By Fraser Wilson

Copyright dailyrecord

Hearts sit proudly on top of the Premiership throne this morning. And for the first time in two years high-flying Jambos are in possession of the capital crown too after a right royal rumble at their Gorgie castle. Hibs were dumped for the first time in five derbies – and the first time in five visits to Tynecastle – thanks to Craig Halkett ‘s incredible injury time strike that almost took the roof off the ground. Storm Amy did her best to blow this derby off course. But it was a Halkett hurricane that blew through Gorgie after a ferocious encounter left Derek McInnes’ side five points clear of Celtic at the top. Yet it looked like the game was heading for a share off the spoils as the conditions dominated. Hearts had the wind in their backs from the start but it took until the 23rd minute for an attempt on goal as Alexandros Kyziridis got his range with a bending wind-assisted 25 yarder not too dissimilar to his goal a week earlier. The same player whipped in a dangerous free kick that had to be booted clear by Raphael Sallinger soon after. But the first half ended without a single shot on target at either end which said much about the lack of composure in the final third. Hearts took a grip after the restart. Cammy Devlin and Beni Baningime were starting to dictate from the middle. Yet out of nowhere Martin Boyle came within an inch of opening the score when he burst clear into the box, dinked the diving Schwolow and watched in agony as his effort hit the bottom of the bar before being booted clear by Stuart Findlay. That was HIbs big chance. And they were made to pay in injury time as sub Sabah Kerjota’s brilliant ball deep to the back post found Halkett ghosting in to volley home. Derek McInnes continues to play it cool at the top but with every win, every test passed, the Gorgie bandwagon gathers steam. There’s something special about this squad. They have match winners aplenty and strength in depth. This was far from scintillating. But in typical McInnes his side found a way to win and cometh the moment cometh the man as Craig Halkett’s last gasp strike sent Tynecastle into a state of complete delirium. Not since January 2023 had Hearts won this fixture in their own back yard. That was four managers ago. Well there’s no better way to blow that apart than a last minute winner. Hearts bossed the ball. They had more attempts on goal. But they looked to be heading for a point before the big defender ghosted in for his fourth goal of the season. It was bruising. It was bursting with effort. At times it was brutal. But in the end nobody in maroon will care. Fifteen goals in six games coming into this has Hearts not only top of the top of the table but also highest scorers too. It’s high octane stuff and it’s producing results. With Claudio Braga and Alejandro’s Kyziridis buzzing around Lawrence Shankland the Jambos’ have threats coming from all angles. Both wide men love to take on a shot too – Braga now has more attempts to his name than any other player in the Premiership after this. Braga, Kyziridis, Harry Milne and Shankland were firing off shots at every attempt. After the break, as the Jambos took control, the shots tally climbed to 11. But it looked to be in vein as Hibs defended resolutely. However the appearance of Kerjota off the bench with six minutes to go proved crucial as his delicious ball in from the right was blasted home by Halkett. Hibs were hunting a third successive derby win for the first time in 104 years but instead they head home with a feeling of pain they’ve not endured for three years in these parts. David Gray brought Josh Campbell and Chris Cadden back into the starting XI after their draw at Celtic Park. Gray was clearly going for strength and energy as he looked to keep his unbeaten derby record as boss in tact. Defensively it didn’t look too dislike that backs to the wall effort at Parkhead. Going forward the Hibees looked to get in behind. They opted for a direct route and Boyle was desperately unlucky to see his 62nd minute effort crash back off the underside of the bar. That was the moment for the visitors and they were made to pay. The tail end of Storm Amy was still swirling round Gorgie which meant passes going awry and cross balls causing utter mayhem. Right from kick off Jack Iredale launched one into orbit towards the Jambos’ box – only to see Amy get a grip and almost return the ball to the Hibs half. Bizarrely Cammy Devlin did the exact same to start the second period. It was the sign of things to come and the old joke about the ball needing a paracetamol by the end wasn’t far wrong. If the wind was around 50-60m mph then the action was closer to 100. But lacking in proper quality. In the players’ defence this was no arena for taking chances in the wind tunnel. Premier Sports’ billboard had billed this Scotland’s biggest derby which caused a bit of a stir further west down the M8. Whether that was a spot of baiting or not one thing’s for sure – having a full end of away fans totalling just under 3000 – made this a proper occasion. The early evening kick off added a ferocity to the fire in the Tynecastle stands even if the action on the park didn’t quite live up to the hype.