Hearts class level above Hibs: Jambos boss Levein

Posted Sunday, December 30, 2018 by PA

Craig Levein joked that Hearts outclassed Hibernian as the Tynecastle manager mocked their Edinburgh rivals after a 1-0 win at Easter Road.

Hibs fans unveiled a banner before kick off which said: “There’s class, there’s first class and there’s Hibs class.”

But it was Hearts midfielder Olly Lee who provided the moment of real quality as he turned and fired into the top corner from 22 yards in the 28th minute to secure his team’s first victory in Leith since April 2014.

And Levein was quick to have fun at the expense of the Hibs fans, who had turned his “natural order” comments on their head with a banner display after the most recent Easter Road derby.

The Hearts manager said: “It was a normal derby match with all the things that are in the melting pot. I thought there was a little bit better football in this game than the previous match at Tynecastle, and I’m thrilled to bits with the boys because we reached a really new level today.

“Because there’s class, there’s first class, there’s Hibs class, and then one above that, there’s Hearts class. Brilliant, eh? I’m so pleased with that.”

Levein added: “To be fair I thought it was a keenly-contested match and I don’t think there was an awful lot in it.

“I was quite happy with the control we had in the first half, we restricted Hibs to very little, and in the second half as well.

“And towards the end when they threw Darren McGregor up and just bombarded us with balls in the box, then we had to stand strong. That’s where Christophe (Berra) came into his own, and I thought Clevid (Dikamona) was brilliant considering he’s not 100 per cent. Michael Smith was fantastic again in that position (sweeper) again.

“And when we did make a mistake, Colin Doyle managed to save us, he had one save in particular that was amazing.”

On the winning strike, Levein said: “It was a fantastic goal, but he’s capable of that. We have been struggling to get Olly Lee as high up the field as that because of the lack of the ball sticking in the final third, and I don’t think it’s any coincidence that Naisy (Steven Naismith) is back, he affects other people’s performances.

“The way he cajoles and barks at people and leads by example, he runs constantly and puts pressure on defenders and has that little bit of composure when needed.

“Listen, I could go through every player, but it’s just Hearts class, eh?”

Hibs head coach Neil Lennon bemoaned his team’s luck, which was well truly out when Doyle touched Steven Whittaker’s long-range strike on to the post and watched it spin across the line and out for a corner.

Lennon said: “It just didn’t go for us. They scored a great goal and we have bombarded them second half and obviously you think Steven’s shot was going in. It was a bit of grease paint really.

“I’m not unhappy with the way we played, we just lacked quality in the final third, and that’s been apparent basically the first half of the season. We lack a bit of creativity and pace.”