Hibernian 2 Dundee Utd 0

November 27th 2001
Scottish League Cup
Attendance:

Scorers:
Hibernian: McManus, Luna.

This is a copy of a report of the game as it appeared in the Scotsman Wednesday 28th November 2001

Hibs back on road while Miller has off day

GIVEN their recent trials and tribulations, nobody connected with Hibs had any right to expect that any passage to a cup semi-final could be so untroubled.

This was a bad night for Dundee United, whose performance was an insult to their distinguished predecessors at Tannadice two decades ago.

They were on the way out of the CIS Insurance Cup the instant Tom McManus headed the first goal with less than a minute played.

The 60th-minute ordering-off of Charlie Miller, immediately after Paco Luna’s second, merely underlined the visitors’ inability to handle the occasion.

Even allowing for Hibs’ determination to shrug off recent moderate form with an imposing start, a goal after 51-second did seem rather extravagant.

But it was, hard though it may be to swallow, an indicator that they have somewhat slowed up in the past few weeks; on my last visit to Easter Road, they took the lead against Hearts after 37 seconds.

This latest early arrival came about noticeably more fortuitously, but young McManus’s execution was as brilliant as that of Ulises de la Cruz on derby day.

After Miller had fouled Mathias Jack, David Zitelli seemed to be attempting the impossible with a long run-up for a shot at goal from all of 35 yards.

The Frenchman’s awkwardly-struck, low drive would have bothered nobody had it not been deflected into the air by Danny Griffin, allowing McManus to come in from the inside-right position and, deliberately and coolly, head the ball high to the right of goalkeeper Paul Gallacher from 12 yards.

It was the kind of blow that could cause the victim to believe that their opponents were playing with loaded dice, but United worked extremely hard on the recovery process.

Their problem for much of the time was that industriousness was not enough to trouble a home defence which looked self-assured.

In the entire first half, the visitors failed to trouble Tony Caig once, their only notable activity in the vicinity of the latter’s goal coming from a free-kick by Miller out on the right, Jim Hamilton heading the ball several feet too high from about 12 yards’ range.

Hibs were conspicuously busier around Gallacher in this period, John O’Neil, Jack and De la Cruz having control of the midfield, strongly supported by Alen Orman breaking wide on the right and Ian Murray contributing similarly on the other flank, while Zitelli roamed between the midfield trio and the front two wherever the pickings promised to be richest.

On several occasions, the home side were denied the opportunity to exploit quick, inscisive movement into scoring areas by offside decisions which seemed debatable.

They also had their legitimate moments, keeping Jim Lauchlan and the combative Griffin ever watchful as McManus and Paco Luna used pace, guile and sharp control to present a constant threat.

McManus came close to completing a double when Zitelli supplied Murray on the left and the defender bolted to the dead-ball line before delivering a cut-back to the striker’s feet.

Back to goal, McManus hit the ball on the turn, but Lauchlan was quick enough to make the block.

The referee, Kevin Toner, has a reluctance to issue disciplinary cards which can be quite welcome, but even he was forced into punitive action when Zitelli took a dive out on the left and Griffin committed a cynical foul on McManus near Hibs’ right touchline as the striker threatened to go clear. Both were, quite properly, cautioned.

Toner’s general unwillingness to produce cards is an indicator of how serious Miller’s verbal assault must have been when the midfielder, who had made precious little contribution to the game, was ordered off in the delinquent aftermatch of Hibs’ second goal.

The visitors appeared to believe that Luna had used a hand to control the ball in the act of scoring and approached the referee en masse in the centre circle prior to the re-start.

Having pushed Lauchlan away (probably to save him from punishment), Toner was then clearly so offended by Miller’s diatribe that he showed him a straight red card.

The loss of discipline was the last thing Alex Smith, the United manager, needed.

His team’s largely pedestrian movement and lack of inventivess, to say nothing of being two behind, made the game hard enough without then being reduced to ten players.

The advantage was doubled when O’Neil broke into space just outside the left side of the United penalty area and cut the ball back to McManus.

The striker’s attempt was blocked on the line by Hamilton, but the loose ball fell to Luna, who seemed to knock it forward with his stomach before driving it high into the net from only two yards out.

It was only a little slackness that prevented Hibs from scoring a third when de la Cruz broke down the right and played the ball forward to McManus.

With United defenders everywhere but at their posts, McManus squared towards Zitelli, who had only Gallacher between himself and the net.

But the pass just lacked pace sufficiently to allow the goalkeeper to get close enough to block the Frenchman’s shot.

In a match in which United looked extremely moderate, there was never the remotest possibility of their making the semi-finals from the moment McManus inflicted that early damage.

The Teams:

Hibernian: Caig; Ormen, Smith, Laursen, Murray; De la Cruz, O’Neil, Jack; Zitelli; McManus, Luna.

Dundee Utd: Gallacher; McCracken, Griffin, Lauchlan, Aljofree; Easton, Fullerton, Hannah; Miller; Thompson, Hamilton.
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