Hearts hero James Wilson admits he was in dreamland after firing home a late Edinburgh derby leveller right in front of the travelling maroon army.
The 17-year-old boyhood Jambos fan climbed off the bench to net his second goal in a week and save a point – and move himself closer to earning a new deal at Tynecastle. Boss Neil Critchley wasn’t even convinced Wilson had got the final touch in the 87th minute scramble which came after James prentice’s long throw. But the academy product – out of contract next summer – was in no doubt the goal was his after cancelling out Mykolaiv Kuhkarevich’s opener.
And he said: “It was amazing to score in front of the fans, I had quite a simple job when I came on the pitch – go and try to get the equaliser. Then I had another five minutes to try to get another one! It was an important goal and an important point. When the throw comes in, you have to gamble that the flick on will come your way. Then you hope that you can react quicker than the defender and luckily I got there.”
Critchley dubbed the teen a natural goalscorer after Wilson built on his first ever Hearts goal against St Mirren last weekend The goal keeps the Jambos ahead of their arch rivals on goal difference at the bottom of the table. And the manager said he Wilson’s future will be discussed soon. He said: “A part of recruitment is retaining your best players and particularly you young players, so I’m sure that’s something we’ll discuss. It has been mentioned, it’s on the radar of the people around me at the club because, one, you want to give young players an opportunity, but also if they do do well, then you want to reward them, but they have to earn that as well.
“He’s a goal scorer, he’s a goal poacher and I think Alan got a lovely little touch, first contact and it sort of had deflection and then James is there and that’s what goal scorers do. They just arrive in the right position at the right time and they find a way of hitting the back of the net.
“I’ve been really impressed with James since I’ve come in. Good kid, always smiling, breath of fresh air. What a fantastic moment for him, right in front of all the supporters there to go and pick the ball out of the back of the net and celebrate how he did. It was a great moment, I’m sure he’ll remember that for a long time.”
It’s now two wins and a derby draw from Critchley’s first three games in charge.
And he said: “I loved it, I loved the whole experience. The hostility, some of the things that were said to me behind and quite enjoyable. I love watching the team play today. I want us to be a team that always plays our way, never give up our way of playing, whether we’re playing home or away, whoever we’re playing against.”
Hibs boss David Gray cursed another late goal – the fourth time in seven games they’ve lost points after conceding in the final minutes. Gray also bemoaned his side’s finishing with Dwight Gayle twice and Nectar Triantis missing big chances. He said: “I feel like it’s two points dropped. Again.
“I don’t think anybody could deny that we deserved to win the game on chances created. Unfortunately it’s a similar story. Four or five chances created. One moment of defending a long throw at the very end, unfortunately there are people not doing their job properly. When you get as many chances as we do and we don’t take these chances, you need to be more resolute at the back. And unfortunately for 99 per cent of the game today, I thought we were excellent defensively.
“I thought a lot of boys putting their body on the line, a lot of big blocks, big clearances and restricted taps to very few chances. We get a point in the derby, which is never a disaster. It feels like two points dropped, but we can’t be sitting here feeling sorry for ourselves.”