Merouane Zemmama's untimely injury leaves John Hughes disappointed space wasn't exploited

JOHN Hughes has lamented the circumstances which meant Hibernian could not take full advantage of the spaces left on the pitch following the dismissal of a player from both sides during yesterday's Edinburgh derby.

Merouane Zemmama was primed to exploit the less crowded park but pulled up with a hamstring strain after 65 minutes. Hibernian had equalised 12 minutes earlier and then the game became more heated as Ruben Palazuelos and Darren McCormack clashed at the edge of the penalty area. Both received red cards for the blows landed with their foreheads, something which Hughes felt might have given his side the edge had Zemmama not indicated his inability to continue. He was replaced by the less artful Kevin McBride.

"I thought we could have made use of Zemmama, hiding behind their two midfielders and coming off their two centre halves," he reflected. This had been the case in the first-half, when Zemmama had played with imagination and zest. Hughes has relished the thought of what the Moroccan might do following the dismissal of both McCormack and Palazuelos.

"I thought (the red cards] made for a better game," he said. "My frustration is that we had to take off Zemmama because he was feeling a hamstring. I felt at ten each he could have played off Stokesy and win the match for us. But then the hand came up and he'd done enough.

"I have seen the wee guy play better I have to say. "I felt at ten v ten if we got the ball to him there would have been the spaces for him to win it for us. I am a wee bit disappointed we could not give the fans a New Year three points. But I hope when they are sitting back tonight they are saying the boys showed a bit of spirit and dig. There were a couple of young lads in there, too, to get a feeling for it."

While he had always hoped to claim the three points, Hughes pointed out Hearts' talent for holding on to a lead and praised his players for being able to cancel out Gordon Smith's 44th minute opener.

"We showed character to come back," he said. "I have seen Hearts two or three times. They don't give much away. And usually when they score they shut up shop. The boys dug it out."

"In the first-half I felt we were the better side," he continued. "There were one or two half-chances for Derek and Stokesy. I thought Hearts scored against the run of play. Even at half-time I was not too concerned. It was a matter of keep doing what we were doing, but do it better."

Hughes revealed that Yves Makalambay had further damaged his hamstring when slipping on ice outside his home in the run-up to the match. The goalkeeper would likely have had to settle for a place on the bench had he been fit enough to play, with Graeme Smith arriving from Brighton & Hove Albion in midweek. He made his debut yesterday, with the first-choice Graham Stack still sidelined by a back injury.

"I will be honest with the goalkeeper situation," said Hughes. "There was a lot of frustration last week against Rangers. Maka had the hamstring (problem], and we only had young Thomas Flynn on the bench. We had to get it sorted out. We brought in a boy with his best years in front of him and with plenty of experience. The three of them can fight for it (the No 1 jersey], simple as that."

Smith relished his first taste of the Edinburgh derby following a frantic midweek which saw him head north from Brighton. He only signed for the English League One club in the summer from Motherwell, but lost his place following Gus Poyet's arrival as manager. His last appearance came a month ago against Charlton Athletic. He could not drive up to Scotland quick enough after being told of Hibs' interest. Poyet had already made him aware that he was not his preferred choice in goal.

"He told me he did not know me and he wanted to go with someone else in goal," said Smith. "I just told him that if it's not working out then let's get something else organised. They have done me a favour and given me the opportunity to come elsewhere."

Smith might have avoided the four-month detour to Sussex. There was talk of the goalkeeper signing for Hibs in the summer, just after Hughes took over. However, he was intent on sampling what England had to offer.

"I hope this will be a great platform to get back playing," he said. "This is a better club than Brighton," Smith said. "Everything about it is better than Brighton. I was being advised to try England but I landed on my feet that this was still here. I don't regret (going to Brighton]. You learn things."

Smith looked forward to working with the other goalkeepers at Easter Road. "At any club doing well there is competition," he said. "Everything is positive. I am looking forward to training with Stacky and Maka. I just need to prove I am a decent goalkeeper and hopefully get a run of games."