Derby run has Hearts legend Clark dreaming of glory years

Published on Monday 4 April 2011 13:35

MOTIVATING Hearts for Sunday's late equaliser at Easter Road was a raging desire to extend their unbeaten run in Edinburgh derbies. That stimulus is not exclusive to the present-day Tynecastle squad having been enjoyed by previous generations who also held the midas touch over Hibs.

After seven derbies without defeat, Hearts' dominance of the Capital city is evident once more.

Stephen Elliott's 84th-minute volley ensured a 2-2 draw that might have been considered unlikely given the circumstances. Hearts were down to ten men and Ricardo Vaz Te had put Hibs ahead only minutes earlier. However, it seems there is no antidote for the spirit and resolve burning brightly over in Gorgie, something those in Leith can testify to.

Hearts' recent run, stretching back to their last derby defeat almost two years ago, prompts thoughts of bygone years when even more remarkable records were set. The 22-game unbeaten run from the late 1980s and into the 1990s puts the current sequence firmly in perspective, yet similarities are already detectable. The defiance and hardiness of Hearts at the weekend was a feature 20 years ago when Alex Miller, the forlorn Hibs manager, tried everything in the book to source a derby win. And failed.

"I remember Alex Miller being in charge at Hibs and he tried everything," recalled Sandy Clark, Hearts manager for part of 22-in-a-row. "He changed the strip, he changed their approach to the game, he changed the system they used, all aimed at trying to get a result but nothing seemed to work for them. Everyone knows where my loyalties lie in the Edinburgh derby so I hope this run continues for a while. I'd like to see it being a long time before Hibs win a derby."

Psychologically, Hibs may fear that they are unable to prevent Clark's wish coming true. Their players' body language in the immediate aftermath of Vaz Te's goal on Sunday was not that of a team committed to seeing out the game. Deep down, there seemed to be doubts about their ability to hold on against a Hearts side which knows precisely what a derby means.

"When you go 2-1 down with ten minutes to go and you're a man short, you wonder if you are going to lose it," continued Clark. "But Hearts went for the equaliser and deservedly got it. I think this will continue into next season as well because I don't think Hibs are going to make the top six now. The longer it goes on, the harder it will become for Hibs.

"They knew it had been a long time since they got a result in a derby. When they got in front they maybe doubted themselves a little bit and Jim Jefferies would be pointing that out to his team.

"Hibs are a decent side, I have to say. If this record was against any other team you would probably say it won't last too much longer. But, with the psychological aspect and with it being Hearts, you never know. Hibs going into that game on Sunday must have thought 'we'll never get a better chance of a win'. They had five wins and a draw behind them and Hearts were without Kevin Kyle, then they went down to ten men. But it still didn't happen.

"It seemed so similar to many of the games we had against Hibs years ago. Everything was in their favour and they still couldn't beat us. I think there are a lot of similarities."

For Tosh McKinlay, who experienced derbies in Dundee and Glasgow as well as Edinburgh, playing in 17 of those 22 encounters against Hibs remains a career highlight. He remembers a feeling of superiority within the Hearts dressing room which fuelled many a derby success.

"If you look back at the stats, Hibs only won two or three times in about 40 derbies around that period," said the former full-back.

"When the other team knows you have the touch over them, it's very difficult for them.

"I always think back to the game when Neil Berry got a late equaliser (1-1 draw at Tynecastle on November 24, 1990). When that goal went in, you could just see the Hibs players going 'what have we got to do to beat this mob?'

"When you've got that belief and that hold over the other team, you are so confident. Fozzy (Wayne Foster) scored the winner in the cup in the last minute in 1994, that was another game which stands out.

Then there was the 3-0 game when we had to go down to Easter Road after Wallace Mercer's failed takeover bid (September 15, 1990). That was an experience. You're going into the Lion's Den and I think that match indicated the strength in our squad.

"There was no fear. We went down there knowing there was a lot of attention on the game because of what happened off the field. Hibs would have thought that was a decent chance to turn us over, yet we ended up winning the game 3-0. People always say that if you go unbeaten against your rivals in a season then it's been a decent campaign and we certainly had the touch over Hibs at that time."

Unless Hibs can effect a somewhat miraculous rise into the SPL's top six, Hearts' feeling of control will continue until the clubs meet again next season. Yet there is no room for resting on laurels in inner-city derbies.

"There's no doubt Jim Jefferies, Billy Brown and Gary Locke have the passion for it. They will be working hard to make sure players don't take anything for granted," said Clark.

"Any time you play Hibs, your first priority is not to lose the game. When you're on a roll of five, six or seven you start going into the games with so much confidence. That's my memory from way back during our run. You knew you had the upper hand over them. The longer that goes on, the stronger the feeling gets. You could sense that from Hearts just watching the game on Sunday."

It would take a monumental effort to better the 1989-1994 sequence. Most won't even allow themselves to contemplate it. But the notion that Hearts have command of their greatest rivals right now cannot be denied. How long it lasts would appear to be anyone's guess.