Hibernian 1 Heart of Midlothian 2

3rd November 2002
Scottish Premier League
Attendance:

Scorers:
Hibernian: Paatelainen.
Heart of Midlothian: McKenna, Stamp.

This is a copy of a report of the game as it appeared in the Scotsman on Monday 4th November 2002

Stamp puts seal on a steal

IN ONE of those derbies in which unrelenting competitiveness becomes the altar on which skill and imagination are sacrificed, Hearts achieved a victory that had seemed impossible by basically outstaying their fiercest rivals.

Phil Stamp’s winning goal with literally the second-last kick of the game - following an equaliser from Kevin McKenna of Mixu Paatelainen’s first-half opener for Hibs - rather characterised a match in which the most dramatic moments seemed to have little to do with the rest of the performance.

As if infected by the general spirit of eccentricity, referee Willie Young decided to order Stamp off in the wake of an excessive celebration that brought the Tynecastle midfielder his second yellow card.

It was a bizarre climax, as Young’s next action was to signal the restart and then give a final toot on his whistle.

Stamp at the time evinced little evidence that his ignominious exit had done anything to dilute his exultation, but his forthcoming suspension will surely give him time to become understandably resentful over an exercise in officialdom that could have been avoided.

The player’s protracted jubilation may have been a little overdone, but it was surely forgivable. He had, after all, just given his team victory - although neither of the visitors’ goals was likely to have arrived without the introduction of the indispensably influential substitute, Neil Janczyk - in the most intense fixture on their schedule in circumstances that were quite bewildering.

In the way that a golfer’s scorecard does not concern itself with the "how?", but only the "how many?", the Hearts support would dance out of Easter Road into an Edinburgh twilight utterly oblivious to the moderateness of their team’s performance in a game in which both sides scored at times when they had done little to warrant the reward.

During a first half in which technique, inventiveness and precise passing seemed to have been outlawed, Hibs managed to take the lead with the only opportunity they managed to contrive, and that from a set-piece.

They had, on only one other occasion in the entire 45 minutes, engineered themselves into a position which held the genuine promise of a threat, but Garry O’Connor’s attempt to take advantage rather typified the poor standard of execution which had disfigured the general play. Taking possession on the right edge of the Hearts penalty area, the young striker had Paatelainen making an untracked run through the inside-left channel. It would not have required a work of brilliance to slide the ball into the path of his partner, but O’Connor lofted it high and swirling away from Paatelainen towards Roddy McKenzie.

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