SHANKLAND TAKES THE MIC

Last-gasp Lawrence leaves Hibees in stunned silence as Jambos turn up volume

IT was maybe just as well the SFA pulled the plug on Nick Montgomery's mic.

The Hibs boss would have got Sky Sports shut down for good when Lawrence Shankland struck deep into stoppage time at Easter Road.

Montgomery's men were on course to be cursing settling for just a point against the Jambos.

But Shankland's late, late dagger did the damage to sent Hearts eight points clear of their city rivals who were left turning the air blue.

What a shame it was those Hampden killjoys denied the public the chance to hear Montgomery's thoughts. It would have been fascinating in the frantic first 15 minutes when both sides missed spot-kicks and all hell was breaking loose.

Shankland, who had scored 15 pens on the bounce, surprisingly hit the post after Rocky Bushiri was caught handling. Martin Boyle, who doesn't usually miss either, was denied at the other end by a superb Zander Clark stop and the sides spent the next 75 minutes butting heads.

The draw looked certain but Shankland had other ideas when he popped up with his mic drop.

The row over Monty's mic was way down the list of priorities for the punters packed into Easter Road. Both gaffers could have been wearing Santa costumes while riding unicycles for all they cared - as victory over the neighbours is the be-all and end-all in this city.

To be fair, the broadcasters would have struggled to hear Montgomery in the first few minutes given the din during an absolutely wild start. And it was maybe for the best folk at home didn't hear from the manager when John Beaton came back from checking out the VAR screen pointing to the spot.