Jubilant Robbie Neilson revealed Hearts legend John Robertson was the first text in his phone after watching Lawrence Shankland match his 31-year goalscoring record to help destroy Hibs.
The Jambos boss was ecstatic as his side booked a Scottish Cup last 16 spot with a 3-0 derby demolition at Easter Road. Skipper Shankland’s 80th minute drive ended Hibs’ hopes and also ensured he becomes the first Jambo since Robbo in 1992 to hit 20 goals in a season. Four of those have come against Hibs.
And even an injury time red card for a late challenge on Rocky Bushiri couldn’t ruin a glorious afternoon for Shankland as Neilson hit his own landmark with a first win in Leith as a player or manager. Neilson - who watched from the stands as he started a two-game touchline ban - beamed: “Brilliant for him, brilliant. The first guy to text me was Robbo, looking for Shanks’ number. Whether that’s to congratulate or warn him, I don’t know! We’ll need to wait and see.
“But it just shows how long it’s been. I think it’s 31 years since someone hit 20 and that shows how hard it is. But I always knew bringing Lawrence here, having him at Dundee United before and seeing him at Ayr United, that he scores goals.
“It’s up to us to create them and we’ve managed to do that. I think he’ll go on to score more. Can he get to 30?
“‘I’m disappointed with the red card. I didn’t think there was any contact. But we can’t appeal it so there’s not much we can do. I’m delighted but ultimately for me it’s just about beating Hibs. It’s for the fans. We had 3,500 fans here today.
“We all know league form goes out the window in these games and it’s all about what happens in 90 minutes We’ve managed to get it here. It’s been a while since we have won here so it’s nice to get it done.”
On-form Josh Ginnelly opened the scoring after 10 minutes after Hearts had rode an early storm from HIbs before man of the match Toby Sibbick notched his first Jambos goal in injury time to put the icing on the cake. Neilson is now looking to get Ginnelly tied down on a new deal with the forward’s contract up in the summer.
And the boss said: “I don’t think there was a lot of quality in the game, passing-wise, possession-wise or movement-wise. But I think it came down to three moments of quality. Gino’s finish, Lawrence’s finish and then Toby’s at the end to be the icing on the cake for us.
"Josh's contract's up so it's something we're going to speak about. We'll definitely have a chat with Josh and get things tied up if we can. You're starting to see a real top player come through.
"Toby Sibbick is a great boy. Over the last month, he's really, really kicked on and he's got that sharpness about him that he needs."
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