Edinburgh rivals get Ne'er Day derby date

HEARTS and Hibs will meet on New Year's Day for the first time in 13 years after the SPL confirmed yesterday its scheduling for the festive period.

While the Edinburgh derby reverts to its traditional slot, the Old Firm clash has been moved to Sunday 2 January. Both games will kick off at lunchtime and be televised.

The Hearts-Hibs game at Tynecastle, which will be shown live on ESPN at 12.30pm, represents a return to days past. The capital clubs met on Ne'er Day almost every year until the late Seventies when a combination of relegation and different fixturing priorities saw the match shunted out of its usual slot.

The clubs last contested a New Year's Day derby in 1998 when Steve Fulton's two goals saw Hearts race into a 2-0 lead after ten minutes only for Hibs to peg them back in the second half through Andy Walker and Pat McGinlay to earn a 2-2 draw.

The Old Firm match will kick-off at 12.45pm on 2 January and will be shown live on Sky Sports.

The SPL has earmarked New Year's Day for derbies, with Hamilton taking on Motherwell and Aberdeen facing Dundee United. The other games see St Mirren play Kilmarnock and St Johnstone host Inverness.

In a busy festive period there will also be a full programme of SPL fixtures in the midweek between Christmas and New Year.