Callum Paterson remains grateful to Hearts team-mate Alim Ozturk for getting him out of jail the last time Leith hosted the Edinburgh derby.
The Scotland internationalist was sent off for the first time in his career at Easter Road back in October for a wild lunge on Dominique Malonga.
With just over 10 minutes of the game remaining and Alan Stubbs’ side leading by a first-half goal from Malonga he returned to the dressing-room in a fury, convinced that he had consigned his team to defeat.
“It was one of the lowest moments of my career,” Paterson admits. “I’d never been sent off before so I didn’t know what to do.
“I was distraught. I just felt so guilty because I thought it was my fault we’d lost the game. But then Alim pulled me out of a massive hole with his wonder strike.
“I honestly didn’t know about it until after the game. I thought we’d got beaten 1-0. They came in at the end of the game and everyone was a bit happy. I was like: ‘Why?’
“Alim tried to tell me about the goal and I thought: ‘No, you’re having me on’.
“I didn’t actually see his effort until after the next day’s training, and it was a great strike. I owe him for last time because it was a massive relief.
“Thanks to his goal, I was able to put the sending off behind me. If the result had gone the other way, then it might have been a bit different.”
This time last year, Hibs travelled to Hearts looking to confirm their Edinburgh rivals’ relegation, little expecting that they themselves would end up going down.
This time the Jambos, already promoted back to the Premiership, travel to the Hibees with the opportunity to put a serious dent in the Easter Road team’s hopes of joining them via the play-offs.
“They are desperate for the points, and beating Dumbarton during the week will have given them a bit of confidence. But there is no way we are going to roll over,” said Paterson, whose two goals at the Leith ground in the final derby of last season helped drag Hibs down.
“But we’ve still got our own personal goals and our team’s goals for the season. So we will make it as hard as possible for them.
“It could be the last derby for a while.
“Hopefully it’s not, because it’s a massive thing for the fans and players, a great occasion with lots of drama and lots of goals.”
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