Hibs once again were left to rue what might have been in an Edinburgh Derby after Liam Craig missed a penalty with the scoreline blank.
Alan Stubbs men were to succumb to a wonder strike from Sam Nicholson and Bauben penalty as Scott Robertson saw red.
The drama wasn’t over quite yet though and Hearts striker Osman Sow saw red for an elbow on Michael Nelson, an offence he’d previously committed 70 minutes earlier without punishment, before Farid El Alagui pulled one back for Hibs.
Overall the two sides were evenly matched with the home support quiet throughout until Nicholson’s fine driven finish.
The first half was one of few genuine chances, a trait that continued into the second period but Hibs should have taken the lead just after the half hour.
Farid El Alagui’s flick on was chased by Danny Handling who nicked the ball past debutant Hamilton in the Hearts goal and the keeper showed his inexperience by bringing the forward down.
Captain Liam Craig took the spot kick himself but the effort was poor and went a fair bit wide of the right hand post.
As ever in these games you generally require a bit of luck or magic to win it and it was Hearts born and bred Sam Nicholson who produced the latter to open the scoring with barely ten minutes left.
He cut inside from the right and powered a 25 yard effort past Mark Oxley in the Hibees goal.
It was a stunning strike from the youngster who clearly enjoyed his moment.
A couple of minutes later and it was game over for Hibs when Robertson was red carded for a second booking after fouling Bauben in the box and the same player fired the resultant penalty home.
Hearts striker Sow then saw red for his elbow on Nelson before El Alagui pulled one back in injury time with a fine volleyed finish.
Player Ratings
Mark Oxley 6
Helpless at both goals. Produced a good low save in first half
David Gray 6
More subdued than normal but never done much wrong.
Michael Nelson 6
Surprise start in Hanlon’s absence. Good battle with Sow.
Jordan Forster 6
Not at fault for any goals. Looked composed.
Lewis Stevenson 5
Once again distribution poor
Alex Harris 6
Saw fleeting glimpses of him. Well marshalled by Hearts.
Scott Robertson 4
Poor show from the midfielder. Easily beaten by Nicholson at first, gave away penalty and red carded.
Liam Craig 5
Missed vital penalty which changed game.
Sam Stanton 5
Struggling for form at the moment.
Danny Handling 6
Won penalty but not quite able to penetrate Hearts rearguard.
Farid El Alagui 7
Got deserved goal at end. Flick on helped win penalty.
Why not join in the fun and cast your vote for the Vital Hibs Player of the Month award after every match.
The player ratings thread in the forum is where you can help the site to identify who’s been the key performer over the last 30 days.
Alternatively you can use your social media login to leave your ratings on the match day report.
At the end of the season, we’ll put every entrant into a hat and pick a lucky winner to present a Player of the Year Award to the person who’s consistently been voted for as our star man.
So why not register today to have your say starting with yesterday’s Edinburgh Derby.
