Some itches just need to be scratched.
Thankfully for Toby Sibbick, he did just that yesterday in Hearts’ triumphant victory in the Edinburgh derby.
The towering defender ran the full length of the park in the dying moments of the game to score his first goal for Hearts in the 3-0 win.
The 23-year-old burst up the pitch as he was played in by Stephen Humphrys on the counter attack. His finish was that of an experienced striker, luring David Marshall out of his goal and then catching him out with a delightful dink.
You could see how much it meant to Sibbick, who has endured tough periods in the team at points this season. It’s a feeling he’s determined to feel again.
He said: “If I don’t take the first touch, although it was heavy, I don’t necessarily think I score. It brings the keeper out a bit. If it was too close to my body he would’ve stayed on his line and the angle’s tighter. But the first touch brought him out and I just thought, ‘Just dink it over him’ and fortunately it worked. So I’m happy with it.
“It was my first goal here at the club, I haven’t scored many in my career, it’s something I need to work on. To score and send the fans home happy – and they were going wild at the time – was an amazing feeling.
“Today it wasn’t our best game passing-wise, they were pressing us really high and they probably had better chances than us as well. But the back three, the back five, stayed resilient and we kept another clean sheet – that’s three in a row now and we want to keep striving for more and keep adding to that.
“I’ve been saying for a while now that I need to score. The one in the derby at home got disallowed So there was no better time than today to score my first one. Hopefully I can add a few more this season.
“You got to be at your best in both boxes and I think we were. I think they might have had the better chances, but, overall, we were solid as a team and took our chances when they came. It’s another clean sheet as well and that is all that matters.
“I think even the other night against Aberdeen. we were not at our best as well. But The team chemistry is very high right now, the belief. I think we are nine unbeaten now, so we just want to keep that run going and move onto the next one.
“We knew it would be a hard game. When you come into cup games, form goes out of the window.
“To come here and win 3-0 is obviously a great result for us and for the club and sends the fans home happy.
“We have a massive and very good squad. We’ve had a few boys injured, but there is quality within the team. We believe in each other and are going to keep pushing other end.”
