Blair Spittal was the hero for Hearts as his late strike secured a 2-1 comeback win over nine-man Hibernian in a frantic Edinburgh derby, sending them three points clear in the Scottish Premiership title race.

Hibernian saw goalkeeper Raphael Sallinger sent off for handling outside his area in the 14th minute.

By that stage, Hibernian were already leading thanks to Martin Boyle's close-range finish.

Yet Hibs made it through to half-time unscathed. Within three minutes of the restart, however, they were down to nine men, with Felix Passlack receiving his second booking.

It took Hearts until the 65th minute to make their numerical advantage count, with Warren O'Hora turning into his own net.

But the momentum and pressure told fully in the 86th minute, with a deflected strike from substitute Spittal finding the bottom-right corner to send the travelling fans into ecstasy, and moving Hearts three points clear of Celtic, who beat Falkirk 3-1 on Saturday, at the top of the standings.

With just four games remaining, Rangers are four points off the pace after they went down 3-2 at home to Motherwell.

Lukas Fadinger and Emmanuel Longelo struck in the space of nine minutes to send the visitors into a 2-0 lead at Ibrox, but Youssef Chermiti scored one and set up Nicolas Raskin as Rangers hauled themselves level after the interval.

Yet in the 90th minute, Longelo saw a curled effort flick in off the head of a defender, condemning Danny Rohl's team to their first league loss since December.

Data Debrief: Hearts show heart

Slipping up at the home of their local rivals was not in the script for Hearts, but for swathes of Sunday's encounter, it looked as though it would be the case.

Instead, they restored their cushion at the top of the league, as they won a Premiership game in which they trailed at half-time for the first time since August.

They had 23 shots, which is their highest total in a league game this term, finishing with 1.83 expected goals to Hibs' 0.52 from just four attempts.

Rangers, meanwhile, saw their 16-game unbeaten run in the league come to an end, and it is a defeat that could prove very costly.