Raphael Sallinger made two crucial stoppage-time saves as Hibernian held off a late fightback from Hearts to defeat the Scottish Premiership leaders 3-2 in the Edinburgh derby at Easter Road.
Hibs were three up and seemingly coasting early in the second half after Kieron Bowie added to first-half goals from Jamie McGrath and the substitute Josh Campbell. But Hearts hit back through Lawrence Shankland and Cammy Devlin, setting up a grandstand finale in which Shankland and Beni Baningime were denied by Sallinger, as Derek McInnes’s side suffered only their second league defeat of the season.
David Gray, the Hibs head coach, made one change to the side that started last weekend’s 1-1 draw at Dundee United as Warren O’Hora replaced Zach Mitchell at centre-back. There was also one tweak to Hearts’ defence as Craig Halkett came in for Frankie Kent after missing the 2-1 win over Rangers with a knee injury.
With smoke from the pre-match pyro display still billowing around the ground, Hibs went ahead in the third minute. Nicky Cadden received a diagonal pass from O’Hora wide on the left and got away from Michael Steinwender before delivering a cross for McGrath, who guided home a lovely shot on the bounce from 10 yards out.
