Heart of Midlothian took the spoils in the Edinburgh derby this afternoon with two goals in a crazy three minute spell - and that proved too much of an obstacle for Hibernian to overcome. John Hughes men did pull a goal back late on from Derek Riordan but couldn't find a leveller and so it was Hearts that deservedly picked up full points.

Injury and suspension forced Hibernian manager John Hughes into making three changes to the side that faced Ross County in last weekend's Active Nation Scottish Cup clash at Easter Road - out went Colin Nish, Paul Hanlon and Captain Chris Hogg to be replaced in the starting XI by Steven Thicot, Lewis Stevenson and Sol Bamba. With Chris Hogg ruled out through a back problem, the honour of leading Hibernian out fell to his deputy Ian Murray, who lined up alongside Sol Bamba in the heart of a makeshift defence. The raw passion of the Edinburgh derby was evident from the opening minutes of the match as twenty-two committed players threw their bodies bravely into challenge after challenge.

Hibernian started the game brightly and took the match to their hosts but for all the neat intricate play from John Hughes' men in the opening period it was Hearts that carved out the first opportunity on 6 minutes. After Driver was tripped on the edge of the penalty area, a quickly taken free kick from Black caught Hibernian cold as Wallace raced in behind their defence from the left, but his low cross was cut out by Bamba before it could be turned into the net by anyone in a maroon shirt. Not long after Hibernian had their first effort at goal when Stokes wriggled free from the attentions of three Hearts defenders, but his shot from distance lacked the cutting edge to beat Balogh and finished just wide of goal. Former Inverness Caledonian Thistle midfielder, Black, was certainly in the wars in the opening 15 minutes as he twice took head knocks - the second of which resulting in a lengthy treatment for the Hearts player.

The incredible pace of this match showed no signs of letting up as the play raged from end to end. First Stokes almost slipped in Wotherspoon before Hearts raced to the other end and Kingston was not too far away with a long range shot that had Stack scrambling across his goal but ultimately finished wide of the target. The first change of the afternoon came on 17 minutes when Kucharksi was replaced by Santana - and was quickly followed by the opening goal when Santana's cross came off an upright and fell perfectly for Andrew Driver to smash beyond a stranded Stack from close range.

Graeme Stack will have been disappointed the he did not intercept the ball as it came into his area - but while that goal came as a hammer blow to Hibernian much worse was to follow 3 minutes later when Jonssons' knock down from Driver's corner kick was turned into the net from close range by Gary Glen. Hibernian were rattled by a rampant home side and Stack was fortunate not to be punished when he raced from his goal and failed to clear from Obua, but on this occasion Hearts failed to capitalise. Jim Jefferies side kept up their pressure on Stack's goal and Stevenson had to clear from the goal-line after Jonsson had headed down Driver's corner kick.

Riordan sent a volley from 20 yards fizzing across the face of Balogh's goal as Hibernian tried to respond but after 33 minutes the visitors had yet to force goalkeeper Balogh into making a save. The set-piece deliveries of Driver were proving pivotal in this encounter and they almost brought about a third goal for the home side when the ball fell kindly to Thomson only a few yards out but he found his first time shot blocked by Thicot. Due to the number of stoppages - most notably for Black and Bamba - there were 4 minutes of additional time played at the end of the first half, and although Hibernian huffed and puffed trying to find a way through the home defence, they failed to carve out anything of note.

A disappointing first half from Hibernian then, who have left themselves with a mountain to climb after a crazy spell where they capitulated.

Half Time: Heart of Midlothian 2 Hibernian 0

There were no changes during the interval and Hibernian got the second half underway. The Easter Road side immediately surrendered possession and were fortunate not to fall further behind in the opening minutes as Obua volleyed over from Thomson's cross. Seconds later there was no question Hearts should have scored when Obua's cut-back left Santana with an open goal, and despite that the winger somehow managed to blast the ball high over the crossbar when it appeared impossible to miss. Hearts continued to slice through the Hibernian defence almost at will and Glen should have done better when he raced clean through on goal and only succeeded in running the ball out of play.

John Hughes had seen enough and he made a change on 52 minutes when he withdrew Rankin for the more attack minded Benjelloun. Hibernian were looking vulnerable to the ball in behind and the pace of the home forwards as gaps began to appear due to the Leith men having to chase the game. Hibernian had goalkeeper Stack to thank when he produced a great save, diving low to his right to push away a net bound header from Glen after the Hearts youngster was left unmarked from Kingston's free kick. The second half had so far belonged to the visitor's but Hibernian's best period of pressure in the second half came on the hour mark when the ball was worked to Riordan on the left hand side of the penalty but he found his effort blocked by Thomson.

Seconds later Stokes burst into the Hearts penalty but was unable to get the ball out from between his feet for a strike at goal after evading a number of challenges. Hearts' goal-scorer Glen picked up the first yellow card of the afternoon for kicking the ball away before Driver went close to wrapping up the points for the home side. The Englishman raced clean through on goal before lofting the ball over the top of Stack but his celebrations were cut shot by the back tracking Stevenson who hooked clear from his goal-line. Good build up play from Hibernian resulted in Benjelloun and Riordan linking up well on the edge of the Hearts penalty area however with time on his side to make a clean connection the Moroccan was wasteful and blasted over from 16 yards.

Balogh's first real save of note came with 16 minutes remaining when the goalkeeper threw himself towards a cross from Benjelloun, getting his fingertips to the ball and doing just enough to push it away from McBride who would surely have scored. Hibernian did however pull a goal back on 78 minutes when Wotherspoon's cross to the near post evaded everyone in the middle and was turned into the net by Derek Riordan to hand his side a lifeline. Hearts responded by replacing Kingston with Craig Thomson as the confidence the home side had displayed for large parts of this afternoon appeared to leave them. Now it was Hibernian that had the impetus and Balogh had to bravely collect a driven cross from Wotherspoon to prevent an unlikely equaliser for the visitors with Riordan once more waiting to pounce at the back post.

With the time ebbing away from Hibernian Stokes fired wide on the turn before a counter attack from Hearts almost put the result beyond doubt when Ryan Stevenson's left foot drive was pushed around the post by the diving Stack. There was 3 minutes of time added on to be played as the tension inside Tynecastle continued to grow. Hibernian pushed hard for that elusive equaliser but could only conjure a long range effort from Thicot that failed to cause Balogh any issues as Hearts held on to claim the spoils in the third Edinburgh derby of the season.

Heart of Midlothian: Balogh, Kucharski, Wallace, Jonsson, Palazuelos, Black, Kingston, Driver, Obua, Thomson, Glen. Subs: MacDonald, Santana, Nade, Stevenson, Templeton, Thomson, Robinson.

Hibernian: Stack, Bamba, Thicot, Murray, McBride, Rankin, Wotherspoon, Stevenson, Stokes, Riordan, Miller. Subs: Smith, Cregg, Benjelloun, Galbraith, Hanlon, Byrne, McCormack.

Report: Richard Payne