creep in at his near post. Hughes reckoning the stage was there for the Scotland star to seal the points for his side. He said: "I felt we were a little better in the second half and in the final 20 minutes showed what we are all about. Their goalkeeper had those saves from Wotherspoon and Riordan and there were a couple of wee things about the edge of the box which had Derek carried a wee bit luck, in terms of one-on-one, a gap would have opened up for him."

Even in the dying seconds you wouldn't have bet against Riordan claiming the winner as he had done from the penalty spot on his last visit to Tynecastle, but on this occasion his free-kick sailed over the bar. Just prior to that, though, Hibs survived a penalty claim as Stack, unable to hold onto a Gary Glen shot, dived, along with Hogg, at the feet of the in-rushing Jamie Mole.

Down went the Hearts kid, leaving Stack with his heart in his mouth as he turned to look at referee Steve Conroy who got it spot-on in ruling no offence had been committed, Mole having jumped over both Hibs players. Nevertheless, it was a worrying moment for Stack who revealed: "I spoke to the ref about it and saw it on the telly afterwards and it is clear Hoggy got a bit of the ball.

"I never touched Mole, his momentum has taken him over rather than diving through. It was never a penalty or a foul but I have seen some crazy decisions given recently and I have to admit my heart was in my mouth."

If, on the balance of play and chances created, a draw was probably a fair result it was still an outcome which left both Hughes and Laszlo less than content, the Hibs boss knowing a sub-standard performance had seen his side pass up an opportunity to keep the heat right on Celtic and Rangers while his opposite number can only hope that somewhere down the line, and the sooner the better as far as he is concerned, his side start to pick up more points. To do that, however, they need to score goals, something Laszlo admitted seems virtually beyond them at the moment.

For his part Hughes said: "To play the way we did I'd take a point coming here. We weren't at our best but to be that and get a draw at Tynecastle shows good signs. I expected more from my players, one or two of them can pass the ball better. It's a mental mind-set, you need that great belief to say that no matter what stage or environment I will still get on the ball and pass it."