Hibs can ignite season with Hearts derby KO as Alan Stubbs delivers Ryan Porteous transfer observation
dailyrecord.co.ukMagical things can materialise from Edinburgh derby victories. That’s the message Alan Stubbs hopes can inspire Hibs to conjure up a stunning Scottish Cup win on Sunday and turn the tide on a season badly in need of some wizardry.Stubbs knows as well as anyone the energy that can be produced by delivering a knockout blow in the capital clash.
Doing so in 2016 gave his Hibs side the belief to go on an end a 114-year curse by lifting the Scottish Cup. Doing it while they were in the Championship doldrums only made it even more of a fairytale for Stubbs’ Hibees.And while beating Rangers in extra time at a sun-kissed national stadium provided the perfect final chapter, anyone connected to the Leith club will tell you the drama kicked off months earlier in the 80th minute of the fifth round.
That’s the moment when Stubbs’ side - trailing 2-0 to Hearts on their arch rivals’ home patch - turned the narrative by producing one of the biggest derby comebacks of modern times.A Jason Cummings goal paved the way for Paul Hanlon to scramble home a 91st minute equaliser in front of a delirious away support.
It was a fightback that sucked the life out of Robbie Neilson’s Jambos and energised Hibs to go on and win the replay before dumping Inverness, Dundee United and Gers to lift the famous silverware for the first time since 1902.
Read more on dailyrecord.co.uk