What the experts said about the all-Edinburgh Scottish Cup semi-final as Hearts defeated Hibs at Hampden Park

Stunning goals from Ellis Simms and Stephen Kingsley gave Robbie Neilson’s men a 2-0 lead before Chris Cadden quickly reduced the arrears. Shaun Maloney’s side cranked up the pressure in the second half, even after going down to ten men with Joe Newell’s red card, but Hearts were able to see it out.

This was the reaction from Scottish football pundits and journalists...

Press Association journalist and author Anthony Brown wrote on Twitter: “A clear determination from both Hearts and Hibs to get through today’s game in the face of varying degrees of adversity. Hearts with the emphatic start, Hibs with the spirited fightback. A captivating semi-final from start to finish decided by two brilliant goals.”

Ex-Hibs boss Jack Ross said on BBC Scotland’s Sportscene coverage: “The performance in the second-half, prior to going down to ten men, was really good and it just seemed a matter of time before they equalised. Even after Joe Newell’s dismissal they were still really good. They showed excellent energy levels. They put a huge amount of energy levels into the game and you suffer when you lose a semi-final, especially when you feel you’ve played well enough to win.”

BBC journalist Tom English tweeted: “Excellent fun at Hampden today. Two sides going hammer and tongs. Hearts are on a great roll. Their goals were picture perfect. If Hibs had shown all season the kind of intensity they showed from 2-0 down they’d be in good shape in the league. They had a lot of bottle.”

Pundit and ex-Hibs TV analyst Tam McManus said this about Craig Gordon’s second-half save: “Key moment in the game. Brilliant save and if it breaks off the post a fraction to the right [James] Scott taps it in. Little breaks can be crucial. Craig Gordon has been