A late goal from Craig Halkett gave Hearts a derby victory and opened up a five point lead at the top of the table at a windy Tynecastle Park this afternoon.
Derek McInnes fielded an unchanged side for the third game running and Craig Gordon returned from injury to start on the bench after a long spell out.
Christian Borchgrevink and Calem Nieuwenhof didn’t make it, while Ageu, Frankie Kent, Ryan Fulton and Finlay Pollock all missed out.
David Gray made two changes to the starting XI that drew 0-0 with Celtic last weekend.
Josh Campbell and Chris Cadden replaced Jamie McGrath who dropped down to the bench and Miguel Chaiwa who missed out through injury.
International defender Grant Hanley kept his spot in the middle of the back three and Rocky Bushiri was named among the substitutes.
The first big chance fell to Hibs Jordan Obita’s free-kick found Martin Boyle at the back post and his strike forced Alexander Schwolow into a stop from a tight angle.
Moments later Obita was shown a yellow for catching Claudio Braga with a flailing arm. The resultant free-kick came to nothing.
Referee David Dickinson incurred the wrath of the Hibs fans by missing a clear handball from Cammy Devlin.
Obita tried his luck with a volley from just outside the area which deflected for a corner from the right.
At the other end Alexandros Kyziridis curled a 25-yard effort just wide of the top-right corner.
Chris Cadden somehow avoided a yellow card after chopping down Kyziridis just on the edge of the Hibs box. Kyziridis sent a dangerous free-kick into the area and goalkeeper Raphael Sallinger saved with his boot.
Hibs broke clear and Beni Baningime was booked for pulling back Boyle 35-yards from goal. Daniel Barlaser fired the free-kick at goal but was well off target.
Just before the break Claudio Braga broke clear down the left and tried to find Lawrence Shankland but his pass went astray.
Just after the restart Oisin McEntee was booked for a foul after a poor pass from his keeper. Obita’s free-kick was headed over the bar but the flag was up in any case.
In the 63rd minute a long ball from Obita was flicked on by Bowie into the path of Boyle but his little dink over the keeper rebounded off the bar.
At the other end Braga intercepted a Barlaser pass but his shot was easily saved.
Boyle then raced clear and fired the ball into the net but he was clearly offside and the flag was quickly raised.
Moments later it happened again after an Iredale tackle sparked a Hibs break.
This time though Boyle hesitates and is denied at close range by Schwolow, but the flag went up.
McGrath replaced Campbell for the last 15-minutes.
Craig Halkett was booked for challenge on Chris Cadden but the resultant free-kick from Obita was a poor one and went straight over the bar.
Hearts made a triple substitution with Braga, Oisin McEntee and Stephen Kingsley making way for Elton Kabangu, Michael Steinwender and Sabah Kerjota.
With three minutes remaining Thibault Klidje replaced Bowie whilst Alan Forrest replaced Kyziridis.
At that stage it looked as though a 0-0 draw was on the cards.
Then in added time Hearts scored when Halkett popped up at the back post to cushion in a stunning cross from Sabah Kerjota sparking wild scenes at Tynecastle from three quarters of the stadium.
Hearts: Schwolow, McEntee, Halkett, Findlay, Kingsley, Milne, Baningime, Devlin, Kyziridis, Braga, Shankland.
Substitutes: Gordon, McCart, Kabangu, Steinwender, Spittal, Forrest, Wilson, Magnusson, Kerjota.
Hibs: Sallinger, O’Hora, Hanley, Iredale, C Cadden, Mulligan, Barlaser, Campbell, Obita, Bowie, Boyle.
Substitutes: Smith, Levitt, McGrath, Klidje, N Cadden, Hoilett, Megwa, Bushiri, Molotnikov.
