Nectar Triantis opens up on Hibs red card lesson as Hearts booking tightrope shows penny has dropped

Nectar Triantis thought he'd heeded David Gray's note of caution after his two yellow cards cost Hibs dearly against Motherwell.

That was until he landed another booking just five minutes into his return from suspension in Sunday's Edinburgh derby! The Aussie was called out by boss Gray for a lack of discipline after his lunge on Tony Watt earned a second yellow card and the first red of his career before his side imploded against Well earlier this month.

But having managed the last 85 minutes plus added time in the heat of battle against Hearts without getting in more bother the big Aussie insists the penny has dropped. Asked if he learned from the Motherwell moment of madness, the on-loan Sunderland midfielder said: “Well I thought I did up until the first five minutes against Hearts. How do I stop going into tackles?

"That's what I've been trying to ask myself! It's just particular actions and decision making which you have to get right when you are on a caution so you do have to be careful at times.

“It's something that I'm trying to get better at. It’s not great getting cards, especially early on. I’m not going to comment on the refereeing but I think it's something that I can learn from. You’ve just got to stay disciplined and controlled which I thought I did for the rest of the game.”

Gray had branded Triantis’ rash challenge for the second yellow against Motherwell, which saw Andy Halliday net a late winner just minutes after the Aussie was ordered off, as 'unacceptable'. And the 22-year-old said: “Yeah, fair. Not so much criticism, just a learning point for myself being a young player. That red card can have an effect on the game and as you saw we conceded after that so I take full responsibility with the red