GLASGOW (Reuters) – Rudi Skacel scored twice as Hearts beat their Edinburgh rivals 5-1 to lift the Scottish Cup in on Saturday, extending Hibernian’s losing run in the competition to 110 years.
In the first final between the two sides since 1896, favourites Hearts dominated the match to walk away with the honours, sealing the game with two early second half goals that extended their unbeaten derby run against Hibs to 11 matches.
After Darren Barr and Skacel put Hearts 2-0 up in the first 30 minutes, Hibs captain James McPake gave the green side of Edinburgh some degree of hope with a dramatic clearance off the line on 35 minutes followed by a goal at the opposite end five minutes later.
But within one minute of the restart, Hibs were down to 10 men and Hearts were awarded a penalty, after Gambian Pa Kujabi committed a second bookable offence against Hearts Spanish winger Suso Santana.
Just three minutes after Hearts Danny Grainger had slammed in the penalty, Australian Ryan McGowan put the game well out of Hibs reach, assisting former Czech Republic international Skacel’s shot over the line with a diving header.
McGowan’s assist would ultimately cost Skacel a hat-trick, in what might be his last game for Hearts.
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He added to his first half strike on 76 minutes to put Hearts 5-1 up, sending Hibs fans streaming out the ground for the 40 mile journey back to Edinburgh.
In the final minutes of the game, Hearts manager Paulo Sergio substituted central midfielder Ian Black, who left the field to a standing ovation in his last game for the club.
For Hibs manager Pat Fenlon, the afternoon ended with him being sent to the stands after an argument with the assistant referee.
(Editing by Pritha Sarkar)