Hearts crush 10-man Hibs in Scottish Cup final

Posted Sunday, May 20, 2012 by YAHOO Sport

Hearts crushed local rivals Hibernian 5-1 at Hampden Park on Saturday to win the first all-Edinburgh Scottish Cup final since 1896.

Hearts, who last won the competition in 2006, surged into a two-goal lead thanks to Darren Barr and Rudi Skacel before James McPake got one back for Hibs before the break.

The turning point came soon after half-time when Hibs defender Pa Saikou Kujabi was sent off for conceding a penalty converted by Danny Grainger and further goals from Ryan McGowan and Skacel completed the rout.

Hopes were high amongst the Hibs support that their 110-year wait to win the cup would come to an end as the match kicked off in front of a capacity crowd at the national stadium.

But it was the Jambos' fans who were celebrating in the 14th minute when Barr gave them the lead.

Grainger's corner caused chaos in the Hibs box and when McGowan's shot was deflected into the path of Barr the defender showed quick reactions to poke the ball past Mark Brown.

Hearts were dominating possession and soon doubled their advantage in the 27th minute.

Ian Black picked out Skacel with a clever pass at the edge of the box and his shot on the turn took a slight deflection off McPake to fly over the helpless Brown into the bottom left-hand corner of the net.

Garry O'Connor was presented with an opportunity on the half hour mark when Kujabi picked him out in the box but he blazed his effort over the bar.

Hearts were running their rivals ragged and came close to a third in the 35th minute when Driver's cross landed to Santana at the far post but his goal bound shot was stopped on the line by McPake.

The defender then became a hero at the other end of the pitch when he pulled one back for Hibs in the 41st minute.

Thomas Soares beat the offside trap to send a low cross into the box and McPake stretched out a leg to direct it past Jamie MacDonald.

However, any hopes of a Hibs revival were extinguished 30 seconds after the restart when Hearts were awarded a penalty after Kujabi saw red for pulling Santan's shirt, although the initial foul looked to have taken place outside the box.

Kujabi, who was booked in the first half, was shown a straight red and Grainger blasted his spot kick into the top left-hand corner after sending Brown the wrong way.

Hearts extended their lead in the 49th minute when McGowan added a fourth.

Grainger's corner was sent towards goal by Skacel and after Brown stopped the shot on the line McGowan dived to head the ball into the net from two yards out.

Things got worse for Hibs in the 75th minute when Skacel got his second of the game.

Santana picked him out at the edge of the box and the Czech avoided three Hibs defenders to fire an angled drive past Brown that went in off the post.

That completed the rout as Hearts extended their three-year unbeaten run against their Edinburgh rivals to lift the Cup they last won in 2006.