Alan Stubbs hailed the bravery of his Hibs players after they ruined Hearts ’ Easter Road title party with a 2-0 derby win . He saw his men hold on to second place in the Championship with a second straight win , building momentum after a run of three consecutive defeats – and setting them up for Saturday ’ s Scottish Cup semi-final against Falkirk . Stubbs , who had seen his team play well but fail to beat Hearts in three previous outings this season , said his players had answered those who asked if they had the bottle to win at the business end of the season . ‘ Two weeks ago we were being questioned , ’ said Stubbs after goals from Jason Cummings and Farid El Alagui saw them remain level on points with Rangers , who have a game in hand . ‘ People were asking if this was the wobble and was this Hibs ; season ending again . Alan Stubbs saw his side record a win in the Edinburgh derby to put Hearts ' promotion party on hold . ‘ Football can change very quickly . Suddenly after two results we are building momentum again . I think the players have always answered the criticism . ‘ When you have played well against the champions , as we have done this season , and not got three points , I think it is important . ‘ Sometimes it can just linger on and it puts self-doubt in not just the players ’ minds but the fans ’ minds as well . I was proud of the players today , I really was . They were courageous and brave so I am delighted for them. ’ Stubbs singled out El Alagui for special praise . The striker – not long back from seven months out with an achilles injury – played brilliantly before securing victory with his injury-time finish . ‘ I ’ m absolutely delighted for him , ’ said the Hibs manager . ‘ He has had a really tough seven months , with a horrendous injury . I don ’ t think people understood just how bad the injury was and the fact he is back playing now is all credit to him . Hearts captain Danny Wilson picks the ball out of the back of the net after his side concede a second goal . ‘ The surgeon deserves praise for the procedure he did and it ’ s great to have him back , because he is something we have missed . I think Farid is only going to get better , he is still not where we would like him to be . He needs more strength and speed put into him , but he will get that by playing games and working on his programme. ’ Hibs defender Jordon Forster admitted he ’ d been motivated by a desire to silence the gloating Hearts fans , saying : ‘ As much as you try and block out what the Hearts fans are planning , you see it on social media and in the papers . You know the fans are doing this and that . ‘ You ’ d be lying if you said you don ’ t hear the fans during the game . I like a bit of banter because it ’ s the fans ’ day as well as the players . You can use it to your motivation , as long as you don ’ t let it affect your game in a negative way . ‘ It ’ s all a bit of fun . They have won the league - but we get the bragging rights for today . The Hibernian fans were in good spirits at full-time after getting one over their city rivals . ‘ It ’ s probably the most important derby win I ’ ve been involved in . My debut was special and I ’ ll always remember it but it was vital to get three points and keep the pressure on Rangers . ‘ All we can do is keep winning games until the end of the season and see where it takes us . They ( Rangers ) go to Tynecastle at the end of the season and if we win all our games we need them to drop points somewhere . If we stay focused it could be a really good season for the club and the fans . ’
Hibs won the derby 2-0 to stay second in the Scottish Championship . They had lost their last three , but the win gives them momentum . ‘ People were asking if this was the wobble and was this Hibs ; season ending again , ' Stubbs said . But he is confident that they can bounce back from a poor start to finish third behind Rangers and Hearts.