Maroon Memories: 'Wispy' Wallace goal turns game as Hibs' home ground hoodoo continues

ONE incident on the brink of half-time brought about an incredible switch of fortune in a rousing Ne'erday Derby at Easter Road and 33,000 fans saw a rather scrappy winning goal give Hearts yet another 3-2 victory over Hibs.

Seldom has a game swivelled so dramatically on a solitary move. For Willie Wallace's headed goal seconds from the interval infused new life into a Hearts side which had been made to look second rate.

Hibs' lead at the halfway mark was anything but a realistic reflection on their superiority in that period. Darting, dangerous Peter Cormack - far and away the best player afield in the first half - had swept his side into a two-goal lead inside 19 minutes. Jim Scott missed a wonderful chance to finish the contest at the same time as the crowd swayed alarmingly at the Albion Road end, and there was a sizzling Jim Cruickshank save from a Pat Stanton rocket.

Hearts needed a stimulant urgently and in their first direct attack on Willie Wilson's goal, they hit the jackpot. A Danny Ferguson free-kick dropped into a crowded goal-mouth and it was the head of 'Wispy' Wallace that sent the ball looping lazily into the left-hand corner of the net.

The second-half saga was almost as one-sided as the first, though in Hearts' favour this time. The Jam Tarts had a clear-cut plan after the break. They had noticed how John Baxter kept running with the ball to leave a gap behind him. And Joe Davis was giving Johnny Hamilton amazing freedom on the right wing. So Hearts pumped every ball in that direction and Hamilton became the vital link. George Miller struck a series of great passes in Hamilton's direction as the offensive built up.

Within three minutes, Wallace flicked down a Miller lob and the falling Don Kerrigan sliced the ball inside Wilson's left-hand post.

After 70 minutes came the counter which won two points. Don Kerrigan raced full tilt towards the bye-line and just managed to belt across a Hamilton pass. In a flash the ball was in the net from a fantastic angle, and one wondered how it could have beaten Wilson. The explanation was that the goalkeeper got his hands to the ball which struck McNamee on the leg and rebounded into the net.

A freak winner perhaps but a vital goal and a continuation of the hoodoo which affects Hibs on their own ground.