Hearts striker puts positive spin on reduced crowd for Edinburgh derby match

Georgia Timms battles Hibs' Joelle Murray for possession during Hearts' draw at Easter Road. Picture: SNS

Georgia Timms believes a reduced crowd on Saturday enabled Hearts to put in their most complete Edinburgh derby performance of the season so far.

The Gorgie Girls still weren’t able to find victory in the fixture, but they remain eight points clear of Hibs in the league table after Ciara Grant cancelled out Eilidh Adams’ opener from the penalty spot.

There were just over 800 at the match. It was a far cry from the record-setting 8,066 that were in attendance at the same ground earlier this season, but considering tickets that night were free and were £10 each on Saturday – while both Hearts and Hibs men were in action earlier in the day – then it was still a solid turnout.

While she would prefer the stands to be packed out for every match, Timms looked at the positives after the game.

"I think it didn’t put as much pressure on us as a team,” said the Hearts No.9. “I know it shouldn’t but it certainly can. I think it made us feel more chilled, which is perhaps why we were able to play a bit better and keep possession. We weren’t getting in our own heads, we weren’t getting angry with each other, I thought we could just chill.

“I feel like we dominated the game but in the final third it broke down quite a few times. Obviously we had some chances and in possession we did really well, which is what Eva wanted, for us to keep the ball.

“Each team was trying to press high and win back possession, so it became a bit of a scrappy game early on, a bit transitional at times. But that calmed down once everybody got into the game a bit more.

“I don’t really know why, to be honest, it always seems to happen in games against Hibs and not other teams. We always seem to have that scrappiness in the first 20 minutes. But I think it’s because both teams are scrapping with each other.”

“I think the result shows how much we’re competing this season. Last season we weren’t but it shows why we’re in fourth at the moment and it’s nice to keep the gap there after this result.”