Martin Boyle made a heroic return to Hibernian with a 95th-minute equaliser to deny Hearts Edinburgh derby victory at Easter Road.

But Hibs summoned a late rally and after Rocky Bushiri squandered a golden chance, Boyle – who rejoined the club a day earlier – stabbed in to spark delirium among the home fans.

Hearts extended their unbeaten derby run to seven games but it was scant consolation as they were left rueing a failure to make the most of their second-half dominance.

It leaves both sides with four points from their opening two league matches.

Robbie Neilson sprung a surprise by changing the Hearts shape, starting with four at the back, and once his side found their rhythm they scored with their first real chance after 22 minutes. Shankland slotted through David Marshall’s legs after taking down McKay’s clipped ball. Debate raged over whether the striker had used an arm in the build-up.

Hibs responded well initially, with Joe Newell firing a shot over before Elie Youan found Craig Gordon in his usual long-limbed, spiderish good form with a superb stop from the forward’s header.

It was Marshall’s turn to save his side after the break as Hearts looked to kill the game, with the Hibs keeper producing close-range blocks to deny Shankland and then McKay.

The lack of a second goal allowed Hibs to believe. Boyle jinked away from a desperate Hearts defence, but his timid shot was deflected behind. From the resulting corner, the ball was nodded to Bushiri at the back post yet he somehow headed over from close range.

It was not to be the last action though, as Youan used good pace to work a crossing chance, cutting back to Boyle who fired low to send the Hibs fans into raptures.

Man of the Match – Martin Boyle

Hearts fail to make chances count as Hibs hang on

Hearts and Hibs fans will normally agree that Edinburgh derbies, while high in spirit, blood and thunder, can frequently be low on quality. Sometimes it needs a bit of magic to win it.

Shankland’s outside-of-the-foot finish looked like the bit of wizardry that would decide game.

Hibs have lacked that magic in recent times. Since January, to be precise. So when whispers of Boyle’s return were heard around Easter Road, excitement grew. He’s delivered much sooner than anyone thought.

Only registered at 11pm the night before, even head coach Lee Johnson admitted he didn’t think Boyle would be involved in this game.

Instead, the Australian international’s homecoming ended in almost perfect circumstances.

When Hearts fans look for something or someone to blame, they might bemoan their manager’s substitutions – somewhat defensive when only one goal ahead.

What they said

Hibs head coach Lee Johnson: “We were really brave as a team with tactics and substitutions. Putting Martin Boyle on for that long was a bit of a risk, but we know what he can do and he’s popped up at the right time with a Roy of the Rovers-type return.

“We will get better, more cohesive and people will understand each other’s runs a bit more. It was important we didn’t lose the game and with five minutes of injury time to go, 1-0 down, that feels a like a victory.”

Hearts manager Robbie Neilson: “We’re devastated not to get the three points which I think we merited. We dominated the game throughout except the opening 10-15 minutes.

“We had a number of chances to get that second goal and we didn’t take it and we’ve paid the price. We should’ve just been over the line but we didn’t do it.”

What’s next?

Hearts host boss Neilson’s former club Dundee United on Sunday, while Hibs travel the short distance to Livingston on Saturday (both 15:00 BST).

Sourced From BBC