September 23rd 2001
Scottish Premier League
Attendance:
Scorers:
Hibernian: Luna, Fenwick, Brebner, Smart.
This is a copy of a report of the game as it appeared in the Scotsman on Monday September 24th 2001.
THIS was a straightforward affirmation of status. Hibs proved that they remain the third strongest force in Scottish football by virtue of their ability to win convincingly without overdoing the aplomb, while a 4-0 defeat warned that St Johnstone may be without peers in their limitations.
Four goals better than their opponents for the second Sunday in a row, Hibs rampaged in the second half at Easter Road and might have had a scoresheet listing six or seven had substitute Tom McManus and man-of-the-match Paco Luna been more ruthless with chances in the final ten minutes.
In a way, this was the only kind of fillip that could have sent Alex McLeish’s side into their daunting assignment against AEK Athens on Thursday night with any realistic optimism of gaining the three goals they need.
Of course, the defending will be far more stringent when the Greeks come to protect their two-goal lead in their UEFA Cup encounter, but at least there are four Hibs players who will now be better geared to accept any chances that might come their way.
McLeish expressed delight at the performance of an experimental back-four comprising Ulrik Laursen, Paul Fenwick, Ian Murray and Alen Orman - which is a good thing as Franck Sauzee will struggle to be fit for Thursday and Gary Smith is almost certainly out.
"I was very pleased with the mentality of the players out there. If there was any tiredness around they didn’t show it," rang the manager’s praise.
"We have had good quality on the sidelines in recent weeks, and Paco Luna has really stepped up his sharpness in training - you saw the ability of the boy."
Goals from Luna, Fenwick, Grant Brebner and Allan Smart led Hibs back into the clear third place in the SPL they cradled throughout last season, and disposed of a St Johnstone side whose defiance in recent drawn fixtures has masked the devils that get inside their system and wreak havoc once they go more than a goal behind.
Three points adrift of managerless Motherwell - whose enforced state of transition, typically, has provided the kind of impetus St Johnstone lack - Sandy Clark’s side must roll their socks up for the relegation favourites’ encounter in Perth next Saturday.
Clark, though, continues to protest that he has the situation under control.
"I don’t think 4-0 was a fair judgment of the game," he said after this demoralising thumping.
"In the first half there wasn’t much in it, we missed a good chance and then for a ten-minute spell we really looked very vulnerable.
"But I don’t feel any pressure at all," he added. "I’ve been in football a long time, seen lots of ups and downs, and at the moment we are just having to hang in there and get through it."
The main problem for Clark here was that his side, communicating in tidy passing triangles, lacked penetration.
Darren Jackson, at the centre of most of their shapely moves, shrugged off the howls of those fans who once feted him to prove that he is not quite a spent force, completing a fine move with a whizzing shot close to Nick Colgan’s crossbar in the 12th minute.
But Hibs’ opening goal was a case of everything clicking at the right time.
Certainly neither of the men who formed it, Ulises de la Cruz and Luna, had previously suggested they were capable of being so clinical. Luna, running into the referee and directing free headers ten yards wide, had looked rusty, while Ecuadorian De La Cruz’s contribution to the game was just as error-strewn until his moment of mastery arrived.
Beating Ross Forsyth with a swagger on the right, the Ecuadorian curled his right foot around the ball and Luna timed his run and jump to perfection, sneaking between two defenders and glancing a downward header beyond Kevin Cuthbert.
After the break, Orman caused a panic in the Hibs defence with a horrendous fresh-air kick at an innocuous cross, but Willie Falconer struck the ball into the body of the on-rushing Colgan when he might have been better-advised to try and lift it over him.
From this point onwards, St Johnstone simply fell apart. From a gentle John O’Neil corner, Fenwick managed to flick a header into the far corner with both Jim Weir and Stuart McCluskey going for the ball instead of one of them opting to man the post.
The first two goals had been greeted by the St Johnstone players with expressions of bravado and encouragement. The third, just three minutes later, induced a collective sigh of dread.
It was a well-taken effort by Brebner, pulling the ball down at the edge of the box and striking it on the half-volley, and almost immediately De La Cruz was producing a third assist for Hibs’ fourth.
He received the ball on the right-hand side of the box and knew he only had to outpace Jackson to reach the byline. This was achieved without difficulty, and Smart ran in front of his marker to divert the cross home from close range. Smart, starting a game for the first time since December, was gleeful to mark the occasion with a first goal since Watford were in the Premiership the season before last.
He should have easily set up Luna for the fifth, but struck his left-footed pass straight at Cuthbert when the Spaniard was running clear through the middle. The fact that Luna provided his striking partner with an encouraging round of applause said much about its insignificance.
The Teams:
Hibernian: Colgan, De La Cruz, Orman, Murray, Fenwick, Laursen, Jack, J O’Neil, Brebner, Luna, Smart.
St Johnstone: Cuthbert, Dods, Weir, McCluskey, Dasovic, Kemble, Murray, Lovenkrands, McBride, Forsyth, Falconer, Jackson.
A stroll in the park for Hibs! Forced to make a number of changes after Thursday's match Hibs started this game lethargically but ran out easy winners with 4-0 flattering Saints.
A new strike force of Smart and Luna seemed to take a while to gel, however both players managed to get on the scoresheet with Luna scoring the first and Smart bagging the fourth.
In between, a strong header from Fenwick and a fine strike from Grant Brebner, after some good control, put Hibs on easy street.
Although Luna was given man of the match, I can't help think that John O'neil should have received the award. His work in midfield was unrelenting and superb.
So, back at Easter Road on Thursday for the 2nd leg against AEK - let's hope a full house can roar Hibs through to the next round.
See you Thursday!
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