Cast your mind back to December 27, the last time the Jambos visited Easter Road. Hibs powered to a 3-0 lead after 48 minutes, McGrath after three, Campbell on 45 and now departed Bowie three minutes later.
Derek McInnes, Hearts’ head coach, stood at the dugout watching as his men struggled to get into the game.
Basically, Hearts were not firing. They were not “at the level they needed to be” according to star striker, Lawrence Shankland (pictured).
He sparked a comeback by netting after 75 minutes and Aussie midfielder Devlin added a second with one minute of regular time remaining.
Try as they might, the equaliser did not come, and the Men in Maroon left Easter Road dejected.
Nobody in a maroon shirt wants to suffer that feeling again, and the stakes are even higher this time. The war of words between the fans has intensified. Even tennis ace Andy Murray and former world boxing champion, Josh Taylor, have been caught in the social media crossfire.
Now, it is crunch time. There are only five games to go in what has been a gripping title chase and Hearts go into the business end of the season leading the William Hill Premiership. They have 70 points from 33 outings.
Their nearest challengers, Rangers, are a point back with a goal difference of 35 against 30 for the Tynecastle team. Celtic, the champions, and a club who have hit form, are on 67 points with goal difference of 24.
Nobody else is left in the race with Motherwell, who have enjoyed a great season under new management, well adrift in fourth on 54 points. Hibs are fifth with 51 points.
They have scored 51 goals and let in 37. Hearts have netted on 58 occasions and shipped 28, but their city rivals, and the most passionate keyboard warriors in their fan base, would like nothing better than to dent the Jambos title race.
Like it or loathe it the split has arrived. There are arguments for and against, but this is what we have.
Five games for the current Hearts players to become legends. Five games in which they could, for all-time, be tagged nearly men.
Kick-off on Sunday is at 16.30.
