Hibernian 2 Dundee 2

27 April 2002
Scottish Premier League
Attendance:

Scorers:
Hibernian: Townsley, O'Connor.
Dundee: .

This is a copy of a report of the game as it appeared in the Scotland on Sunday on Sunday 28th April 2002

Late goal denies Hibs victory

A MAXIMUM 12 points from their four clashes with Dundee last season, a meagre one this time round. A statistic which perhaps says it all about how Hibs’ season has gone.

And, in fact, these 90 minutes probably encapsulated the entire season, Hibs, as has so often happened, dominating a match but unable to kill off their opponents, a situation which has left them vulnerable on too many occasions to mention.

All too often Hibs have fallen victim to what has proved to be their Achilles’ heel this season, the loss of late goals.

Dundee had exploited that weakness on their last visit to Easter Road back in October and once again Ivano Bonetti’s players took full advantage of still being in the position of being able to hurt Hibs in a match in which they had been outplayed for long periods.

"Losing such a late goal makes it feel more like a defeat," has been the all too frequent moan from the players in green and white, the individual giving vent to that feeling on this occasion being Derek Townsley who, for the second week in succession, had put Hibs ahead early in the match.

While boss Bobby Williamson could perhaps seek some consolation from the fact that his side hadn’t been beaten - unlike on Dundee’s last foray to Leith - he, too, was perplexed at how his players had picked up a single point rather than all three.

It’s a conundrum, however, which also troubled his predecessors this season, Alex McLeish and Franck Sauzee, the Easter Road outfit’s propensity to leak a late goal having proved costly against not only the Dens Park outfit but Dundee United, Kilmarnock, Aberdeen (twice), Hearts and Dunfermline.

Those errors have proved costly, add together the points dropped and it wouldn’t be out of place to argue that Hibs could well have been enjoying top-six football these past few weeks rather than being locked in a series of what, to all intents and purposes, are meaningless matches.

It’s a laxity which Williamson will no doubt be addressing over the summer months, the Hibs boss aware that on their day his side are as good as most in the SPL when it comes to going forward.

At times during this match their outfield play was a delight to watch with veteran striker Craig Brewster turning in a virtuoso performance as he showed any aspiring centre-forward exactly how to lead the line.

Brewster may not have found the net since that 2-1 defeat by Dundee in October, exactly six months prior to this latest encounter, the 35-year-old having, of course, been hampered by a shoulder operation which kept him out for half that time.

But if he isn’t scoring then Garry O’Connor is certainly reaping the benefits of Brewster’s experience, the 18-year-old claiming his eighth goal in as many games as his team-mate’s quick thinking turned a poor clearance from Dundee goalkeeper Julian Speroni into an opening.

True, there was still some work for O’Connor - who has acknowledged the contribution his elder is making - and he produced a superb angled shot across Speroni and into the far corner. It was, though, the quick thinking of Brewster, who had also lent a hand to Townsley’s opening goal, which had created the opening in the first place.

The former Dundee United and Ionikos star is, of course, out of contract at the end of this season and like most other clubs Hibs in these straightened times are going to find making ends meet difficult.

The board of directors took the opportunity to reinforce the warning carried in Friday’s Evening News that the club will be forced to make swinging cuts by handing out leaflets to fans before the game, but afterwards Williamson, as he has done before, underlined his desire to keep Brewster.

It would be fair to say his signing didn’t exactly catch the imagination, many seeing his arrival as a stop-gap, hasty acquisition to replace the departing Mixu Paatelainen.

And while Brewster’s style may differ from that of the rumbustious Finn, he has proved his worth, Williamson going as far as to suggest that if he was perhaps a few years’ younger he’d be worthy of a look from Scotland boss Berti Vogts.

The Hibs boss said: "Craig is a fantastic player. Garry is getting all the plaudits and rightly so for the goals he is scoring but Craig has done great for the kid. He’s a player who could have been capped for Scotland but perhaps age means that is now beyond him. He is a fantastic talent, he certainly plays his part unselfishly. Craig has been a great acquisition."

Williamson admitted the financial uncertainty which has gripped Scottish football in the wake of the demise of the proposed SPL TV channel made it unclear as to whether Hibs could afford to keep Brewster, revealing that a return to Greece could be one option for a player who spent five years in that country.

He said: "It would be great if we could keep Craig but I can understand if the club can’t afford to keep him. It would make my job harder but that’s the world over."

Asked if he felt Brewster was playing the best football of his career, Williamson pointed out that he hadn’t witnessed his striker’s five years with Ionikos. But he added: "He must have done well because I understand there’s still an option for him to go back there. He’s been a pleasure to work with, a great professional and the young lads can learn a lot from his game."

All the good work of Brewster and his team-mates was undone, however, as Fabian Caballero was allowed to waltz through Hibs’ defence to cancel out Townsley’s opener and, just two minutes from the end, substitute Steven Milne rose unchallenged to nod home Caballero’s cross from just six yards out.

Williamson was obviously disappointed to have conceded such a late goal but he found it hard to fault his team’s effort. He said: "I don’t know how we didn’t win the game but that’s why we watch football, you never know what is going to happen. I thought we were going to win but we got a bit sloppy with people not aware of what was happening around them in the box.

"It cost us two points but I thought I got a fantastic performance from the guys. We worked hard and deserved more from the game.

"We knocked the ball around really well, we created chances and I was pleased with that. I was also pleased the fans who turned up saw an entertaining match although we only managed a draw."

Williamson admitted he was particularly delighted for Townsley, a player who had hinted he may have to leave Hibs given the lack of opportunity to start matches earlier in the season.

And the renaissance he has enjoyed under Williamson has, Townsley revealed, changed his mind about wanting to leave Easter Road.

He said: "The whole picture has changed. I spoke to the gaffer as soon as he took charge, as did all the players. We discussed one or two things and I am more than happy to stay and plug away.

"I’m finishing off the season pretty well and hopefully that will be fresh in the manager’s mind at the start of next season.

"I’m enjoying my football again, I’d have to go back to my first season at Motherwell to recall enjoying it so much, and it is a shame the season is coming to an end for me on a personal level.

"It’s been a wee bit frustrating but the boss was up-front, telling me to bide my time and if the chance came to grab it.

"That was my fourth goal for the club and I have not a bad goals-to-starts ratio and it is a shame there is only one game to go."

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