The First Great Edinburgh Derby - The Five Games for 1878 EFA Cup

The Victorious Heart of Mid-Lothian Team

Hearts with the Edinburgh FA Cup in 1877-78
Back row (left to right): George Barbour, James Whitson, Jake Reid, John Sweeney, John Alexander.
Middle row: Hugh Wyllie, Bob Winton, J. Burns, George Mitchell.
Front row: Tom Purdie, Andrew Lees.

The first round draw was made on 20 Sep 1877.

1877-78 Edinburgh FA Cup Results

Round 1
13-Oct-1877 Dunfermline 6-0 Dunfermline United (Towngreen Dunfermline)

27-Oct-1877 Hibernian 3-0 Hanover (East Meadows Edinburgh)

17-Nov-1877 Brunswick 1-3 Heart of Midlothian (Mayfield Park (Newington) Edinburgh)

Thistle v Swifts Result not traced so assumption is they beat Swifts
Semi Final
22-Dec-1877 Heart of Midlothian 2-1 Dunfermline (Mayfield Park (Newington) Edinburgh)

12-Jan-1878 Hibernian 4-0 Thistle (Mayfield Park (Newington) Edinburgh)

Final

9-Feb-1878 Heart of Midlothian 0-0 Hibernian (Mayfield Park (Newington) Edinburgh)
16-Feb-1878 Replay Heart of Midlothian 1-1 Hibernian (Mayfield Park (Newington) Edinburgh)
23-Feb-1878 Replay 2 Heart of Midlothian 1-1 Hibernian (Mayfield Park (Newington) Edinburgh)
6-Apr-1878 Replay 3 Heart of Midlothian 0-0 Hibernian (Bainfield Edinburgh)
20-Apr-1878 Replay 4 Heart of Midlothian 3-2 Hibernian (Powburn Edinburgh)

The five games played in the Final in 1878 for the Edinburgh Football Association Cup established the Heart of Mid-Lothian and the Hibernians as the 2
major clubs in Edinburgh and the East of Scotland.

The interest in the 5 matches cemented the 'Edinburgh Derby' as the main contest in Edinburgh.
It is the 2nd oldest regularly played Derby in the world behind the Nottingham one.

We detail below the 5 contemporary match reports from the Scotsman and
how William Reid and Albert Mackie saw it in 1924 and 1959 respectively.

James Whitson's medal thanks to Gary Cowan

Sat 09 Feb 1878 Heart of Mid-Lothian 0 Hibernians 0

Mayfield Park

Sat 16 Feb 1878 Heart of Mid-Lothian 1 Hibernians 1

Mayfield Park

Sat 23 Feb 1878 Heart of Mid-Lothian 1 Hibernians 1

Mayfield Park

Sat 06 Apr 1878 Heart of Mid-Lothian 1 Hibernians 1

Bainfield

Sat 20 Apr 1878 Heart of Mid-Lothian 3 Hibernians 2

Powburn

From The Hearts 1874 to 1924 by William Reid

From The Story of Heart Of Midlothian F.C. by ALBERT MACKIE