HEARTS STARS THOUGHT I WAS ON A HIGH - AND THEY'RE RIGHT

HIBS goal hero Rob Jones insisted he wasn't surprised his side dominated the Edinburgh derby.

The Englishman scored when Steven Pressley and Christophe Berra both went for the ball as it was swung in from a corner and missed, allowing the Jones to smash his shot past Craig Gordon, although the Jambos keeper got a hand to it.

Jones reckons the two Hearts defenders may have stopped to appeal for high feet but the fact they seemed rooted to the spot while he found the roof of the net summed up a night when the Tynecastle side were lucky if they were second to anything.

Hibs are now heavy favourites to lift the CIS Cup, but the match-winner insisted they won't get complacent, despite what was an easy Edinburgh derby win.

The Easter Road side coasted this match, despite the 1-0 scoreline Jones said: "We had to work hard.

The gaffer wanted us to play from the back and we had to concentrate for the full 90 minutes and make sure we didn't have a lapse.

"We had to be on the ball constantly and the way we played made it, not easier, but we had possession an awful lot more than in other games. We controlled it for large periods, to be honest.

"I'm not surprised by that when you look at the talent and quality we have in this side. We lost Michael Stewart early on which was a massive blow but Guillaume Beuzelin was a great replacement.

"I have been here a little while now and we do control games a lot.

"At the goal, I think the two defenders who were there shouted for a high foot or something. They seemed to stop but having seen what happened on the replay, it's nowhere near high feet.

"I got a toe on the ball and it squeezed through between the pair of them. The ball sat up nicely and if you miss from there you shouldn't be playing football. To be fair to the keeper, he got a hand on it and nearly saved it. But not this time. Everyone is shocked that Rangers and Celtic have been knocked out.

"But the teams who have beaten them have got to be good sides to have won those matches so the four teams who are left have as good a chance as each other.

"All the teams are two games away from lifting the trophy. The best team will do that. It is wide open but we will just look ahead to the semi-final and hopefully progress from there. We won't be complacent. The way the gaffer and Tommy Craig do things, that won't be an option."

Hibs have been here before, of course. In 2004 they had done all the hard work in this competition by beating first Celtic, then Rangers on penalties in a titanic semi-final.

All they had to do then was defeat Livingston in the final to lift their first piece of silverware since the Skol Cup, as it was then called, with victory over Dunfermline in 1991.

Livi were in administration and chaos, yet won on a day when Hibs just didn't turn up. Now this a chance to make up for that awful day.

Manager John Collins was a happy man after the game.

There will some be reservations about his appointment as this is his first coaching, never mind management, job as he took out three years to spend some family time in Monte Carlo.

However, it is amazing what a win over Hearts can do for your credibility among the Hibs faithful.

All Collins has to do now is deliver them the CIS Insurance Cup.

He said: "I thought the players were fantastic tonight. It was great to beat Hearts and get into a semi-final.

These are great moments that you live for. I thought we were great over 90 minutes. We had a plan and the players stuck to it.

"We defended from Chris Killen up front and then hunted in packs.

We showed aggression and passion.

"You always think that at 1-0 Hearts could score but I didn't think we gave them a chance. Our back four were tremendous as was the goalkeeper who played really well.

"Kevin Thomson was fantastic but then they all were. I wouldn't like to single anyone out because it was a team performance.

"And that is how we will win things and climb the table, by playing as a team.

"That is two games I have had in charge and I have to say it's different.

As I said after the Kilmarnock game last Saturday, you can't do anything after the players cross that white line, while on the park you are in control of what happens."

Hearts defender Jose Goncalves at least turned up to face the press.

Not one member of the Hearts coaching staff did which is a disgrace.

Goncalves admitted the players were embarrassed by their shocking performance. You have to wonder if Vladimir Romanov feels the same about the way his club is now perceived.

Goncalves said: "All the staff and players are disappointed. We did not plays well and that is why we lost. We were not ready at the beginning of the game. Hibs came at us in the first 15 minutes and we were sleeping a bit.

"We did not get to the second ball and we did not have enough possession. We need to work harder.

We have not done well in recent games. We played well against Celtic, but did not come away with three points. It is similar tonight. We are out of the cup.

"I think some of the players are embarrassed. We did not have too many chances to score and that is something we work on.

"We have to work hard and this is not the end of our story this season.

We still have the championship to go for and the Scottish Cup as well. We can bounce back from this."

Taken from the Daily Record