Motherwell 1 Hibernian 3

December 3rd 2000
Scottish Premier League
Attendance: 5,771

Scorers:
Hibernian: Zitelli(2), Townsley(o.g.).
Motherwell: Elliott.

This is a copy of a report of the game as it appeared in the Scotsman on Monday 4th December 2000

Zitelli rocket keeps Hibs well on track

There is a school of thought that the removal of Russell Latapy and Franck Sauzee would have a disfiguring effect and would rob this Hibernian team of their edge.

Increasingly, David Zitelli’s name has cause to be added to that equation.

Zitelli scored an overhead kick against Dundee a month ago that convinced any doubters of his class. But, in Scotland, class tends not to lie low for too long, and last night it resurfaced in an almost single-handed destruction of Motherwell.

After an early period of a ascendancy from the home side the French striker opened the scoring, and within 16 minutes of play he had wrapped up the points. Hibs’ third, a sublime strike from Zitelli, came after a glaring own goal from Ged Brannan and gave a somewhat unjust slant to the scoreline.

But Hibs had only won once at Fir Park in their last 11 visits, and, with Rangers hinting at a resurgence, the ending of such a hoodoo could not have been better-timed.

Alex McLeish, of course, used to run this show, and it is easy to forget - when you recall low points of his tenure at Fir Park such as the European exit at the hands of Mypa 47 - that it was he who guided Motherwell to a second place-finish in 1994/95. That was the club’s finest post-war performance.

Hibs were not far behind that year, also coming in ahead of Celtic in third place, but from this campaign their fans have already garnered more pleasure. The continual insistence of McLeish to play down the season’s prospects means that he will not be left looking foolish in the not unthinkable event of Motherwell finishing higher than them in the league.

But as long as the team remains intact they cannot be ruled out of the race for the two Champions League berths.

Hibs started with Mike Franks in goal for the first time this season, the Canadian coming in for Nick Colgan, who was taken off with a hamstring injury against Celtic. Motherwell were able to retain the continuity apparent in their recent upsurge in results, and lined up with the same side that beat St Mirren 2-0 here in midweek.

Billy Davies had clearly told his boys to pepper some shots at the untried keeper, and the tactic was justified. Franks displayed a degree of uncertainty in palming out a long-range effort by Corrigan, and later scuffed a kick-out along the ground, luckily to a team-mate near the centre circle. In between, a dreadful defensive pass from Mixu Paatelainen had exposed Franks as an easy target for Derek Townsley, but to the keeper’s relief the shot was blocked.

Considering Motherwell’s hefty abundance of tall players - Lee McCulloch, Kevin Twaddle and Townsley in attack, Ged Brannan in the middle and Benito Kemble and Greg Strong in defence - Davies has drilled into his team a relatively neat passing game. For most of the first half they were far slicker than their rather disorganised opponents, but lacked a cutting edge and came no nearer to a reward than when Ged Brannan struck a free-kick narrowly wide.

Prior to scoring, Hibs had shown little composure in attack, with Paatelainen and Ulrik Laursen sending shots from unlikely positions wildly over. But the opening goal was a fine example of opportunism, Zitelli wrapping his leg around Stephen McMillan as the defender naively attempted to shepherd John O’Neil’s pass-back to Stevie Woods, and poking it home from 15 yards.

Zitelli had wasted several corners in the first half but his first after the break was far more effective. Swinging the ball in from the right , the Frenchman found the head of Matthias Jack, whose faint flick at the near post caused chaos. Townsley and Brannan tried to clear the danger simultaneously, and between them contrived to put the ball into their own net.

Soon Zitelli was back in the thick of it, setting up Latapy. His touch carried him past Corrigan and into a clear scoring position, but Woods blocked admirably with his left foot.

Any notion Motherwell had of reducing the deficit after that save was quickly phased out when Zitelli scored his second best goal of the season. A perfectly-timed run past Corrigan was complemented by Latapy’s pass, and from a sharp angle he surprised Woods with a sumptuous strike beyond his right hand and into the top corner.

But a three-goal deficit was rough justice on poor Motherwell. "We only want 6-0" sang the Hibs fans, and Zitelli responded by being booked for a deliberate handball.

The ever-meticulous McLeish was less than impressed and became further animated when Jack was short with a regulation pass to Latapy. With slackness threatening to manifest itself, Sauzee failed to cut out a through ball and Twaddle struck a decent shot which Franks did well to gather.

Again it was Sauzee that allowed Motherwell some cheer, his over-confidence in the corner allowing the ball to reach Stuart Elliott, who emphatically tucked away his seventh goal of the season.

But with only seven minutes remaining, the subsequent revival of Motherwell’s challenge may have been more telling had so many of their fans not given up long before.

The Teams:

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

Motherwell: Woods, Corrigan, Kemble, Strong, Hammell, Townsley, Brannan, Leitch, McMillan, McCulloch, Twaddle.

Tale from the Armchair - Fatty's View

Circumstances meant that I had to watch this game on TV, so my view was a bit restricted this week.

The first half saw Hibs play some nice, patient, passing football, with the midfield in particular looking very sharp. Hibs got their reward for this late in the first half when a through ball eventually fell to Zitelli, who steered it past Woods to open the scoring.

With the late equaliser Hibs conceded last week still fresh in the fans mind, it was essential that Hibs should look to score again to avoid a nervey finish. All fears were alleviated when Townsley saw the ball ricochet off him into the net following a Zitelli corner. 2-0!

The best goal was left to last, Russell Latapy spotted Zitelli making a run up the left wing and played in the perfect ball. Zitelli then closed in on goal, and from a tight angle he scored high into the net.

Hibs were then a bit guilty of taking their foot off the pedal and slack defending allowed Motherwell to score a late consolation.

A fine result for Hibs though, after going four games without a win. With two home games against Dunfermline and St Johnstone next, they must look to pick up six points and keep in there at the top.

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