St Mirren 1 Hibernian 1

November 25th 2000
Scottish Premier League
Attendance: 5,255

Scorers:
Hibernian: O'Neil.
St Mirren: McGarry.

This is a copy of a report of the game as it appeared in the Scotland on Sunday on Sunday 26th November 2000

Colgan slip puts Hibs on the slide

The pace begins to tell on Edinburgh’s title pretenders as McGarry’s late strike gives St Mirren a deserved point

THE two St Mirren mascots accorded VIP status by being interviewed trackside before kick-off were, it was announced over the Tannoy, appearing in the roles for the second time this season. The shortage of available bodies at the Paisley club knows no bounds.

Manager Tom Hendrie pined ahead of the encounter that the 16 players stripped amounted to the number of fit men at his disposal. Yet, in the end, the player most instrumental to his side’s injury-time equaliser wore a Hibs shirt. Laudable effort alone hadn’t been enough for Hendrie’s men until, with seconds remaining, goalkeeper Nick Colgan tried to collect a punt rolling towards him, let the greasy ball slip from his grasp, and gave Steven McGarry the room to slot it into an unguarded net.

It was just about deserved. Hibs failed to capitalise on going in front after seven minutes through John O’Neill, who tucked an angled drive deep in the right-hand corner of Derek Scrimgour’s net for a goal that seemed destined to provide his side with their first win in four games.

It didn’t because Hibs went in to shut-down mode after a first 45 in which they had several decent opportunities they were too careless in making the most of.

McLeish, though, chose to blame his backline. "We have got to be harder in defence," he said, showing an unwillingness to criticise Colgan publicly.

A riverboat gambler wouldn’t have taken a punt on St Mirren escaping the clutches of the First Division for more than a season. So it has to be said that so far their performances, if not their results, have exceeded expectations. Even though they were down to the bare bones of their squad - and to that early goal - there remained something admirable about the way they applied themselves, despite their endeavours all too often taking on a desperate look.

They scampered and harried as Hibs threatened to exert a measure of control over a rather grim encounter, at times appearing like dogs trying to chase their own tails. Their graft was rendered fruitless in the first half as a consequence of a surfeit of short-passing - which invited their opponents to squeeze the play and lead the Paisley men down on-field cul-de-sacs.

Hibs exhibited a lax streak that may be borne of a mental tiredness as the realisation begins to sink in that being everyone’s favourite title challengers is a tough gig to sustain over four months, never mind the season. The odd absentee - yesterday it was Franck Sauzee, missing with a calf strain - has disrupted the fluency the Easter Road men possessed in their pomp of, say, a month ago, and in its place, at Love Street anyway, were pockets of excellence but sackfuls of ordinariness.

O’Neill, over and above his measured finish, showed up well, his industry as impressive as the moment of artistry he produced, while David Zitelli’s Gallic flourish was apparent in a 20th-minute dipping free-kick that goalkeeper Derek Scrimgour had more hands on than your average Florida ballot paper before pushing it wide of goal.

Heavy surfaces, to say nothing of their heavy programme, might be starting to take their toll on Hibs’ 30-year-old-plus performers such as Mixu Paatelainen and Russell Latapy. When McLeish’s men were delighting, these sorts seized the focus; yesterday they were heavy-legged and notable, mainly, for being anonymous.

It is significant that the Edinburgh side were attempting to end a three-game run without a win in Paisley, a sequence containing the - let’s face it - inexplicable 2-0 defeat at home to Aberdeen a week ago. The Easter Road draw with Kilmarnock which preceded it, and defeat by the same opponents in the CIS Cup to complete the winless run, were understandable, a doing by the Pittodrie men never is. This said, to bounce back with a victory, any kind of victory, would have set up Hibs for what they will consider the mother of all table-topping confrontations on Wednesday, when McLeish’s side will go toe-to-toe with Celtic in their own backyard.

And what remains true of Hibs is that the strings they have to their bow are just as likely to allow them to produce sweet music against the would-be masters of the Scottish game as when facing sides of the plucky variety. Indeed, Hibs became increasingly uncomfortable in handling St Mirren towards the end of a second period in which the home side enjoyed a territorial advantage. This was partly because Hibs conceded ground to them, but had more to do with the resolve demonstrated by Hendrie’s men.

Having lost 14 goals in their previous three games, the Paisley side would have been entitled to think that by the 90-minute mark defeat No.4 was certain. A Colgan calamity might ultimately have warded it off, but keeping on keeping on could be the means by which they ensure they can continue to stare down at Dundee United. Hendrie believes defeat yesterday might have made this a far more difficult trick to pull off. "If we had lost after that effort it might have affected our morale," he said. Meanwhile, Hibs, on current trends, may soon have to get used to looking up to more than Celtic in the SPL table.

The Teams:

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

St Mirren: Scrimgour, McKenzie, Bowman, McGowan, Turner, McLaughlin, Baltavha, Murray, Gillies, Fenton, Brown.

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