Hibernian 2 Kilmarnock 2

July 28th 2001
Scottish Premier League
Attendance: 12,717

Scorers:
Hibernian: Sauzee, Laursen.
Kilmarnock: Ngonge, Cocard.

This is a copy of a report of the game as it appeared in the Scotland on Sunday on Sunday 29th July 2001

Laursen makes Hibs happy

Hibs really should not have had to scramble for a point against a Kilmarnock outfit that survived long periods of bombardment to twice snatch the lead. But neither manager can be too critical after Scotland’s other European hopefuls served up an intriguing, and often thrilling, match.

The new season was to begin not only with the inevitable plethora of new faces and a new Easter Road Main Stand, but with an air of anticipation enveloping the ground for the first time in years. Far from their unhappy spell spent flirting with relegation, last season’s renaissance saw Hibs emerge as the only serious challengers to Glasgow’s big two. Of course, the downside of their achievements is that expectations are considerably higher than before.

The fact that manager Alex McLeish is still in the hot seat after a summer speculation as to when he would depart is another huge fillip to the support who now regard him as a totemic figure. The more unkind would argue that Big Eck’s visage would not look out of place on a cartoon pole, but with every knock he took he gained the experience that surely guarantees an exciting future.

And don’t bother trying to tell a Leither that their side has no chance of splitting the Old Firm this season either. Truisms only get to be that way because they are true, and football and logic mix as readily as water and electricity.

The bubble of expectancy, however, was pricked only a handful of seconds into the fourth minute. Franck Sauzee, the rock on which Hibs’ good form is so often anchored, showed uncharacteristic hesitation as he prepared to deal with Ally Mitchell’s long throw. Visiting debutant Michel Ngonge was quick to capitalise.

The big Belgian striker flashed past the wrong-footed Sauzee before rifling a low shot behind Nick Colgan. Quite an introduction to Scottish football, and he was soon given lesson two - no matter how good your goal, rude hand gestures will get you booked.

From that point, though, most of the rest of the period was spent in the Kilmarnock half. The visiting defence must have wondered exactly what was hitting them as Hibs battered balls in from all angles.

John O’Neil’s work on the right side was more than matched by one of four Hibs men making their Easter Road debuts. Ulises de la Cruz, the powerful little man whose arrival has caused the sale of Ecuadorian international shirts to rocket in Edinburgh, was involved in everything of note to come from the left flank, and the player who benefited most was fellow new boy Craig Brewster. The ex-Dundee United man, given the No9 shirt previously worn by Mixu Paatelainen, had a handful of decent chances that he could not capitalise on.

Maybe it was the shock of being back in Scotland after his spell in Greek football, but it seemed that there was a little rustiness in Brewster’s legs, though he gave Gordon Marshall in the Kilmarnock goal a couple of scares.

Brewster’s presence alone was enough to unsettle the visiting defence, and create openings for others. Both De la Cruz and Ian Murray were to pass up chances.

It was no surprise then that the home side were to draw level, but they had to earn a penalty to do it. With just over five minutes left to the interval Francisco Luna, another of the novice Hibees, took Uli Laursen’s cross in the box as Marshall came to meet him. We could see it coming, and so could the Spaniard, who responded to Marshall’s challenge as if he had been hit by a bus. It was a penalty, but the striker was just making sure. Sauzee dispatched the spot-kick high behind the keeper with real intent.

Any hopes of Hibs going on to take the lead they, probably, deserved on balance of play were dashed in first-half injury time. Again the home defence were found wanting. Mitchell’s low ball from the left should not have troubled the back line, but they seemed to get sucked in towards it. And when Ngonge missed his kick in the middle of the goal, Christophe Cocard was alone at the back post to fire past Colgan.

The second period began as the first had ended, with the home side camped in the Killie half. Luna’s desire for the equaliser verged so much on the hysterical that his penalty claims in the 52nd minute earned him a caution for a quite outrageous dive.

For all the effort, there was very little in the way of clear-cut scoring chances, and we had to wait until the 73rd minute for Marshall to save smartly at Brewster’s feet.

That looked as if it could well be it, until just eight minutes from time. Gary Hay ended any threat of danger when he headed the ball behind his own goal line, but the corner, taken by substitute David Zitelli, was met by the lurking Laursen, who sent a powerful header down and bouncing over the floundering Mitchell on the goalline.

It was the least that McLeish’s men deserved for their efforts and the celebrations were tinged as much with relief and a sense of justice as true elation.

Performances like this bode well for both sides, but as McLeish and counterpart Bobby Williamson will attest, there’s a long way to go.

The Teams:

Hibernian: Colgan, Laursen, De La Cruiz, G Smith, Orman, Sauzee, Jack, J O’Neil, Murray, Luna, Brewster.

Kilmarnock:

Tale from the Terracing - Fatty's View

An expectant crowd turned up to take their places in the new stand and to see four of Hibs new summer signings on show.

The new players did well with De La Cruiz catching the eye in particular. His second half performance had Killie panicking everytime he got the ball.

The others all did well, with Brewster filling Mixu's place nicely and Luna looking as though he has a bit of skill. He will have to stop the amateur dramatics though!

Alan Orman also did well, although he seemed to be running on empty for the last half hour.

As for Hibs performance - they were caught cold early on and then fought for the next forty minutes to get on level terms. After managing this through a Sauzee penalty they lost another poor goal on the stroke of half time.

The second half was all Hibs as they pushed forward looking for an equaliser. After creating a number of good chances, it was left to big Ulli Laursen to score with a header from a fine Zitteli corner.

Next week sees the Hibs travel to Dundee, I'm sure another full week of training will only be good for the team.

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