It is a great time to follow football in Edinburgh at the moment. No matter which of the capital city's two tribes you support, there are many reasons to be cheerful. Hearts are in great condition, sitting third in the Scottish Premiership with a squad that mixes physicality with talent and determination. They have had a remarkable time of it, their romp to the Championship title last season caught everyone off guard, nobody saw that coming, Their fine form continued into this season and it really is no surprise to see them sitting as high in the league as they are.
As much as it sticks in my throat to acknowledge it, there is a lot to praise Hearts for, and it would be churlish to deny the huge change in the club since they teetered on the precipice of extinction at the end of Romanov's rein at Tynecastle.
Hibs too, can look at themselves in a hugely positive light. For a long time, Hibs have been seen as a soft touch, and that if there was a way to screw things up - no matter how promising the position - Hibs would find it. In fact, in some circles there was even the phrase 'they Hibsed that' coined to describe a situation where someone had drawn farce from the brink of glory.
Alan Stubbs remarked on BBC Scotland's Sportsound show on the Friday before Sunday's Scottish Cup derby that he had been shocked at the level at which this feeling of 'only Hibs' had ingrained itself at the club. To his immense credit, he appears to have eradicated that.
Sunday's derby saw Hibs go into half time facing a two goal deficit. There had been little to split the sides in the first half, save for two terrific goals from the home side. Hibernian had the ball in the net in the early stages, though Jason Cummings was adjudged to have been offside. TV replays showed the decision to be correct, but it was by the narrowest of margins (his feet were onside, his head offside - under the rules that put the striker offside).
The studio pundits discussed Hearts' first half control, and in the post-match interviews Hearts manager Robbie Nielson also talked about his side's dominance in the first forty five minutes. However, by the time the evening TV shows aired and the pundits had been given the opportunity to reflect on the first half, it was evident , and acknowledged, that neither side particularly held the upper hand during the first half. Indeed, Hearts scored with their only two shots of the half.
The second half was where Hibs could finally put the charge of being bottlers to rest. The team dominated possession, and kept Hearts at arm's length throughout the second period. As the game drew into the closing ten minutes, Hibs finally found a breakthrough.
A feature of Hearts' play this season has been their ability to break up play when their opponents have the ball. Minor infringements early in the opposition's attacks give Hearts the opportunity to regroup and organise and defend set pieces, something that they generally do very well. This is not a criticism, but an observation. It is a tactic that works well for Hearts, they stop their opponents playing and they break very effectively. Their deliveries from deep areas is very good - as evidenced by their second goal of the match, where Paterson delivered a terrific pass to Nicholson, who had made a good run from his midfield position into the box.
It was Hibs' counter to these tactics that brought about their route back into the game. A couple of fouls in the build up were dealt with by quick free kicks being taken by Hibs. This kept the momentum of the attack and stopped Hearts being able to regroup in the way that they'd have liked to. The ball found its way to Liam Henderson who clipped a lovely delivery onto the head of Jason Cummings, who looped a wonderful header over the static Alexander in the Hearts' goal.
From then, it appeared to be only the clock that could stop Hibs from finding a leveler. With fresh impetus, Hibernian probed at the Hearts defence looking for a weakness. They found it in injury time where Darren McGregor's desire to win the ball from a McGinn corner found the home side's defence wanting. Alexander pushed out McGregor's header, but Paul Hanlon had found space and he steered the ball home, sparking wild scenes in the Roseburn Stand as the Hibs support celebrated an unlikely draw.
It was no more than Hibs deserved, in fact, I'd argue that it was less than they deserved. The stats from the match put Hibs ahead in all measures, save for fouls (Hearts' 22 to Hibs' 9 an indication of Hearts' style of play).
It would be fair to say that it is usually Hearts who enjoy turnarounds like that in derbies. It would also be fair to say, now, that this Hibs side is far from 'usual'.
The manner in which the team celebrated together, and together with the fans, is a clear demonstration of the team spirit and bond at the club right now. You look at this side and see a team in it for each other. When there was a rammy in the Hearts' box following a complaint about a McGregor challenge, the Hibs players were not found wanting in their desire to get involved to dig out their team mates.
Hibs have finally discovered a way to perform in the big games, and not only that, they are able to continue it in the less glamorous ties as well. This had been a huge week for Hibs, a cup semi final against Premiership opponents St Johnstone, a tricky away tie to Morton, and then the derby at Tynecastle.
It would have been a feature of Hibs of old to have come a cropper in at least one of those matches in years gone by. This side won well in the semi-final, dug out a win at Morton, and ensured that they were not defeated in the Scottish Cup. A huge test for Stubbs' side, which they passed with flying colours.
Stubbs commented after the match that his side had shoved the bottlers label down people's throats, and he is right. Hibs fans can look at their team just now and know that the players taking to the field, those on the bench, and those in the stand, are giving everything for each other and for the club.
Stubbs has built a team that is improving all the time. He has complete confidence in them, and the players are living up to that. At half time, there were no groans from the Hibs support, there was no negativity and no 'not again'. There was hope and expectation that this side would find some way back into the game.
Hibs are still fighting on three fronts this season, and while they could still conceivably end the season empty handed, there is nobody that could deny that if they do fall short that it wouldn't be for the want of trying.
I wouldn't bet against Hibs this season, though. They have a character and desire about them that has not been present at Easter Road since the League Cup winning side of 2007 - the 'golden generation' of Brown, Thomson, Whittaker, Sproule, Fletcher et al.
For the fans' part, we are seeing the people who were disenfranchised by the relegation and Rod Petrie's running of the club starting to return to the fold. People are believing that the club is changing - has changed. It is not just words from the board, but actions with tangible and visible results. We have a winning team, a winning mentality, and a winner in Alan Stubbs.
This is a great time to be a Hibee, regardless of what happens next in the Scottish Cup, we have a Cup Final to look forward to and a league race to be fought. More importantly, we have a talented squad of players giving everything for us, and it's to the Club's immense credit that we can - at last - lay claim to having a team to be proud of.
Glory Glory to the Hibees.
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