Hearts won the Edinburgh Derby last night as Lawrence Shankland’s 93rd minute goal sealed the victory at Easter Road. Midway through the first half, Sky Sports’ Ian Crocker aimed a dig at the amount of away fans allowed into the Glasgow Derby as the cameras focused on the 4,000 Hearts fans in the South Stand.
Hibs and Hearts have a reciprocal agreement, which means that the Roseburn Stand at Tynecastle is occupied by the Hibs fans in the reverse fixture. This means that they have their own supporters in the ground to watch the good and the bad moments of derby matches.
Last night showed Shankland wheeling away in celebration along with his teammates in front of a full away end. Whilst there was not much to the game, clips of the ‘limbs’ have been shared across social media throughout the UK.
🗣️ "𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗔 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗦𝗛 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗜𝗦. 𝗔𝗕𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗬 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗧!"
Lawrence Shankland scores in the 93rd minute as Hearts beat Hibs 1-0 in the Edinburgh derby! ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/cgSq0S8a14
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) December 27, 2023
Whilst Crocker can opine on the situation of the Glasgow Derby, the broadcasters would do well to put some pressure on the clubs to get a resolution on the table. The pettiness needs to stop and the pressure needs to be ramped up on Rangers, who appear to be the side that are digging their heels in.
Not only is the game broadcast globally to fans, it can also be used to attract talent to the league with the colour, passion and tribalism of the game.
