How high tempo Hearts won the derby
Direct attacking and constant pressure helped Hearts beat Hibs.
Some stats for you. In last night’s Edinburgh derby, Hearts had 47.4% of possession. They averaged 2.1 passes per possession and the percentage of their passes that went long was 21.2%. Why are these numbers significant? Because they were higher or lower than ever before under Daniel Stendel’s management.
Since the German took charge, Hearts have had the smaller share of possession in just three of 12 league matches. At home to Rangers they had 49.5%, and away to Celtic they had 47.6%. So the 47.4% possession they had against Hibs represented the lowest amount they have had since Stendel’s arrival. In the same time, they have never played fewer passes per possession sequence than last night’s 2.1, and only once – in the draw with Aberdeen – have they had a larger long pass percentage than last night’s 21.2%.
These numbers do come from Wyscout, which isn’t everyone’s cup of tea – some in analytics believe they aren’t always accurate enough. And they are also numbers, which some people don’t really care about when it comes to football. But these particular numbers do back up what everyone analysing could see – Hearts were very direct against Hibs. And ultimately, their directness worked out for them as they secured the most important numbers: a 3-1 win.
On the face of it, there was nothing spectacular about this derby. It basically looked like every other Edinburgh derby since Edinburgh derbies began. But for those of us who have watched Hearts play recently and seen the changes Stendel has implemented, it did look a lot different.
Jack Ross lined his Hibs side up in the 3-5-2 system they have used in recent weeks, with Martin Boyle attacking more as the right-sided wing-back than Lewis Stevenson on the left. Hearts lined up in their usual 4-4-2, with one striker straying into deeper positions than the other. The formations were as expected, but Hearts made one personnel decision that stuck out – Conor Washington came in up front for Steven Naismith.
Dropping your captain for an away derby when you’re bottom of the league and desperately in need of a win is…let’s say peculiar. But Stendel had his reasons, which became evident soon after kick-off.
The below graphics come from the 12th minute of the match. Hearts have just regained possession and Craig Halkett has the ball. He could play wide to Michael Smith or try something riskier in midfield, but instead he drops a long ball over the top of Hibs left centre-back Paul Hanlon. As you can see, Washington makes his run when Halkett gets the ball, running in the channel between Hanlon and Adam Jackson. He wins his 1v1 with Hanlon with greater pace and a bit of skill, then wins a corner kick.
Below is another example of what Hearts were trying to all night. Stand-in centre-back Clevid Dikamona gets the ball after a bit of sideways passing along the back line. He has time and space to work with and, in another game, may have dribbled forward himself. But here Dikamona just goes long. Again, the ball is played over the Hibs defence, and Washington is the man running in behind to try and get on the end of it.
This direct attacking play didn’t just exploit Washington’s pace and movement to get beyond the last line of defence. It also reduced the chances of Hearts turning the ball over in their own half. There were very few short passes into midfield last night. Oliver Bozanic and Loic Damour would sometimes offer a short option to the centre-backs, but generally their job was to apply pressure to Greg Docherty and Stephane Omeonga. The key word there is ‘pressure’, because that was another key aspect in the Hearts game plan.
Long balls are low percentage passes. Even with an exceptional target man, the chance of succeeding with these passes is relatively low because of the distance the ball has to travel. But Hearts weren’t interested in pass success against Hibs. Here, the moments where neither team had control of possession were an opportunity for Hearts to press.
Most of the time Hearts went long, they created a transition with both teams jostling to secure possession. In these moments, Hearts put a lot of pressure on Hibs. Counter-pressing, as it’s known. It forced the home side into a number of mistakes, with passes rushed because the ball-player had no time or space to think.
Below, Hibs get possession after a failed direct attack from Hearts. Lewis Moore puts immediate pressure on the ball-player, Paul McGinn. Circled are Liam Boyce, who’s about to help Moore, and Aaron Hickey, who’s about to get closer to Martin Boyle, McGinn’s most obvious forward passing option.
McGinn just and no more holds onto the ball, and works a back-pass to Hanlon. But Hanlon is instantly pressured by Sean Clare. Washington also joins in to add to the pressure around the ball and cut the sideways pass out to Jackson. Damour is also seen getting ready to press Omeonga.
Omeonga falters under Damour’s pressure, and Hearts regain the ball. From here they can counter-attack.
Hearts also went long from goal kicks and used this as another opportunity to press. If they secured possession after the long ball, great. If they didn’t, it was time to hunt the ball down as a unit.
Below is an example of Hearts pressing off the long goal kick. Here they force McGinn into a rushed pass back to his goalkeeper which goes out of play for a corner. For context, this is in the 78th minute, and Hearts already have a two-goal lead.
Along with starting Washington, a more subtle tactical change Stendel made for this game was having one full-back staying or tucking into midfield to add extra defensive cover.
Stendel has often had both full-backs pushing on down the wings simultaneously and it’s left Hearts more open on the counter. On this occasion he had the far-side full-back stay while the full-back on the ball side joined the attack. Along with a highly compact midfield four that shifted as a group and applied pressure all night, this tweak helped to make Hearts a tougher proposition for Hibs to break down.
Hibs switched to a 4-4-2 at 1-0 down, bringing Daryl Horgan on for Scott Allan. Horgan and Boyle played on each wing, and Hibs became more open with two centre-backs instead of three. That suited Hearts as they continued to look for Washington on balls over the top in transition. One of those passes led to Hearts’ third goal, which all but sealed the victory.
Last night may have looked like any other Edinburgh derby, but that’s only because Hearts adapted their style of play for the occasion. They stopped playing short into midfield and focused more on getting in behind quickly. Interestingly, in their only other league win under Stendel – at home to Rangers – they also played more directly and made it a more transitional game that allowed them to counter-press.
Maybe Hearts should play like this every week.