Hearts take Edinburgh bragging rights with win over Hibernian

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Hibernian have been denied a chance of finishing third in the Scottish Premiership after losing 2-1 to Edinburgh rivals Heart of Midlothian.

Kyle Lafferty gave Hearts the lead before Florian Kamberi levelled from the penalty spot.

Steven Naismith headed in with half an hour remaining to secure the Edinburgh Derby win for the Gorgie side.

Hibs had early chances to open the scoring but Darren McGregor could not keep a header down from Scott Allan’s free-kick before John McGinn fired wide.

At the other end, Hearts felt they should have had a penalty when Naismith went down from an Efe Ambrose challenge, but referee Craig Thomson waved play on.

Hearts went ahead in the 26th minute when Naismith played the ball through to Lafferty who poked the ball past Ofir Marciano for his 19th goal of the season.

Brandon Barker nearly equalised before halftime but his powerful shot was pushed away by Jon McLaughlin.

Hibs levelled from the penalty spot shortly after the restart. Joaquim Adao brought down Lewis Stevenson and Kamberi stepped up to score from 12 yards.

But Hearts regained the lead in the 57th minute. Teenager Harry Cochrane sent a perfect free-kick onto the head of Naismith, who beat Marciano from six yards.

Another chance fell to Barker in the closing stages. He raced into the Hearts penalty area but dragged the ball wide before firing over.

The result means Hibs are three points behind third-placed Rangers going into the final day, with Rangers having a far superior goal difference. Hearts are guaranteed to finish in sixth.

Cover Photo: 10022007008-1 by Zhi Yong Lee used under license by CC BY 2.0.

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