Hibernian 3 Dunfermline 0

December 9th 2000
Scottish Premier League
Attendance: 10,078

Scorers:
Hibernian: Laursen, Zitelli, Paatelainen.

This is a copy of a report of the game as it appeared in the Scotland on Sunday on Sunday December 10th 2000

Hibs turn up heat

With every passing week, another challenge is met, another obstacle cleared, and Hibs make it increasingly hard for manager Alex McLeish to insist that a Champions League place is beyond them. The confident swagger with which they swept aside Dunfermline yesterday suggested that the bubble, far from bursting, is threatening to inflate.

Goals by Ulrik Laursen, David Zitelli and Mixu Paatelainen punished a spineless Dunfermline side, who had to play without the red-carded Rob Matthaei for nearly an hour, and propelled the Edinburgh club to within four points of leaders Celtic.

His feet may be on the ground for now, but McLeish will have a tough job staying there if either half of the Old Firm lose today.

Hibs, along with Kilmarnock and Celtic, have been responsible for the most refreshing title race Scotland has known in many a year. They used to say there was so little between the Old Firm's supposed challengers you could throw a blanket over them. McLeish's side, no longer in bed with the chasing pack, have tossed aside their inhibitions and made a contest of it.

Already they have accumulated three more points than they did in the whole of last season and are exposing a gulf between themselves and others that only Rangers were capable of a year ago. "I keep saying we have achieved nothing yet, but I suppose it is an achievement to have surpassed last season's total so early," said McLeish.

"We are not as strong as the Old Firm squad-wise, but we still have our ambitions."

Although Dunfermline were a sorry excuse for a Premier League side, capitulating
almost as soon as the first ball was kicked, the sheer quality of three or four in green was something to relish.

Latapy, in particular, must have impressed Trinidad & Tobago manager Ian Porterfield and reminded McLeish of what he will lose when international duty beckons.

The Hibs board are now confronted with a dilemma. Do they anticipate a rot setting in, as it so often does to small squads at this juncture of a season, and add to the staff before any damage is done? Or do they heed the lesson learned by neighbours Hearts and resist the temptation to overstretch themselves? Ambition is a double-edged sword.

A gusting wind swept in through the corners of Easter Road and, at times, tossed the ball around as though it were an empty crisp bag. However, it was Dunfermline who were all over the place. For every encouraging display that Jimmy Calderwood's side have produced this season, there has been another of rank ineptitude.

The Fifers failed to bring a single save out of goalkeeper Nick Colgan, but at least their manager refused to embark on a damage-limitation exercise, pushing sweeper Justin Skinner into midfield and ending the match with five strikers on the pitch.

There was never any prospect of Dunfermline fashioning their first league win here for 39 years. From the start, they had no answer to Hibs' majestic surges upfield that invariably began on the white boots of Franck Sauzee, swept forward via John O'Neil and Latapy, and ended up on David Zitelli's red-hot toes. Their searching crossfield passes seemed to bemuse the visitors' three-man defence with embarrassing frequency.

Just six minutes had been played when Gary Smith's long, diagonal ball was knocked down by Zitelli and into the path of Ulrik Laursen. The Danish wing-back, whose blunder cost Hibs a win in Fife in September, must have been pleasantly surprised to find only flimsy resistance as he bundled into the box to slot home his first Hibs goal.

Dunfermline will rightly contend that they were not helped by injuries to a number of key players, including Ian Ferguson, David Moss and Jason Dair. Imagine, then, the frustration of Calderwood, already apoplectic about the way in which his team had fallen behind, when they were reduced to 10 men. Twelve minutes of the first half remained when Rob Matthaei, chasing back to cover Stuart Lovell, indulged in a spot of wrestling and inexplicably kicked his opponent. Referee Kenny Clark produced a card to match the scarlet of Matthaei's strip.

"It would have been difficult enough for 11 men," said Calderwood. "He has apologised to the rest of the players. It was stupid."

Calderwood made a point of criticising Stockport boss Andy Kilner for reneging on a written agreement and refusing to give on-loan defender Andy Tod back to the injury-hit Fifers before he was due to return. "You would think you could trust managers. I can't even bring myself to say his name."

Hibs had chances aplenty to bury their opponents before half-time. With Latapy running rings round man-marker Michel Doesburg, and Zitelli fulfilling the hopes he spawned in his first few weeks at the club, the Dunfermline defence was teased open almost at will. The French striker, now fully fit and settled into Hibs' attack, came close with a dipping free-kick and twice set up chances for a second. Mixu Paatelainen and O'Neil both missed from close range and it was left to Zitelli to show the way to goal and increase the home lead's reward.

The former Strasbourg striker claimed his seventh goal for the club, nine minutes after the break, in what will be remembered as a work of art by Latapy. The midfielder killed a hanging, spinning ball with ease, wriggled past Doesburg and then the goalkeeper before slapping a square ball across the face of the goal. There was no danger of Zitelli missing from two yards. Doesburg's substitution four minutes later was a telling comment on a troublesome afternoon.

Latapy also orchestrated the third. His lofted ball over the defence acted like a magnet dropping on the edge of the box, drawing Paatelainen and Marco Ruitenbeek towards each other before the Finn slotted it into the corner of the net.

The Teams:

Hibernian: Colgan, G Smith, Fenwick, Laursen, Sauzee, Jack, Lovell, J O’Neil, Latapy, Zitelli, Paatelainen.

Dunfermline: Ruitenbeek, Skinner, Skerla, Thomson, Doesburg, Crawford, Bullen, Hampshire, Matthaei, Nicholson, McGarty.

Tale from the Terracing - Fatty's View

A goal for Ulrik Laursen, his first for the club, within the opening five minutes helped Hibs settle down and give Dunfermline a lesson on passing football and running off the ball. Indeed, had Hibs taken all of their chances in this game they could easily have had seven or eight.

It does have to be said that the sending off of Matthaei virtually killed the game as a contest, but before this Hibs had shown the sort of dominance that was easily going to win the match.

Latapy was once again outstanding, and he twisted the Dunfermline defence every which way. Paatelainen and Zitelli also played well and with a goal apeice in this game showed that they are forming a formidable partnership.

It was also pleasing to see that Dirk Lehmann was given a warm welcome when he came on to replace Mixu late on.

All in all, a good performance and next weeks game against St Johnstone can't come quick enough.

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