Semi-Final Reflections

The poor Hibernian support and the deficiencies in the Hibs defence are perhaps the major talking points to emerge from last weekend, but have some simple realities not been lost in the post-match hysteria?

The most striking and disappointing aspect of Sunday’s semi-final was the pathetic Hibernian support at the game. Personally, I was embarrassed by the empty seats at Hampden, it shows that too many so-called supporters are only it in for the glory. Yes there were some mitigating factors, the terrible kick-off time being an obvious one. But if you cannot put yourself out to support your team in a Derby semi-final, then questions have to be asked about just how much of a supporter you really are.

However, I do feel people are reading a little too much into it all. Hearts had more fans there because they were favourites to win, there was a confidence surrounding them that simply was not there with Hibs fans. Lets not forget the Hearts end was not full either, despite their on-field success this season and Hearts struggled to take just over 10,000 fans to the semi-final last season. The reason? They did not have as good a team and most of their fans thought they would lose to Celtic. It is the same reason that during the McLeish team’s success in Derby fixtures, the Hearts fans rarely sold out the away end at Easter Road. Yes, the retrospectively called a boycott on the 6-2 game, but it had more to do with Hearts not having a great side, Hibs being good and therefore favourites to win the match. If the roles as favourites and respective league positions were swapped, the size of the teams’ supports at Hampden would have been reversed.

What it does show however is that Edinburgh is just not a footballing city. The biggest one-off game in decades, both teams doing well in the League yet between them they can only muster around 35,000 fans. Celtic and Rangers have had bigger crowds at reserve matches. Hibernian and Hearts both have loyal and solid hardcore supports, and both clubs can muster a good few thousand for the bigger occasion, but when all is said and done, a city that is comparable is size to Newcastle, Leeds and even Manchester cannot produce two clubs that combined could fill Parkhead or Ibrox.

The crowd issue is just another example of people trying to over-complicate the issues that have emerged from the semi-final. I’ve heard Hibs fans blaming tactics and selling O’Connor for the defeat. But ultimately Hibs failed to threaten Hearts enough because they simply lacked the attacking quality to make the most of opportunities. You simply cannot take Killen, Riordan, Shiels, Brown, Beuzelin and Stewart out of the team and still expect them to function at the same level. Hibs lost the game because Hearts had the better team, and the reason it became a rout was because, as in too many other games this season, Malkowski made stupid and basic blunders and gifted goals away. It’s really that simple, good players make good teams and good teams win games, Hearts simply had more good players and their best player, Hartley, made all the difference.

Hibs are not a bad team, but they do lack the ability to play against certain teams in the league. Hibs have failed to beat Inverness this season, and have lost heavily to Hearts three times. Now what those two teams have in common is that they are big and strong, have powerful and well-organised defences and do not generally allow opposition teams to settle. On the other hand, as last night showed, Hibs can play and beat Kilmarnock, a team on great form, for the second time and only a last minute equaliser stopped it being three wins out of three. Now Killie are a better team than Inverness, but Killie play in a manner similar to Hibs, they don’t have a great physical presence and they don’t try to stifle their opponents. It is unfortunate for Hibs that Hearts also have this ability, the ability to knock Hibs out of their stride and then take advantage. And of course the fact that Hibs seem to constantly want to give their neighbours gift-wrapped goals has meant they have been on the end of three heavy defeats. Three heavy defeats, and I’m struggling to think of a goal that Hearts have scored that they really had to work hard for.

If Hibs are too progress as a team, then this deficiency has to be addressed. It is surely no coincidence that Rudge, a big and good-in-the-air no nonsense centre half played when we beat them at Easter Road. But then, just getting good players is not so easy when you are on a budget, and while some teams may have lots of money to splash, Hibernian are not one of them and are unlikely to be anytime soon.