Raith Rovers: Goalkeeper Kevin Dabrowski reminisces about 'unforgettable' night he was man of the match in Hibs' home derby draw against Hearts

The date was February 1, 2022, the stadium was Easter Road, and Dabrowski made three brilliant second half saves on his first team debut for Hibs as he ended up being voted Man of the Match in a 0-0 home Scottish Premiership stalemate against arch rivals Hearts.

"That is an experience which will stay with me forever,” Polish stopper Dabrowski, 25, told RaithTV.

"One that made me not sleep for the entire night.

"I hadn’t played for Hibs for a long time and suddenly it was the time to make my debut.

"That was my first game for Hibs and it was the biggest game against our biggest rivals Hearts.

"The game was at night when the lights were on and it was a full stadium, 20,000 people. I could feel the energy as soon as I got on the pitch. I looked up and I felt it was a proper game.

"I just knew that everything would go fine the way everything started with such a big noise.

"The way it ended up I managed to keep a clean sheet. At the end when I saw on the telly that I’d been voted Man of the Match it was just something incredible.

"I really felt very thankful for that and for my team-mates because all of them put in such a good shift, everyone helped me – especially the defenders – to keep that clean sheet.

"The noise the fans made, they never stopped, and that really helped us to keep going.

"I was over the moon about what happened and it was like a dream because when the game finished I wasn’t able to fall asleep because it had been such a long time for me and it was quite important.”

Dabrowski, who joined Raith on a two-year deal this summer after leaving Hibs whom he first joined from Lech Poznan II in 2017, also fondly remembers playing in an under-18 derby for his old team in Poland.

He said: "For such a young boy it was something incredible, a great experience.

“The big support definitely helped us because we managed to win. The better support, the better I feel and the team plays better.”