Scottish Premiership REVIEW 3 Sep 2026: the model favoured Hibs, and Hearts sank them in the derby

One the model got wrong, though few in maroon will mind: it favoured Hibernian at home, and Hearts won the first Edinburgh derby of Wouter Vrancken's reign 3-1. James Wilson steered them ahead inside a quarter of an hour, and Laurent Mendy, a summer arrival from Forest Green Rovers, made it two before the interval.

David Gray's side came out changed after the break and found a way back almost at once, Adam Mayor turning the ball home to halve the deficit five minutes after being sent on. The lift proved brief. Jack Iredale, booked before half-time, was shown a second yellow on the hour for a foul on Calvin Miller, and Hibernian's hopes went off with him.

Four minutes later Josh McPake settled it, restoring the two-goal cushion at 3-1 and sending a good part of the home support to the exits well before the finish. For all their second-half improvement, Hibernian were undone by their own indiscipline as much as by anything Hearts conjured.

It was a first derby win for Vrancken, appointed after Derek McInnes left for Rangers, and a chastening night for Gray's rebuilt Hibernian. Wilson, Mendy and McPake all left their mark; Mayor's goal was the one consolation, and the model's home call the day's clear miss.