Old Firm Challenge for Edinburgh Pair
Macklin Motors-backed rivals Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian FC faced two of the biggest challenges of the Scottish Premiership season as the pair faced off with the Old Firm in back-to-back fixtures.
Hibs were the first of the pair to make the short trip to Glasgow to face off against Rangers, with Frenchman Philippe Clement taking charge of the home team for the first time.
With his team keen to try and prove a point to the new boss, Rangers extended its recent winning run against Hibs at Ibrox with a 4-0 victory – meaning an end to Nick Montgomery’s unbeaten record since taking charge of the Easter Road outfit.
A week later, Hibs returned home to face champions Celtic and bounced back well from the Ibrox defeat with a strong defensive display that resulted in a hard-fought 0-0 draw.
Whilst it leaves Hibs in eighth place in the table, they sit just three points behind fourth-placed Kilmarnock with ten games played.
Hearts Old Firm fixtures would be played in reverse, with Celtic visiting Tynecastle before the Jambos made the trip to Ibrox to face off against Rangers.
The Celtic game would end in disappointment as the champions secured a 4-1 victory before a highly controversial finish to the Rangers match a week later.
An early header from Lawrence Shankland has put the away side in front and it was backs to the wall for much of the game as Rangers pushed for an equaliser – particularly after James Tavernier missed a penalty late in the first half.
Hearts looked to be holding on but a contentious penalty that left head coach Steven Naismith fuming allowed Tavernier to atone for his earlier miss as he converted the spot kick.
Moments later, his cross was headed in by Danilo to give Rangers all three points as Hearts slipped to seventh in the standings – albeit level on points with fifth-placed Dundee.
The Old Firm are the opposition in the upcoming Viaplay Cup semi-finals for Hearts, who again face Rangers, whilst Hibs will do battle with Aberdeen..