Hibernian 1 Kilmarnock 1

November 11th 2000
Scottish Premier League
Attendance: 12,588

Scorers:
Hibernian: Paatelainen.
Kilmarnock: Wright.

This is a copy of a report of the game as it appeared in the Scotland on Sunday on Sunday 12th November 2000

Hibs found wanting

This was the outcome nobody outwith Parkhead wanted, but if truth be told, on a dismal day when the rain scudded across Leith and an icy wind instilled a chill into the most Barbour-clad bone, here was an affair in which only one side were interested in winning, and they didn’t have the guile or clever instinct to achieve that aim.

Instead, Hibernian were left to rue a squandered opportunity to climb to the summit, however temporarily, of the Premier League, whilst Kilmarnock, lying just behind them in this curious campaign, came to Edinburgh to secure a point, and duly attained that objective with the kind of grand larceny which would have delighted old Charlie Peace.

In retrospect, you really couldn’t fault the Ayrshiremen for their tactics, given the emphatic ferocity with which Paul Wright earned a share of the spoils at the 11th hour. But in many respects, this was a dreadfully disappointing finale for Hibs, a torrid, error-strewn business which did little to enhance Scottish football’s reputation at the conclusion of a week when both Old Firm representatives suffered grim European fortunes.

Sometimes, pre-match statements can return to haunt you and Alex McLeish might be grimacing a little at the thought of how he previewed this joust, in glowing terms, wearing his Don King hat for the benefit of the programme. "It says much for the state of the current game that a fixture between Hibernian and Kilmarnock can rightly be labelled the Match of the Weekend," McLeish had written, with reference to these clubs’ exalted positions in the highest echelons. Yet, amidst the initial skirmishes, with David Zitelli the immediate victim of scything tackle, and Franck Sauzee performing so deep in Hibs territory that his unfamiliarity with the concept of defence almost gifted the visitors an early goal, it was scarcely surprising that the flame-haired McLeish should be up and down like a modern-day Messalina, as the crowd bayed for blood, if only because there was precious little else to shout about.

Occasionally, to be fair, there would be fleeting signs of something silkier, one deft jink and feint from Russell Latapy earning deserved purrs of satisfaction from the home support, who had previously flocked to purchase the new club video "Six of the Best" as squirm-inducing Christmas presents for their work colleagues of the Jambo persuasion. But whereas as in recent outings - and particularly during that Edinburgh derby rout which probably had more to do with Jim Jefferies’ sad departure from Hearts than Chris Robinson will admit - McLeish’s troops were all nimble passing movements and clever continuity, here, throughout a depressingly bad opening half hour, they perpetrated a string of mistakes and plumped far too frequently for the aerial route, imprecisely delivered.

Sauzee, at least, was all classy endeavour and poise in his role as master conductor and suddenly, just as a squally shower enveloped Easter Road, Kilmarnock found themselves blitzed by a storm on the pitch which sent Hibs ahead in the 53rd minute. Mercifully dispensing with their hi-jinks, John O’Neil fed on Ulrik Laursen, a pacy little dervish down the flank, and when he brilliantly released Zitelli, the latter fired over a metronomic cross which was rifled into the net by Mixu Paatelainen for his hundredth league goal in British football.

As an example of the fashion in which Hibs can switch from the mundane to the magnificent, here surely was the perfect microcosm. It was also a reminder of how someone such as Paatelainen, a portly galleon apparently forever becalmed in journeyman territory, has resurrected his menace in the twilight of his career.

Referee David Somers’ surname belied the increasingly wintry climactic conditions, and the locals vented their fury at the official when he cautioned Mathias Jack on the resumption.

Yet, sadly, for the 900 or so travellers from Ayrshire in the crowd, there were lengthy stretches of this encounter when it seemed that Kilmarnock’s bubble had well and truly burst.

Yet, to their credit, they persisted with their sweaty, muscular strategy, and when Williamson replaced Gary Hay with Craig Dargo as the hour passed, the newcomer almost equalised with a rasping shot which reminded the hosts that their cushion was too slim for comfort.

Paatelainen soon had an absolutely gilt-wrapped chance to seal victory. With nary an opponent near him, big Mixu cocked the trigger, took aim carefully. . . and then discovered somebody had forgotten to load the gun, leaving the big Finn looking like more like a king-sized Swede.

Yet if he felt bad as he was substituted by Dirk Lehmann, heaven only knows how he must have been wincing a few minutes later when Kilmarnock replacement Wright conjured up a superb reply from Alan Mahood’s pass, and, blasting an unstoppable strike past Nick Colgan, who had barely been required to do more than observe for the rest of the afternoon.

It yielded the result, of course, which offered solace to just one man - Martin O’Neill - while Paatelainen will surely be shaking his head this Remembrance Sunday at the recollection of an opportunity spurned.

The Teams:

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

Kilmarnock: Marshall, MacPherson, Innes, Dindeleux, Hay, Mitchell, Durrant, Mahood, Cocard, McLaren, Canero.

Tale from the Terracing - Fatty's View

A draw was probably a fair result, but Hibs seemed to be hanging on as the final whistle blew.

A confident first half in which Hibs took the lead and played some delightfull football, gave way to a nervy second half. Kilmarnock came back in to the game and grew in confidence as the second half progressed.

Mixu's goal was quite beautifully worked down the left by O'Neil and Lauressen before Zitelli played a tremendous ball accross the area for Mixu to score.

That chance apart, the game produced few clear cut scoring opportunities.

Killie stepped up the pace in the second half and when they introduced Paul Wright the Hibs fans sensed that things could go wrong and sure enough they did. He finished off a late Kilmarnock chance and two points were lost.

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