Hibernian 0 Hearts 0: Griffiths' hot shot proves cold comfort as embers fail to catch fire

Hugh Macdonald
Chief Sports Writer
Monday 11 March 2013

THE case of the phantom goal added heat to an Edinburgh derby conducted in that peculiar, Auld Reekie-type of cold that would have convinced a Cossack to desert.

The senses were frozen, the game largely moribund and any creative thought stultified, whether by cold or circumstance.

Yet amid this sterility there was a blossoming of one solitary shaft of excellence. A strike by Leigh Griffiths from a free-kick after 77 minutes was a thing of beauty. It arrowed in on goal, kissing the bar and falling so far over the line that the Hibernian striker, some 35 yards from goal, raised his arms in justifiable celebration. The assistant referee, Raymond Whyte, and the referee, Euan Norris remained unmoved.

The referee apparently told Hibs players that the officials could not give what they did not see. This view is somewhat in conflict with an incident last season when Norris was in charge of a match at Easter Road and Hibs were given a goal for a Paul Hanlon shot against Dunfermline Athletic that did not cross the line.

The officials thus were the talking point yet again on the day of a big match in Scotland. In truth, there was little else to excite the emotions for the neutral when the ball was so abused it should have been taken into protective custody. Indeed, the officials could be forgiven for disallowing the goal on the grounds that its brilliance was so at odds with a match of mediocrity.

This was a match when the thud was all-encompassing and the blunder was not restricted to Mr Norris and his mates. Hibs, who welcomed back Kevin Thomson for the last five minutes of the match, played with caution, with only Griffiths up front. He had to feed off scraps that would not have satisfied a peckish supermodel.

Hearts, in contrast, played Michael Ngoo and John Sutton in tandem at the sharp end. Suffice to say this pair are to subtlety what Richard Burton was to temperance.

The midfield was a battlefield where Jorge Claros, with a reckless impetuosity, insisted on trying to pass the ball and where Mehdi Taouil, a player of touch and vision, attracted a yellow card.

It was all played out in a feverish atmosphere in the stands and in conditions that poked fun at the notions of spring. The action, apart from that splendid "goal" by Griffiths, came in fractured, staccato incidents. This was not a match for moves, more a contest of rebounds, broken tackles and ricochets.

Hearts, playing with the blizzard, had the better of the first half with Ngoo and Sutton both troubling the Hibs back line. Their efforts, though, caused bruising rather than inflicting a fatal wound.

The best chances for the visitors came from two sources. When Ngoo ran down the channels, he found space and time to fire balls across goal but he could not find his partner or conjure up the unstoppable shot, with Ben Williams comfortably fielding two efforts.

The other option for Hearts was to exploit a superiority in the air and this tactic created two excellent opportunities. The first came after 18 minutes from a corner with Danny Wilson winning the first header and Sutton's nod brushing Ngoo before being cleared off the line by Lewis Stevenson. The second came when Wilson found himself on the end of a free-kick but flicked a diving header wide.

Hibs were almost nonexistent as an attacking force in the first half, the decision to play Griffiths up front alone leaving the striker isolated and impotent. Whenever the blond forward found some space, he was frustrated by a lack of support. One cross that flew across goal with no takers paid a forcible testimony to the lack of numbers coming forward for the home team.

The best efforts for Hibs were a Griffiths flick from a narrow angle and a lunge by David Wotherspoon, but both touches lacked the power to trouble Jamie MacDonald.

It was Hearts, too, who threatened early in the second half with Andy Webster playing a leading part. The defender turned and volleyed on the edge of the box, forcing Williams to parry wide, before the Scottish internationalist won the first header from a free-kick, only to see Ngoo's shot blocked from 12 yards. There was also a collective roar from Hearts when Callum Tapping went down in the box in a collision with Alan Maybury but Norris waved play on.

This was the signal to ignite a period of Hibs aggression. A slack header from Wilson was blasted over the bar by Griffiths but the striker on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers then gave a wonderful example of his ability at a dead ball.

From more than 30 yards, he struck a free-kick with pace and swerve that hit the bar and dropped over the line. The Hibs sympathisers celebrated, but prematurely. Webster nodded the ball clear and the match continued, reverting to the frenetic scramble after that moment of unrewarded splendour.

The post-match call was for goal-line technology. However, at £300,000 a pop, it is not coming to a stadium near you anytime soon.

Taken from the Herald