Hibernian Led Hearts 2-1 at Hampden as Braga Missed a Late Chance
Hibernian led Heart of Midlothian 2-1 with five minutes to play in their League Cup semi-final at Hampden, and the Edinburgh derby was tense to the final whistle. The winners will face Rangers in the final. The League Cup is a knockout competition, and this season it is sponsored and known as the Premier Sports Cup.
Hibernian, usually called Hibs, came into the game bottom of the Scottish Premiership, the country's top division. They had not won a league game in six matches. Hearts took the lead after four minutes, when Claudio Braga headed in from close range.
Braga had a chance to level the game late on. He was close to goal and should have scored, but he missed. An equaliser would have sent the tie into extra time, an additional thirty minutes of play.
The match also cost Hearts two players. Tomas Magnusson was taken off after a clash of heads. Calvin Miller left the pitch injured, and his knee was put in a brace, a support worn to protect the joint.
Hibs have reason to feel the pressure of a lead. In three Edinburgh derbies last season, Hearts beat them with late goals, in the 86th, 88th and 90th minutes. A 90-minute game is a long time to hold on to a lead when the other side has done that before. Hibs manager Marink Reedijk had to keep his side focused until the end.
Hibs and Rangers have met in this competition before. In September 1991, Hibs won a League Cup semi-final 1-0 against Rangers, with Keith Wright scoring the only goal. Rangers, meanwhile, are already through. They beat Aberdeen 1-0 in the other semi-final on Friday 31 October, with Ryan Naderi scoring a late goal to decide it, according to the Scottish Professional Football League and Sky Sports.
That leaves Rangers waiting to find out who they will meet. The Hampden semi-final ended with Hibs in front for most of the second half, and a late goal from either side could still have changed the result. The BBC has the full match report.
For neutral fans, the story is simple. A bottom-of-the-table side led a derby at the national stadium with five minutes left, and a late miss kept the other team in the tie. Football often works that way. A single chance can decide a whole season's worth of hope in a few seconds.
