The Edinburgh derby tonight ended honours even as Hibernian and Hearts fought out an enthralling, and at times ill-tempered, 1-1 draw at Easter Road.

Derek Riordan blasted the home side ahead midway through the first half.

However, when Hibs defender Colin Murdock fouled Mark de Vries in the penalty area only 38 seconds after the restart, Jambos captain Steven Pressley stepped up confidently to level the scores from the spot.

The keenly-contested game threatened to erupt at times in the second half, as both sides went for the winner. But in the end a share of the spoils was just about right.

There was the usual frantic start to this fixture, with Hearts carving out, and failing to take, some good early opportunities.

As Hibs settled down, they started pushing forward themselves. But it was the visitors who continued to look the more likely to get the breakthrough, with striker de Vries in particular causing problems for the Easter Road side.

In the 11th minute, however, Hibs young midfielder Kevin Thomson almost caught Hearts keeper Craig Gordon out with a lofted cross from the left, which almost sneaked in at the back post.

The home side's first real chance of the game should have resulted in a goal on 17 minutes.

Defender Roland Edge strode up the pitch and swung a low cross into the six-yard box and the ball fell to Riordan. But the on-form Hibs striker scuffed his shot and the ball was easily collected by Gordon.

The Gorgie men were still having the best of it in terms of possession, though, and as the first half wore on Hearts, slicker and more mobile, were adapting better to the pace of the game.

But the match turned on its head after 24 minutes when Riordan made amends for his earlier miss, netting out of the blue with a superb strike.

The youngster picked up a pass from Garry O'Connor 25 yards from goal and with no options available, he confidently stepped inside and curled an unstoppable shot past Gordon and into the corner.

The home side got another break just before the interval when striker Scott Brown, booked earlier in the game for a lunge on Alan Maybury, was lucky to stay on the pitch after a reckless tackle on Pressley which surprisingly went unpunished.

There was a sensational start to the second half when after only 38 seconds the visitors were awarded a penalty.

Hibs defender Colin Murdock clumsily fouled de Vries in the box and Pressley stepped up to send Daniel Andersson the wrong way with a calm and composed spot kick to pull the visitors level.

The goal was the perfect boost for the Gorgie men who regained the initiative, pushing the Easter Road side back towards their own goal.

The hotly-contested match threatened to boil over at times, with players from both sides going in for some dubious challenges and referee Mike McCurry was struggling to keep control.

In the 63rd minute, an incisive Maybury pass from the left found de Vries alone in the Hibs, box but the big striker's first touch was poor and the ball fell through to the grateful Andersson.

The visitors were on top now and moments later, Maybury's snap-shot from 30 yards went just wide of the right-hand post.

In the 70th minute, a tremendous 25-yard curling free-kick from Hearts midfielder Paul Hartley struck the left hand post before the ball was eventually cleared.

As the game entered its final stages, nerves began to play their part, with both sides more afraid of conceding a goal than throwing too much caution to the wind.

In the 81st minute, however, Hearts defender Patrick Kisnorbo's shot from 30 yards was inches wide from securing the three points.

Teams

Hibernian: Andersson, Caldwell, Murdock, Doumbe, Edge, Reid (McManus 65), Wiss (Whittaker 70), Thomson, Riordan (Dobbie 81), O'Connor, Scott Brown.

Subs Not Used: Alistair Brown, Nicol.

Booked: Scott Brown, Wiss, Murdock.

Goals: Riordan 24.

Hearts: Gordon, Maybury, Webster, Pressley, Kisnorbo, Neilson, Hartley, MacFarlane, Wyness (Weir 60), de Vries, McKenna.

Subs Not Used: Moilanen, Kirk, Sloan, Janczyk.

Booked: Kisnorbo, Hartley.

Goals: Pressley 47 pen.

Att: 15,060

Ref: M McCurry (Scotland).