Hearts boss Steven Naismith slams 'idiots' in Hibs support - 'going to spoil the party for everybody'

The Jambos boss was dismayed by objects being thrown at Shankland during penalty

Hearts boss Steven Naismith slams ‘idiots’ in Hibs support – ‘going to spoil the party for everybody’

Hearts manager Steven Naismith condemned a section of the Hibs support for throwing objects at Lawrence Shankland as he took a penalty during an eventful 1-1 draw at Tynecastle, saying they will end up causing a reduction in away supports going forward.

The Jambos captain’s spot-kick was delayed on 42 minutes as cups and other items rained down from the Roseburn Stand after Hearts were awarded a contentious penalty following a challenge by Will Fish on Kenneth Vargas. Referee Kevin Clancy pointed to the spot and despite being advised to review the call by VAR, he stuck by his original decision. Shankland converted emphatically – his 26^th goal of the season – to cancel out Emiliano Marcondes’ opener, but Naismith lambasted the actions of the supporters.

“All the stuff getting launched on, it’s just not acceptable,” said Naismith. “If that then gets looked at, what’s going to happen is they are just going to reduce the amount of fans that can go into that stand and that’s going to impact what I think is a good atmosphere, a good derby which has a fierce rivalry.

“It’s just idiots that are going to spoil the party for everybody. I think it was everything that was is everyone’s pockets whether it be comics, vapes or whatever. It’s just not good enough, end of.”

Naismith praised his captain for staying cool in the heat of the moment. “The calmness I spoke about, that’’s exactly it,” said Naismith. “The way he acts for the penalty and is calmness to find the net, these are the defining moments in games.”

On the penalty award itself, Naimsith added: “I was quite confident when he went to the screen that weld still get given the penalty, if I’m honest. It was one of those moments in the game where it was a split second – who gets there first and inevitably it’s going to be a foul. I felt Kenneth did enough to get enough of the ball for it to be a foul but if it wasn’t given I didn’t think you’d have an argument either.”

Naismith was ultimately pleased to take a point from the match, with the draw moving third-placed Hearts 12 points clear of Kilmarnock in fourth in the Premiership. “On the back of the performance at the weekend [losing 5-0 to Rangers], it was really important that we showed that one we were going to be defensively sound and two were up for the next game and want to get as many points as we can,” Naismith continued. “So we get that. Ultimately, the game lacked that bit of quality. So I think both teams could sit and say we could have won that, but a draw is probably a fair result.

“It was end to end at times, both teams had chances and, ultimately, that bit of quality was the thing that was missing in the game. Going behind, we showed good resilience to get back into it then dominate a bit of the game. When we had control of the ball and made the right decisions, we were a threat and created chances. It was just that final moment.”