Hibs 1-2 Hearts: Euro race down to the wire

Published Date: 03 May 2010
By DAVID HARDIE
MAY DAY and the distress flares were firing high into the sky above Easter Road with the desperate SOS from Hibs fans, Save Our Season.
John Hughes' players have just two matches, 180 more minutes of SPL action to do just that by securing the Edinburgh club's place in next season's Europa League, a reward which seemed guaranteed only a few weeks ago but one which is now in danger of disappearing altogether.

As third place became impossible, the green and white army could at least console themselves with the fact finishing fourth would bring European football, albeit with an earlier start than Hughes would wish for. Motherwell have put a serious question mark against that target and now even fifth spot – carrying the same cachet with an even earlier start provided Dundee United beat Ross County in the Scottish Cup final a week on Saturday – is under growing threat.

A second derby day victory since the return of Jim Jefferies has catapulted Capital rivals, once so far distant as to be deemed irrelevant in this particular race, firmly back into the frame, a mere three points behind and filling every Hibs fan with a glimpse of that doomsday scenario, being pipped by the Jambos when the prizes are being handed out.

Jefferies, however, was right to point out that Hibs remain favourites to finish above his side with games rapidly running out, Hibs not only enjoying that points advantage but a vastly superior goal difference, though one which has narrowed somewhat in recent weeks.

But, with all the years of experience he has gained in the management game, Jefferies made that statement knowing full well the pressure is on Hibs with away games against Motherwell and Dundee United to end their campaign while his players will enjoy the comforts of home at a Tynecastle which is sure to be at its raucous best for the visits of United and Celtic as long as the merest sniff of trumping the Hibees lingers in the air.

A win at Fir Park on Wednesday night would, of course, not only see Hearts' faint hopes evaporate but fire Hibs back into pole position in the race for fourth. The problem is, few who follow Hughes' side can see where another victory is coming from, given the Easter Road side have now lost six on the trot, their worst league run since 1997.

Away back then, that sort of record was relegation form, defeats by Rangers, Aberdeen, Kilmarnock, Dundee United, Hearts, Dunfermline and St Johnstone part of a run of 15 games without a win under Jim Duffy which ultimately helped propel Hibs into the First Division.

Although in Hibs' current record of just two wins – and those against the clubs locked in the battle to avoid the drop, Kilmarnock and Falkirk – in 16 games, that's obviously not a worry this time round, the points amassed this season having outnumbered those gathered last year despite the alarming slump which has afflicted the Easter Road club, leading Hughes to observe: "The last eight weeks have been very disappointing but we must have done something right this season in order to still be challenging for a European place."

It does, though, explain how the 18-point chasm which separated Hibs from Hearts in mid-December has all but vanished. While the Tynecastle club have enjoyed a renaissance following the return of Jefferies, the narrowing of the gap is more to do with Hibs' shortcomings rather than what their near-neighbours have done over the intervening period.

Such a miserable run is naturally bound to have an effect on players' morale, it's almost as if Hughes' stars have forgotten how to win having put themselves in front on a number of occasions recently, and doing so again in this match, only to show an unfailing ability to surrender their advantage, a trait which has rendered a fair proportion of the 37 goals scored by Anthony Stokes and Derek Riordan meaningless.

Stokes claimed his 21st of the season, thanks to a contentious penalty award from referee Dougie McDonald who judged Hearts defender Marius Zaliukas guilty of a trip on John Rankin, even the Hibs midfielder claiming to have told the official he'd got it wrong.

To most it looked enough to finally give Hughes his first derby win as Hibs manager given Hearts' well-documented shortage of goals but, there again, they probably reckoned without the Easter Road side's ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory although two astute substitutions by Jefferies helped tip the balance.

The introduction of Callum Elliot, to provide a more physical presence than Gary Glen through the middle, and the replacement of Ryan Stevenson with Suso Santana which allowed David Templeton to switch to the left flank was undoubtedly instrumental in the incredible swing in fortune which took place but, even so, the biggest contributory factor was, again, slack, slack defending.

There seemed little danger even when David Obua got the jump on Hibs skipper Chris Hogg, nursing a suspected broken wrist and a nasty gash which caused him to wince every time there was contact, to reach goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald's clearance. But Paul Hanlon was outmuscled by Elliot and with Hibs goalkeeper Graeme Smith stranded yards from his line, the striker managed to toe-poke the ball back for Santana to sweep into the empty net.

Not the end of the world for Hibs as a draw would have maintained their six-point advantage over Hearts and, as events transpired later in the day, hauled them above Motherwell on goal difference. But it came crashing down about their ears as Steven Thicot, who otherwise had an impressive match at right back, stood off Templeton just long enough to allow the youngster to whip in a low cross between Smith and Hanlon.

The ball took a wicked bounce to elude the Hibs pair, leaving an incredulous Obua to tap home from a couple of yards and prompt wild celebrations from a Hearts support which, like those in green and white, could hardly comprehend what they had just witnessed.

"I was sure of getting it," said a baffled Smith, "one minute the ball was there, the next it wasn't," the goalkeeper admitting he'll have to view the incident again during today's debrief at East Mains before getting his head round exactly what happened.

For Hughes, though, the explanation was clear. "I feel that after we scored we looked frightened and stopped passing it," claimed the Hibs boss. "We sat back and hoped it would happen for us. We didn't have enough players who influenced the game and then we concede two soft goals – after that you are never going to win."

Although he is aware of the grumbling of supporters, many of whom are now questioning his role, Hughes defiantly insisted he won't be blown off course by the buffeting his side has received from all and sundry recently.

He said: "Every team has a sticky patch but, even in games like this, as a manager you know what needs to be done. Everyone thinks that means bringing new players into the club but it also means making young players better, the likes of David Wotherspoon and Hanlon.

"We have to instil a real character within the team and make them better, individually and collectively. We have to build up a mentality and a culture so that when we are in positions like we were against Hearts we are able to see it out."

The moments that mattered at Easter Road
Nine minutes: Hibs come close to bagging an early opener when Ian Murray and Colin Nish combine to set up striker Derek Riordan just outside the box, only for Hearts goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald to get a touch on his effort and send the ball trickling just wide of his left-hand post.

15 mins: Hearts are awarded a free-kick when Murray handles the ball out wide on the right. Tynecastle midfielder Larry Kingston floats the ball into the six-yard box but Ugandan David Obua is just inches away from connecting and Nish is on hand to make the clearance.

23 mins: Only the woodwork prevents Hearts from taking the lead when Ian Black's ball in from the left is headed straight back out of defence by Murray to the feet of Kingston. The Ghana internationalist catches it sweetly from 25 yards out and beats Graeme Smith, only for the ball to crack back off the base of the keeper's right-hand stick.

53 mins: Hibs are awarded a penalty when Marius Zaliukas is judged to have brought John Rankin down just inside the box, despite there seeming to be little contact between the pair. Lee Wallace and Obua do everything possible to put Anthony Stokes off but the Irishman calmly slots home.

71 mins: Hearts haul themselves back into the game after a long kick from MacDonald causes problems in the Hibs defence. Obua latches onto the clearance and the gangly midfielder controls the ball before knocking it on for Calum Elliot. The Hearts substitute races in on goal but is challenged by Smith, who has raced off his line, only for the ball to cannon into the path of Suso and the little Spaniard rattles it into an empty net.

89mins: The Jambos hit a dramatic late winner when a ball from Templeton is missed by the entire Hibs defence, leaving Obua with time and space to smash it high into the net from just a couple of yards out, sparking wild celebrations among the visiting support and players.

Taken from the Scotsman