Hibernian moved to within a point of third-placed Aberdeen and 12 clear of Hearts after victory over their city rivals at Easter Road.

After a closely contested first half, Scott Allan drilled in a sweetly struck opener from the edge of the area.

Hearts goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin then tipped a thumping Jamie Maclaren effort against the bar, before the Aussie striker rolled in the second.

The visitors did not manage a shot on target throughout the game.

They remain in sixth place, four points ahead of Motherwell, who have two games in hand.

The electric atmosphere inside Easter Road was sadly not matched by the football in the opening 25 minutes or so.

It was fast and frenetic, with tackles flying in across the pitch, but there was little in the way of style or clear-cut chances.

It proved to be too much for Hearts' Harry Cochrane, who was forced out after just 15 minutes with a hamstring injury, fellow 16-year-old Anthony McDonald entering the fray in his place.

The home side slowly began to take control with Dylan McGeouch beginning to pull the strings. The midfielder was always desperate to get on the ball and with Scotland boss Alex McLeish watching from the main stand, he put on a real show.

Pace as always in these games is crucial and in Martin Boyle, Hibernian had it in abundance.

The winger showed fantastic tenacity and grit with a 40-yard run that began just inside his own half, and although his shot was on target, Hearts keeper McLaughlin was able to save with ease.

Then Boyle attempted to play in Kamberi, but a last-gasp challenge by Godinho cleared the danger.

The one scare for the home side in the opening period came when centre-half Darren McGregor and goalkeeper Ofir Marciano got in a bit of a tangle as a cross came in, but they were quick to recover.

The second half began in similar fashion and eventually referee Bobby Madden was forced into pulling out his yellow card when Michael Smith clattered into John McGinn.

With both defences looking fairly solid, it was going to take a bit of magic to find a breakthrough.

And it was the hosts who found it. Florian Kamberi did well to get the better of Godinho down the right before finding the advancing figure of Paul Hanlon.

The Hibernian captain took one touch in laying the ball off to Allan, who sent a wonderfully controlled shot low beyond McLaughlin into the right corner.

It was no more than Neil Lennon's side deserved, and only the width of the crossbar and a magnificent save by McLaughlin denied Hibernian a second.

John McGinn played the pass of the night into McLaren, who hammered the ball goalwards, but the Hearts keeper managed to get his fingertips to it and push it onto the underside of the bar before it bounced clear.

The noise inside Easter Road was ramped up as Hibs pressed for a clinching goal, and it arrived 10 minutes from time.

Australia striker McLaren celebrated his international recall this week by collecting a long throw on the edge of the box, swivelling towards goal past John Souttar and Steven Naismith and firing low into the same corner as Allan's earlier effort.

As the 3,840 Hearts supporters inside Easter Road began to make their way towards the exits, exultant Hibs supporters in the Famous Five stand unfurled a huge banner stating 'Natural Order' - a gleeful response to Hearts bossCraig Levein's comments after his side's Scottish Cup win at Tynecastle in January.