Derby classics: Hat-trick hero Paatelainen had a ball as Hibs danced past Hearts six times

Easter Road: 22 Oct 2000

Hibernian 6, Hearts 2

TWO years into his reign as the Hibernian manager, Alex McLeish had assembled a team which was a winning blend of technique and tenacity. With Franck Sauzee a calm and commanding figure at the back, they were able to build their attacks through the likes of Russell Latapy in midfield and finish them off with Mixu Paatelainen up front.

The strengths of that team were never so evident, nor used to such devastating effect, as they were one Sunday evening in the autumn of 2000, when Hearts came to Easter Road for an SPL match which was televised live by Sky.

The visiting side opened and concluded the scoring, but those goals from Andy Kirk and Colin Cameron were rendered irrelevant by a stunning performance which gave Hibs their biggest win in the derby in almost 30 years.

Paatelainen was the hero of the hour with a hat-trick, and had another goal disallowed. Two of his goals came within minutes of each other just before half-time to give Hibs the lead after Kirk's early opener, and his third came after David Zitelli had put the home side 3-1 ahead. John O'Neil then made it 5-1 before Latapy rounded off the scoring for the home team with the best goal of the lot, a volley following a one-two with Paatelainen.

The Hibs supporters then began to chant for a seventh goal, seeking the total which their team had famously recorded in the derby on New Year's Day 1973, but it was Hearts who had the last word in the final minute. Cameron's strike, however, was not even a consolation for the Tynecastle side.

Afterwards, Paatelainen, who had celebrated with a forward flip after each of his three goals, reacted modestly when congratulated on his team's display. He said he was capable of playing better, and suggested there was an element of good fortune about the scale of his team's victor. "I've never played in a game like that," the Finn said. "The way it finished was quite incredible.

"It was a tremendous team effort from everyone, but we needed a bit luck as well – for my first goal Steven Pressley slipped and the ball fell for me. It looked relatively easy in the end, but it was not."

The Hearts manager Jim Jefferies offered a contrasting analysis, however, of a match in which the score would have been a lot higher but for the fine form of his goalkeeper, Antti Niemi. "The scoreline certainly didn't flatter Hibs," he said.

"We had players out there, quite a few players, who couldn't match Hibs for passion. I don't think they have shown the sort of passion and commitment you need in a derby."

But it was a lack of organisation which cost Hearts just as dearly as any dearth of desire. Pressley, for example, might have been as fiercely competitive as ever, but many spectators rated this as one of his poorest games in a Hearts jersey.

His defensive partner Kevin James did well in the air but was overrun on the ground, while Gordan Petric devoted more time to complaining about various matters than to playing football.

The victory was the highlight of a fine run of early-season form which had taken Hibs into second place in the SPL and had led some to regard them as genuine title contenders. But the three points from this match still left them five behind Celtic, while Rangers, then down in fourth, were beginning to recover from a ropy start. In the end, McLeish's side were unable to split the Old Firm.

Celtic won the championship at a canter, finishing on 97 points – 15 clear of their Glasgow rivals. Hibs were third on 66.

Almost inevitably in the wake of such a heavy defeat, questions were asked about the future at Tynecastle of Jefferies.

Sure enough, the manager who had taken Hearts to their first Scottish Cup win in over half a century was on his way out of the club just weeks later – but not as the result of a sacking. Instead, he was on the move to Bradford City, where he lasted just over a year before returning to Scotland with Kilmarnock.

Hearts, who had remained sixth after their 6-2 humiliation, ended up in fifth under new manager Craig Levein. They were just two points shy of qualifying for Europe.

Hibernian: Colgan, Lovell, Smith, Sauzee, Fenwick, Laursen, O'Neil, Jack (Andrews 36), Latapy, Paatelainen, Zitelli. Subs not used: Franks, Lehmann, Bannerman, Murray. Scorers: (Paatelainen 43, 45, 74, Zitelli 51, O'Neil 81, Latapy 84).

Hearts: Niemi, Flogel, Pressley, James, Fulton, Petric (Murray 59), Cameron, Tomaschek (McSwegan 56), Kirk (Jackson 56), Durie, Juanjo. Subs not used: McKenzie, Severin. Scorers: (Kirk 5, Cameron 90).

Ref: H Dallas. Att: 12,926.

TOMORROW: Burley's first and last EDINBURGH derby