Marink Reedijk relishing Hearts semi-final after first point as Hibernian boss

Hibernian boss Marink Reedijk sees no reason why his side can’t defeat Hearts in Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup semi-final.

The Easter Road side claimed their first point since the Dutchman became manager with a 1-1 draw with St Mirren in Paisley, a result that moved Hibs off the foot of the table.

Marko Ivezic’s strike had given them the lead before an own goal from Jason Kerr rescued a draw for the home side, who could have won it late on.

Reedijk felt his team had done enough to win the match and said they would have no fears heading into this weekend’s derby.

He said: “We deserved to win, I think, based on the match. I saw a good side who wanted to fight for each other, who wanted to be intense and recover the ball up high a few times. I think a point is a point and we take that, but we deserved three.

“I think [the lack of scoring chances] has to do with the way St Mirren wanted to play. They played 5-4-1. They were in a low block a lot of times. It’s always difficult to play against and you have to find your moments in order to get those [scoring] moments.

“Being a team with the quality we have, I don’t see a reason why we cannot beat Hearts. I’ve seen [derbies] in Belgium and obviously in Holland but here the people are intense and this is what I really like. Therefore, I’m very much looking forward to it.”

Buddies boss Craig McLeish thought a draw was a fair outcome based on the balance of play.

He said: “I’m pleased to get a point as I don’t think we were quite at it. Out of possession we looked quite solid and didn’t give up too many chances to Hibs. They didn’t really cut us open in open play.

“You’re going to get nights like that when you’re not quite as free-flowing as we’d like to be. Hibs made our life difficult by pressing really aggressively. It just didn’t quite click for us. But we showed a good reaction after going a goal down.

“That almost sparked us into life but we can’t wait for something to happen to give us a bit of a lift. After we equalised we had one or two clear-cut chances where we could have nicked it. There’s more to come from us but we can’t be too disappointed with a point.”