Stephen Humphrys says his first Edinburgh Derby experience was 'incredible' with his goal ranking much higher than his Fiorentina strike.
The Hearts loanee struck his first goal since that night in Florence after an injury hit spell on the sidelines. He added a third to Lawrence Shankland's derby day double to secure a big 3-0 win over Lee Johnson's Hibs and give the Jambos faithful the bragging rights in the capital.
Robbie Neilson's men also kept up their impressive league form since the return from the Premiership World Cup shutdown with the gap between themselves and Aberdeen in the chase for third and European football at five points - with Jim Goodwin's men having played a game more in fourth spot. Reflecting on his first experience of the derby - with another in a matter of weeks in the Scottish Cup - he told Edinburgh Evening News: “It’s one of the best feelings I’ve had for a long time. The fans were great. The atmosphere was incredible. That’s the best atmosphere I’ve played in for a long, long time. I’m just happy we could give the fans the win.”
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Asked if his derby goal was a better feeling than his Europa Conference League strike, he added: “Yes, definitely. You can’t even compare it. The travelling fans in Florence were amazing but the atmosphere at the derby was just something else.
"I thought I had got some good momentum going. I settled here early doors because it’s such a good group of lads. So to get the injury was annoying because it was a little niggly one that just wouldn’t settle down.
“I was actually back in full training when we went to Spain and I thought I would be coming back and playing straight away but then in one of the sessions it happened again. I’ve just been working hard in the gym with Beni and Boycie and the boys who have been injured. To come back and score against Hibs was a great feeling."
Stand-in skipper Shankland has been a stunning piece of transfer business for Hearts. Neilson made a big push to bring the Scotland international to the club over the summer and his persistence has paid off with the hitman netting his 18th goal of the campaign.
Humphrys reckons the striker is 'the best' he's played with in terms of his back to goal rating his hold-up play with a perfect score. He believes he can learn alot by playing alongside and watching the hitman as he branded his captain until the summer as a 'top guy.'
He continued: “Shanks is probably the best player I’ve played with in terms of playing with his back to goal.
“His hold-up play is ten out of ten. He very rarely loses the ball. To be able to watch him and learn from him is great and he is a top guy as well. Nobody has a bad word to say about Lawrence. Playing alongside him and watching him can only help me.
“I’m just so happy to be back and helping the team. It’s been a frustrating time with injury but we have some good momentum right now and we want to keep that going and keep pushing on.”
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