A DEFLECTED Aaron Hickey goal with six minutes remaining at Easter Road clinched victory for Hearts in the first Edinburgh derby of the season – and eased the pressure on his manager Craig Levein.

Fans of the Tynecastle club had called for Levein, whose side had failed to win one of their opening five Ladbrokes Premiership matches, to go after they had fallen behind to a stunning long-range Stevie Mallan strike early in the second-half.

However, the Gorgie club fought back bravely and deservedly levelled in the 70th minute when Uche Ikpeazu bundled the ball into the net from a few yards out.

And Hickey the 17-year-old left back who had never netted in senior football, wrapped up the three points in the 84th minute when his shot from outside the Hibs penalty box deflected off Josh Vela and arched over goalkeeper Chris Maxwell.

The win saw Hearts leapfrog St Mirren and Hibs in the Premiership table - and prompted supporters of the Leith club to call for the head of their manager Paul Heckingbottom.

Neither goalkeeper had a save of note to make in an opening 45 minutes that was high on tension but low on quality.

Mallan got a shot on target in the eighth minute, but his attempt was cleared to safety by Glenn Whelan.

Vela should have done better after being supplied by Mallan in the Hearts area in the 23rd minute. But the Englishman fresh-aired his attempt and then his team mate Melker Hallberg then rifled over from long-range.

The away team offered even less going forward. Sean Clare headed over the crossbar after being supplied by Rytoro Meshino. But that was the sum total of their attacking endeavours.

It looked as if it was going to take something exceptional to break the deadlock in what had been a bitterly disappointing match and it came in the 47th minute.

Mallan tried his luck from fully 25 yards out and his right foot howitzer flew past the outstretched Hearts keeper Joel Castro Pereira and into the top right corner of the net.

You would have thought that Hearts fans wouldn’t have given their Hibs counterparts the satisfaction of calling for the head of their manager in a derby match.

But they started chanting “Craig Levein, we want you to go” after they had fallen behind. That was followed by a rendition of “Craig Levein, we want you to stay” from the home stands.

Callum Morrison came on for Clare after an hour and Andy Irving replaced Loic Damour shortly after that. The substitutes' arrival on the park lifted Hearts and they levelled in the 70th minute when Ukpeazu scrambled the ball in.

The Hickey stepped forward to send the Hearts fans who had travelled across the city into raptures.