Hearts and Hibernian are preparing to meet in a Scottish Cup showdown at Hampden Park for the fourth time in just 16 years this Saturday.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at how the last three Edinburgh derbies staged in Glasgow unfolded.
Hibernian 0 Hearts 4 (April 2, 2006 – semi-final)
At the time this was the biggest Edinburgh derby ever staged. Hearts were enjoying one of their finest campaigns of the modern era and were well on their way to finishing second in the SPL. Hibs had also had a good season and were about to finish fourth under Tony Mowbray. The Easter Road side were missing key trio Guillaume Beuzelin, Derek Riordan and Scott Brown, while Garry O’Connor had just left to move to Lokomotiv Moscow, and they proved unable to cope as Paul Hartley hit a hat-trick and Edgaras Jankauskas grabbed the other for the rampant Jambos. Adding insult to injury, Hibs had Ivan Sproule and Gary Smith sent off.
Hibernian 1 Hearts 5 (May 19, 2012 – final)
Eclipsing the semi-final of 2006 in terms of importance, the trophy was up for grabs on this occasion. Hibs had just avoided relegation from the SPL under Pat Fenlon, while Hearts had finished fifth under Paulo Sergio. Once again, the Tynecastle side proved far too strong for their city rivals as they cruised to an emphatic victory. Darren Barr and Rudi Skacel had the Jambos in control before James McPake gave the Hibees hope before the break. A penalty from Danny Grainger and red card for Pa Kujabi at the start of the second half left Hibs with a mountain to climb before Ryan McGowan and Skacel capped off one of the most iconic wins in Hearts’ entire history.
Hearts 2 Hibernian 1 (October 31, 2020 – semi-final)
Hearts went into this one in the unusual position of underdogs as they had just kicked off the season in the Championship, while Hibs were riding high in the Premiership, on their way to a third-place finish. Played behind closed doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Tynecastle side made the breakthrough on the hour through Craig Wighton before Christian Doidge levelled to take the match into extra time. Hibs had a chance to get ahead early in the second half of extra time, but Kevin Nisbet saw his penalty hit the bar and Hearts capitalised by scoring a spot-kick of their own just four minutes later, through Liam Boyce, as they upset the odds to make it to the final for the second year running. The victory was soured as news broke during the game that Hearts’ 2012 Scottish Cup-winning captain Marius Zaliukas had passed away, aged just 36.
