Martin Boyle is Hearts Ghost of Christmas Past but Hibs star makes confession over last Tynecastle win
Martin Boyle delivered a knockout the last time Hibs travelled to face Hearts on Boxing Day.
His first half double at Tynecastle five years ago left the Jambos on the canvas, bottom of the table, and ultimately heading to a bruising relegation. That was the last time Hibs won in Gorgie. But a similar outcome this afternoon would send Hearts back onto the ropes - and potentially bottom of the pile again.
Boyle doesn’t remember much about that 2019 Boxing Day bout in enemy territory - other than preparing for it in an Edinburgh hotel on Christmas night. They did the same last night as their festive celebrations were cut short. One thing Boyle knows too well for his own liking though - defeat in this fixture hurts. And hurts for a long time. The winger, who returned to form with a goal and an assist in a man of the match performance in the weekend win at Aberdeen, said: “Five years? Is it that long? That’s made me feel old a wee bit! But yeah, fond memories, very enjoyable.
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“I actually don’t remember much about it, really. We were in the hotel on Christmas night; we are again this year, we’ll be fully focused.
“Everyone's willing to do that to prepare for the game. So yeah, it’s a special occasion with a good atmosphere.
“It can be very hostile, so a few boys will realise that when they go into the game. If you can't get excited for it, then there's no point. It's an unbelievable atmosphere: the whole city coming together, fans, it's just a special occasion.
“If you're on the winning side of it, then happy days. But if you're on the losing side, it can hurt you for a while. We’ve got good momentum and we want to go into the game and win it.”
It might be the season of goodwill but Boyle is bracing himself for a ton of Tynecastle grief from the home support. And he can’t wait for it.
The 31-year-old winger takes his lead from boss and former team mates David Gray, a hardened veteran of Auld Reekie’s most volatile fixture. Gray himself will be looking to cement a first derby win as boss after seeing his side throw away a lead in the last four minutes of October’s 1-1 draw in Leith.
And Boyle hops the confidence seeping into his side after winning three of their last four to move within six points of the top six will give them the edge and turn the Gorgie boo boys on their own side. He said: “I’ve enjoyed it more through the years. I think when you're a young boy coming through it can be a bit intimidating, but the gaffer loves that, he loves the thrill of it all.
“I just take it all on the chin now. I get a bit of stick from fans everywhere I go. That’s what it’s all about at the end of the day. And I enjoy it. Winning on Saturday was massive. To have that momentum going into the derby is always big.
“We want to close the gap to the teams above us and hopefully overtake them and be as ambitious as we can be. But the Hearts game is always a special one. It’s the old cliché, we have to focus on ourselves. You know what a derby is like - anything can happen.
“We feel like we should have won the last one. We let that slip out of our hands, so we want to make up for that and hopefully it will be a game to remember.”
Saturday’s win at Pittodrie was a first start for Boyle since a 2-1 defeat to St Mirren on November 9. His form took a dip after being sidelined by a wrist injury early in the season. That required a painful bone graft from his hip to repair.
But now he’s close to full speed the Australia international is determined to make up for lost time - and help the Hibees into the top six in time to fight for European spots. He said: “I got a bone graft in my hip, which was worse than the wrist, then it got infected slightly after, so I was in hospital for a few days.
“It wasn't ideal - it wasn't the rehab route I wanted to go down - but these things happen and thankfully that's behind me. The wrist feels good. I’ve been working hard behind the scenes, keeping the spirits up.
“Thankfully, I managed to catch the manager's eye and take my opportunity when it came. As long as we're winning games, I'm happy. But obviously, when given the chance you've got to take it.
“The competition for places in the team is really high at the moment, so everyone's wanting to keep that jersey. Top six is exactly where we want to be. It was a poor start to the first half of the season, but I feel like we're turning that around now. Everyone's really confident, we believe in what the manager wants to install here, and we’re fully behind him. Hopefully we can get back into that top six and challenge.”
