Bedlam and big moments - Hibs and Hearts both fall apart in barnstorming Edinburgh derby

Hibs ended up needing the three-goal lead they had established in a hugely enjoyable Edinburgh derby. As a showcase to mark 150 years of this fixture, it was everything TV executives could have wished for. A stirring atmosphere, five goals and the strong suggestion of a rousing comeback. Somehow, having passed up chances to go 4-0 up, Hibs found themselves praying for the final whistle.

Even that first meeting on the Meadows on Christmas Day 1875, when a tape was strung between two sticks for goals and players missed kick-off by turning up late, cannot have matched the chaos in the final stages here. Alexander Schwolow, the Hearts goalkeeper, came up to contest a corner although it was his opposite number, Raphael Sallinger, who emerged the hero in slightly more conventional fashion by making two fine stops at the death.

It wasn’t quite clear who was falling apart at one point. Was it Hearts or was it Hibs? Initially, the visitors in maroon, so imperious in recent weeks as they enjoyed wins over Celtic and Rangers, were left wondering what had hit them. Kieron Bowie’s unerring finish into the corner to make it 3-0 to the hosts just three minutes into the second half after Josh Mulligan charged down an attempted Stuart Findlay clearance raised the prospect of derby records being broken.

Smoke was still clearing from the (permitted) pyro display when Hibs took an early lead. One wonders if the vapour had been produced by fans whether the officials might have made more of a song and a dance about it. Either way, even if Hearts could complain about impeded visibility, it was of course the same for both sides. Jamie McGrath emerged from the gloom to put Hibs ahead after just three minutes following fine wing play on the left from Nicky Cadden.

There was no mitigation whatsoever for Hearts going two down just before the break. No smoke, no fumes. Just rank rotten defending although there will be few better headers scored in the Scottish top-flight this season. Josh Campbell spent the opening 30 minutes rooted to the bench so the way he rose to meet McGrath’s cross and connect with such perfect timing on the stroke of half time was doubly admirable. He had replaced Cadden, who aggravated a calf injury.

McGrath took up position on the left and his trickery must be saluted too, on this of all weekends. Every professional ought to have felt inspired while watching clips of former winger John Robertson, who died on Christmas Day aged 72, doing what he did on the left for Nottingham Forest and Scotland. This is what football is all about. Taking on your man and then taking him on again if the mood took you. McGrath beat Oisin McEntee not once but twice before clipping over a ball that Campbell flicked in off the far post.

Shankland’s sliding doors moment

Cue bedlam. Cue Derek McInnes having to make some big decisions. McEntee was withdrawn as he paid the price for Hearts’ vulnerability on the right-hand side while Stephen Kingsley was more surprisingly kept inside. Hearts’ best chances of the opening half were sourced from his deliveries, including a moment that might haunt Shankland. Having peeled away from Jack Iredale to meet Kingsley's centre, he found himself with acres of room. Despite having time and space he directed his header wide of the far post. Had it gone 1-1 then, who knows?

After passing up two very scorable chances in the second half against Rangers last week, that was now three golden opportunities in a row Shankland had failed to put away. Then again, it’s probably advisable never to doubt him. He scored his 13th of the season after steering in a header with quarter of an hour left following a well-worked short corner to give Hearts hope. And then, when Cammy Devlin tapped in a second after Sallinger failed to hold Alexandros Kyziridis’ drive, there was more than that, there was belief - and, among Hibs fans, utter dread.

The clock said a minute left but everyone knew there would be enough time for Hearts to create one more good chance. Turns out, with six minutes added on, they had two. Sallinger was equal to Shankland’s near post effort from six yards before substitute Beni Baningime’s curled shot afforded the ‘keeper the chance to grandstand as he tipped the ball past the post.

While it came at the place they least wanted it to come, this is only Hearts’ second defeat in 19 league games, something McInnes noted afterwards. If they can manage something similar in the second half of the season, they will be there or thereabouts.