Dundee 1 Hibernian 0

January 12th 2002
Scottish Premier League
Attendance:

Scorers:
Dundee: Zhiyi.

This is a copy of a report of the game as it appeared in the Scotland on Sunday on Sunday 13th January 2002

Fan calms Dundee storm

HAD both managers induldged in a spot of tic-tac-toe for the honour of first pick from the men in the stands and then taken it turnabout until the teamsheet was filled, this game could not have looked any more like a playground kickabout.

All that was missing was the jumpers for goalposts and the sense of fun that usually accompanies such schoolboy frivolities.

Lacking cohesion, composure and an instinctive understanding of each other’s runs and movement, the players looked as though they had met for the first time in the dressing room and after a first half that prompted little but desenting diatribes from the fans and dulled the enthusiasm of all but the most optimistic observer, the only surprise was the fact that both teams were welcomed back on to the pitch by cheers and applause.

It was probably more an expression of hope than expectation and as both teams are trapped in lengthy runs of sub-standard performances, devoid of victories, hope is something these supporters are clinging to like it was the final lifejacket on a sinking ship.

While Dundee have long been lamented as a frustratingly-inconsistent mixed bag of flair and frailties, likely to yo-yo back and forth up the league, it is the demise of the Easter Road side that is so comment-worthy. A shadow of the side that swaggered through the majority of last season with a overflowing sense of self-belief, they look shaky and with every stray pass, of which their were many, you could see the confidence drain further.

Players are no longer demanding the ball and when it arrives it is treated like an unexploded bomb.

Hibs have yet to record a win under Franck Sauzee but while it is hard to comprehend how a side managed by such a graceful and intelligent player can produce a display as shoddy as this one, the Frenchman’s fault has been only that he has been unable to stop the rot already inherent in the squad he inherited.

Before he was appointed, Hibs were already more than halfway along their 13-game streak without a win and on this evidence that run could yet be extended by a good few games unless Sauzee can manage to do from the dug-out what he did so successfully on a pitch and instil confidence in the men around about him.

The Edinburgh side actually had the greater possession in the opening 45 minutes but with quality crosses at a premium at both ends of the pitch and those trundlers that did make it being squandered, sclaffed or missed entirely by the Hibs strikeforce, it became clear why they have only notched one goal under Sauzee and slumped to second-bottom spot.

Any rhythm they had developed up front was disturbed 23 minutes into the match when Tam McManus was forced off injured.

Another enforced early exit, this time in the 66th minute, when, following Dundee’s winning goal, Freddie Arpinon was red-carded, merely sealed Hibs’s fate. The incident, which initially went unnoticed by the referee but was pointed out by the fourth official, left Sauzee looking gutted. The fact it was apparently for spitting will do little to bolster the manager’s mood.

A wily player, who was one of the best at reading a game, he knew there and then that there was no way back. Being both a goal and a player down is a hurdle some teams could have cleared but it was the fact that his players’ heads were also down that forced him to round his shoulders and disappear yet further into his bulky jacket.

Last season Hibs were victorious in the four league meetings between this pair, this season the tables have been turned. That is now three out of three for the Tayside men, who have a lot to thank men like Temuri Ketsbaia for, another that fits the infuriating mould from which Ivano Bonetti seems to set his players before shipping them into Dens Park. At least he had drive and a bit of grit yesterday and while his early shooting was so far off target to be entered into the woeful bracket, the fact he at least had a pop seemed to embue the men around him with some added sense of purpose.

While Dundee were as culpable as their visitors in the first half, there was always the feeling that they have players capable of pulling something out of the hat and their patience paid off yesterday.

In a second half that was not much prettier but laced with a tad more passion, they bided their time. Ketsbaia watched a fierce drive rebound off the post but eventually, in 66 minutes, they made the breakthrough when a flustered Hibs defence failed to clear adequately and substitute Khaled Kemas fed a cross over to the waiting Fan Zhiyi, who finished from about three yards out.

It brought to a halt Dundee’s own run of five home games without a win but extended Hibs’ misery.

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