Heart of Midlothian 2-1 Hibernian

Hearts beat Hibs to end their Edinburgh rivals' hopes of finishing second in a fiery affair at Tynecastle.

Hibs defender Lewis Stevenson was caught in possession by Kyle Lafferty, who nipped in from behind to stab Hearts in front.

Florian Kamberi equalised with a penalty after Joaquim Adao caught Lewis Stevenson with a trailing leg.

But Hearts re-took the lead when Steven Naismith's header steered Harry Cochrane's free-kick into the net.

• Lennon hints at Hibs departure

The result means Hibs can no longer finish second, with Neil Lennon's men four points behind Aberdeen.

Their chances of finishing third rely on them overturning a 10-goal deficit in the league table when they face Rangers at Easter Road on Sunday.

In terms of form, in terms of incentive and looking at the head to head stats between the two sides, everything pointed towards a Hibs win ahead of this game.

In their quest for second place, Neil Lennon's side had everything to play for. Pride and revenge were the key motives for the home side.

Florian Kamberi's penalty pulled Hibs level

As Tynecastle crackled under the lights, the match started the way these fixtures usually do - 100mph with two sets of players fully committed to every challenge. Lafferty flew into Stevenson to claim the first yellow card. A few more would be flashed in the fierce and compelling battle that was to follow.

The home fans were on their feet screaming for a penalty when Efe Ambrose looked to have brought down Naismith in the box, but less than a minute later they were screaming in delight when their side took the lead.

Lafferty took advantage of Stevenson's dithering on the ball, danced in on goal, showing great close control and just prodded the ball low past Ofir Marciano.

With tails well and truly up, the home side swarmed forward and Harry Cochrane showed great strength and tenacity to power through on goal, but his effort was well held by Marciano. Moments later at the other end, Brandon Barker's curling effort was parried away by Jon McLaughlin. Evidence that football was breaking out amidst the battle.

Hearts were bossing the midfield and Cochrane again came close after neat play inside the box. Hibs, at times, looked to be on the ropes as the men in maroon continued to overpower them.

Lennon switched his shape at the interval and after two minutes his side were level.

Adao left a lazy leg out as Stevenson pushed into the box and tumbled onto in the box. Kamberi looked the coolest man on the pitch as he sent McLaughlin the wrong way.

Steven Naismith celebrates after putting Hearts back in front

But as the rain fell and the visitors looked to be turning the tide, Hearts responded. Cochrane whipped in a delightful free-kick from the right and Naismith flicked a header beyond Marciano.

The game started to slide away from Hibs as moves that initially looked promising continued to flicker out and come to nothing - much to the fury of an ever frustrated Lennon.