Agathe's bizarre miss allows Hearts a point

Simon Buckland
Monday 31 July 2000 00:00 BST
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There was little evidence yesterday that either of these capital clubs will challenge the dominance of Glasgow's Old Firm, but it was a match which, despite ending scoreless, never wanted for action.

There was little evidence yesterday that either of these capital clubs will challenge the dominance of Glasgow's Old Firm, but it was a match which, despite ending scoreless, never wanted for action.

Didier Agathe's glaring first-half miss summed up a frustrating Edinburgh derby in which both sides gave everything, with nothing going right in front of goal. The Hibernian striker, after seeing an earlier effort disallowed for being offsides, fluffed his strike when presented with an empty net, and it proved a costly miss.

After a free-flowing opening half, chances were at a premium after the interval as Hearts and Hibernian, both with makeshift line-ups, were left to settle for a point apiece.

Agathe's miserable debut was highlighted when he was replaced in the 68th minute, with Tom McManus coming on. On 38 minutes, he had already produced a contender for one of the misses of the season.

Having beaten Steven Pressley and rounded Antti Niemi, he presented himself with an open goal. What happened next was extraordinary, as Agathe appeared to lose his balance before scuffing a shot with his wrong foot, the ball rolling towards the goal and being cleared off the line.

The only unsavoury moment of the match saw the Hearts goalkeeper Niemi struck, but unhurt by a plastic cup thrown from the away end as he attempted to take a goal-kick. The culprit was quickly identified and led away by police, with Franck Sauzee acting as the peacemaker.

Heart of Midlothian: Niemi, Flogel, Naysmith, Pressley, Petric, Tomaschek, Fulton, Cameron, Severin, Kirk, Juanjo. Substitutes: Rousset, McSwegan, Murray, Simpson, O'Neil.

Hibernian: Colgan, Fenwick, Laursen, Jack, G Smith, T Smith, Sauzee, Latapy, O'Neil, Agathe, Paatelainen. Substitutes: Westwater, Lovell, Lehmann, Murray, McManus.

Referee: Kenny Clark (Scotland).

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