Hibernian and Hearts were vying for the Festival Cup, a marketing ploy dreamt up by the two clubs to coincide with the city’s annual international arts festival. An air of bohemian culture tends to descend on the capital at this time of year and unusual events are the norm, so that perhaps explains why at the end of the game there was no presentation.
“I’ve not seen it (the trophy) at all,” shrugged Andy Webster, the Hearts goalscorer. A Festival Cup but no trophy handed out? It is a concept worthy of the Fringe.
“You don’t know about the open-top bus down Princes Street, then,” joked Craig Levein, the winning manager, when he was asked about the non-appearance of the trophy. “I don’t know if we were meant to stay out on the pitch.”
Elements of the Festival certainly gathered round this game. A group of scruffily-dressed musicians interpreted football songs with their drum and whistles outside the main stand, while Goddard, a funk/pop band, performed in the centre circle before kick-off. When the music started to drift out from the public address system, the guitarist and singer were late in beginning their miming. It was an inauspicious opening, but the match itself slipped into groove more smoothly, particularly the visitors.
Hearts’ results during pre- season have been indifferent and Levein went into this game with six first-team players injured. But it was the Tynecastle side who slowly rose to the ascendancy in the opening half. Levein was cautious not to get too carried away with the result afterwards, but there were few problems for him to ponder.
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Neil MacFarlane, who barely put a foot wrong throughout the 90 minutes, and Scott Severin provided a stern and solid base in the centre of midfield, while Mark de Vries was a marauding and brooding presence up front. But it was Webster, the impressively robust defender, who snared the advantage for Hearts. When Robert Sloan’s corner was repelled, the ball fell to Steven Boyack on the left and he arced a cross back into the centre that Webster met with a firm header.
“We defended the first ball well, but not the second one,” sighed Bobby Williamson, the Hibs manager. “If you’re playing for an egg cup, you still want to win it.”
Williamson has now failed to secure a win in five Edinburgh derby matches, but there were some positives for him yesterday. Scott Brown was a direct and tricky outlet up front. He may only be 18, but he doesn’t lack self-assurance and at one point bawled at Andy McLaren, who was still technically playing as a trialist, for not passing to him. Mathias Doumbe, meanwhile, impressed at centre-half, allying pace to sound defensive instincts.
When McLaren did release Brown down the right after 20 minutes, the young striker showed fine composure to pick out the near-post run of Stephen Dobbie. The former Rangers youngster muscled in front of Steven Pressley and turned a shot on target, but Tepi Moilanen reacted well to block it on the line.
Yannick Zambernardi and Patrick Kisnorbo then indulged in tit-for-tat late challenges, with the Frenchman’s foul on Hearts’ recent signing resulting in a brief contretemps. Tom Brown, the referee, calmed the situation down and, in a display of refreshingly sensible officiating, he endeavoured to keep his cards in his pocket all afternoon. There were a few late tackles that would have warranted a booking in different circumstances, but the match was not played in a fractious atmosphere. “Both teams were committed to trying to win. It’s difficult for the referee, but I thought he handled it pretty well,” said Levein.
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But Brown eventually had to scramble in his pocket for his yellow card on 80 minutes.
Austin McCann and Tom McManus had become involved in a simmering feud, and when both slid in to challenge each other, they became embroiled in a spot of wrestling. “It was nothing, just handbags,” said McManus. “We shook hands and laughed about it afterwards. I know Ozzie quite well and I’m sure he’ll phone me up to joke about it.”
The real action begins on Saturday.
Substitutes: Hibernian: Brown (Riordan h-t), Dobbie (O’Connor h-t), Hyldgaard (Andersson h-t), Wiss (Brebner 62min), Glass (McManus 62min)
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Hearts: Kisnorbo (Neilson h-t), Sloan (Hamill h-t), Moilanen (Gordon h-t), Kirk (Wyness 71min), Boyack (Janczyk 86min)
Booked: McCann (80min), McManus (80min)
Referee: T Brown
Attendance: 10,090