HIBERNIAN cup hero David Gray is happy to have the underdogs tag ahead of the Edinburgh derby – but he fully expects to come away from Tynecastle with a result.
Hibs drew at Tynecastle last season before winning the replay on their way to their first William Hill Scottish triumph in 114 years and Gray is confident they can survive another trip to the west end of Edinburgh.
Hearts have hit form just at the right time before the fifth-round clash after hitting seven goals in consecutive wins over Rangers and Motherwell but Gray is looking forward to another cup derby.
“My memories of last year are being 2-0 down with 10 minutes to go and turning it round and taking that momentum into the home game,” Gray told Hibs TV.
“We left Tynecastle, albeit with a draw, it felt like a win. Our dressing room was rocking and their’s certainly wasn’t.
“That’s what we have to take from that game. We know we are capable of going there and getting a result.
“We might go into the game with people saying we are underdogs but that sits fine with us because we know what we are capable of and we know what’s in the dressing room and we are all firmly behind what we can do.
“I think if we apply ourselves and turn up on the day, we are more than a match for anybody.”
The teams have locked horns in several cup ties in recent years with Hearts fans set to taunt their rivals for evermore about their 5-1 final triumph in 2012.
And Gray knows the game holds so much significance for so many people in the Scottish capital.
“You’d like to say every game is the same but it definitely isn’t,” said the right-back, who headed the Hibs winner in last season’s final.
“There is always an edge to it.
“These games aren’t always spectacular in terms of the football being played, it’s more of a battle and whoever is prepared to win the battle sometimes wins the game.
“You can tell there’s an edge to it with the supporters and the buzz there has been since the draw was made.
“I think there were fans sleeping rough to try to get tickets which shows what it means to both sets of supporters.
“We are fully aware of the expectation levels of this club and we expect to go there and get a good result.”
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