Jamie McGrath scored one and set up the other as Hibs put a huge dent in Hearts’ Scottish Premiership ambitions at the weekend.
Jamie McGrath(Image: Callum Landells/Getty Images)
Jamie McGrath didn’t play a single minute of Ireland’s World Cup qualification campaign, but his form this season for Hibernian could put him in the frame for the play-offs in March.
The 29-year-old scored his seventh goal of the season in Hibernian’s 3-2 win over Edinburgh rivals and Scottish Premiership table-toppers Hearts on Saturday.
He also provided an assist, his third of a debut campaign at Easter Road, to tee up Josh Campbell for their second.
McGrath made the move from Aberdeen to Hibs during the summer and he lit up his first Edinburgh derby in front of a sizeable personal fan club that made the trip across the Irish Sea for the game.
A former St Patrick’s Athletic and Dundalk star, and with 13 senior Ireland caps to his name, McGrath’s last international appearance came as a sub in the 2-1 win away to Finland in October 2024.
He didn’t feature in Heimir Hallgrímsson’s squads between that window and the start of the World Cup campaign because of a series of injuries.
Omitted from the group for the first four qualifiers, he was drafted in along with Johnny Kenny as a late call-up for the unforgettable November window, in place of Mark Sykes and Evan Ferguson.
He had to settle, however, for the role of unused substitute in the wins against Portugal and Hungary, which earned Ireland a dramatic World Cup play-off spot in March.
In the meantime, he has been winning countless plaudits from Hibs fans for his displays since his summer switch.
It didn’t take him long to open his account – he netted his first for the club in their July Europa League qualifier away to Midtjylland.
McGrath has scored six more goals in the Scottish Premiership, against Dundee United, Falkirk, Livingston (twice), Dundee and now Hearts.
And shortly after opening the scoring on Saturday, he showed his versatility when he was forced to switch to left-wing-back because of an injury to Nicky Cadden.
It was from that position that he provided the cross for Campbell’s 45th minute goal.
Reacting to the derby win, McGrath said: “It was obviously my first start in the derby, so I didn’t really know what to expect.
“Coming out at the start of the game was unbelievable, just to be a player and be part of it today was some spectacle. To get the early goal was a dream start for me and the team.
“I think that’s what’s been lacking in recent weeks. We’ve started really well but haven’t managed to get that goal, so it was important to get a foothold in the game early on.
“We made it hard for ourselves towards the end, but coming out on the right side of it is all that matters in the derby.”
McGrath added that he spent the run-up to Saturday’s game “dreaming” of getting on the scoresheet. And he was delighted to do so in front of around a dozen family members.
“My family all flew over today. There were about 10 or 12 of them in the stand, and my brother was watching at home with his newborn. Everyone was tuning in,” he said.
“It’s what you dream of as a player, days like today and contributing as best you can. To get the win was special, and seeing Sunshine On Leith at the end was unreal.”