Aberdeen 1 Hibs 2

Apr 15 2012 by Mark Guidi, Sunday Mail

LEIGH GRIFFITHS spat out the dummy last month during a training ground bust-up with boss Pat Fenlon.

Yesterday he sucked on one to celebrate scoring the goal that took Hibs to their first Scottish Cup Final since 2001.

That settled a semi-final that was poor in terms of quality – but all three goals were worthy of the Hampden stage.

Garry O’Connor’s early volley was cancelled out by a sensational strike from Rory Fallon before Griffiths popped up to slot home a well-worked winner five minutes from time.

Hibs now stand just 90 minutes away from ending their 110-year wait for Scottish Cup glory but they will have to play much better than this to stand a chance of beating either Celtic or bitter rivals Hearts in the final.

Fenlon and his players will know that but they had every right to savour this win after what has been a disappointing SPL campaign.

The last two meetings between these sides had ended in drab 0-0 draws so there were pre-match fears about another forgettable encounter.

However, the Easter Road men took less than three minutes to bring the semi-final to life.

Hibs probed away in the final third and Griffiths saw his shot from an O’Connor cutback blocked by Mark Reynolds. The ball spun out to full-back Pa Kujabi on the left and he delivered a front-post cross that O’Connor guided past keeper Jason Brown from five yards.

It was a top-drawer finish from the former Scotland striker but the Dons defenders were guilty of switching off and Brown’s positioning for the cross could have been better.

Aberdeen enjoyed plenty of possession after that as they pinned their opponents back but their use of the ball was poor.

Craig Brown’s troops lacked imagination and spark in the first half.

The Hibees were happy to soak up the pressure and hit on the break, with James McPake picking out Griffiths in 21 minutes with a lovely pass.

The striker tried his luck from the edge of the box but shot wide – then saw another attempt suffer a similar fate.

Dons star Reynolds was making it hard for Fenlon’s men to break through with his superb reading of the game and fine positional play.

The on-loan Sheffield Wednesday stopper was the clear Man of the Match as most of the other players got nowhere near the standards he set. For long spells the quality of football on show from both sides was appalling.

The ball was punted up the park when there was no need for it and too few passes reached the intended target.

Aberdeen often rolled the ball into the feet of strike duo Fallon and Scott Vernon but it rarely stuck.

Midfield runners tried to get beyond the ball to receive a pass but their journeys were often wasted.

Vernon is usually a handful but the Dons hitman was out of sorts yesterday.

His team suffered as a consequence because they rely on him to make things happen in the final third.

Brown made a change at the interval as Fraser Fyvie came on for Ryan Jack in a bid to spark Aberdeen to life. And Easter Road keeper Graham Stack was finally forced into action six minutes after the break when he clutched a header from stopper Andrew Considine.

Hibs winger Ivan Sproule didn’t have one direct run at Rory McArdle in the first half but decided to take test his marker for pace after the interval.

That led to Kujabi having a shot from the edge of the area and the Gambian’s effort flew inches wide.

Fyvie’s presence in midfield increased Aberdeen’s attacking options and his long ball led to the leveller in 59 minutes.
Rory Fallon goal

Matt Doherty’s headed clearance was chested down by Fallon 25 yards out and he let fly with an outstanding dipping volley that gave Stack no chance. It was a fantastic goal and the red end of Hampden rose to acclaim their goal hero.

The match was now in the balance and both sides responded with changes as Dons forward Darren Mackie replaced Chris Clark and David Wotherspoon came on for Hibs midfielder Jorge Claros.

Fenlon was then forced into an unwanted substitution when keeper Stack injured his hamstring and made way for Mark Brown.

The backup goalie was soon forced into action as he made a smart save to deny Mackie before Griffiths smacked a shot off the post at the other end.

But the striker wasn’t to be denied in 85 minutes when Hibs grabbed the goal that sealed their place in the final. Skipper McPake did well to win a high ball and headed down to O’Connor.

The striker was aware of the run from Griffiths and put his partner in with a perfectly-weighted pass that split the defence wide open.

Griffiths kept his composure to roll the ball past Brown from 12 yards and the Hibs end erupted.

Aberdeen tried their best to bounce back but there wasn’t an end product when they reached the final third.

The Pittodrie men never really got going yesterday as their disappointing season continued. The final whistle condemned the Dons to another campaign without a trophy and they got what they deserved.

Taken from the Daily Record