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Ugly melee in Edinburgh Derby after Hearts’ draw 1-1 with Hibernian

The Edinburgh derby between Hearts and Hibernian was marred by an ugly melee at the end of the game.

The Jambos were in the ascendancy after Yutaro Oda provided them with an early breakthrough after eight minutes.

But the home side suffered a big blow before the half-hour mark when Alex Cochrane was sent off for a foul.

To make matters worse, Kevin Nisbet restored parity with the resulting free-kick. 

The visitors could have extended the scoreline if they had converted their opportunities before the break. 

Knowing Hibs needed to win to secure European qualification, manager Lee Johnson made two attacking changes in the second half. 

But they still failed to breach the Hearts’ defence and had to settle for a point. 

The derby descended into chaos at full-time when Johnson shoved his counterpart Steven Naismith away as the two went to shake hands. 


Johnson afterwards said about the incident (via the Daily Mail): “I couldn’t even tell you. It was a classic ‘my dad’s bigger than your dad’ melee-type thing.

“It was a frustrating game in terms of the ebb and the flow because there was no flow. The time-wasting was quite embarrassing at times.

“It was a case of two managers who don’t like each other very much and that’s what started it.

“I’ll keep the hot water bottle that was thrown at me for winter!

“There was a bit of needle but it happens. Technical areas are a passionate place. It’s not a problem, we move on.

“I’ve been a manager that long, you see it all in the technical area. It means nothing.

“He’s (Naismith) had seven games as a manager and I just think the way he speaks is disrespectful to the previous manager.

“We’ll see after 250 games if he’s lucky enough to still be in charge of any club and if he still has that attitude.”

Naismith defended himself against Johnson’s claims, insisting he has ‘got a 15-year career at the top level’.

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