November 3rd 2001
Scottish Premier League
Attendance:
This is a copy of a report of the game as it appeared in the Scotland on Sunday on Sunday 4th November 2001
THIS was one of those endless encounters that was trundling quite harmlessly along in the direction of a goalless draw until the head of hapless Jesus Sanjuan altered the path of an Alen Orman cross to send the offending ball past a helpless Kilmarnock keeper Gordon Marshall.
However, it transpired this was not a goal, with the linesman flagging for offside. The Hibs fans were left devastated in only taking a point away from Rugby Park, while Kilmarnock could take some consolation from the fact that they didn’t end up with four defeats on the trot.
The gap between these two slothful SPL starters remains three points, but it would be difficult to pick holes in the argument that this was a fairly dour and joyless affair for the football fan.
Noticeable deficiencies in both squads due to a combo of injuries, suspensions and, in Hibs left back Ulises de la Cruz’s case, international commitments allowed some fringe acts the rare chance to pull off commanding performances.
Big Mathias Jack, back from a ban to take his place in the Hibs midfield, grabbed his share of the early limelight, stampeding forth when given the opportunity by his Kilmarnock counterparts to support the front pairing of David Zitelli and Craig Brewster. Despite the German’s admirable alacrity openings were not forthcoming.
This was Kilmarnock’s first home outing since they were tanked so terribly by Livingston a fortnight ago. Bobby Williamson’s men had restored some confidence to the ranks with last week’s obstinate showing at Celtic Park, but it still remained that they had lost their last three games on the trot.
Much the same story for Hibs, despite that fairly recent rousing Edinburgh derby win. A sore defeat to Dundee last week and both Hibs and Kilmarnock find themselves being upstaged in the Who’s Going To Win A UEFA Cup Place stakes by those young pretenders Livingston and Aberdeen.
The feeling persists that the current SPL landscape will alter in due course to show more familiarity, but on the modest evidence of the first-half here at Rugby Park you do wonder.
As a suffocating affair crawled towards the interval neither keeper could lay claim to having made a save or been bothered to any extent. Towards the break the visitors caused a couple of small kerfuffles. Grant Brebner went for a header in the Kilmarnock box and his teammates claimed he was impeded by Mickael Pizzo, but the referee could not have cared less and Gordon Marshall in goal cleared the ball to safety. Moments later Tom McManus operating wide on the right for Hibs made the home byline and sent in a menacing low cross but Kevin McGowne was on hand to clear the danger.
No Franck Sauzee at the back yesterday for Hibs due to an Achilles problem, but the Edinburgh rearguard were not exactly being put to the sword by Kilmarnock. Only St Johnstone lag behind them in the goal-shy stakes, but Williamson was without the striking services of Craig Dargo and Andy McLaren. So Jerome Vareille, after a surprise appearance at Celtic Park last week, began again with Chris Boyd offering the supporting role.
If any party was going to sever the deadlock, though, it looked like being those in green and white. Hibs demonstrated their best intent yet just short of the hour-mark when a Brebner corner caused much chaos. Marshall leapt from his line to completely miss the path of the ball. Only half-cleared by a panicky defence, Zitelli bashed it back in again but Ally Mitchell was in exactly the right place to clear the fevered lines.
Suddenly up the other end Kilmarnock were at it, with Vareille taking a pot-shot that screeched wide of Nick Colgan’s goal. Then Vareille popped up in the Kilmarnock penalty area again just to be denied an attempt by the quick thinking and fast interception of Ulrik Laursen.
As the game entered its final quarter utter calamity seemed to come Kilmarnock’s way. Sanjuan was in the wrong place at the wrong time doing the wrong thing when Alen Orman pinged in a hanging cross from the Hibs right flank. Aiming to cut off the supply to the lurking Hibs strikers Sanjuan nodded the ball past his own keeper Marshall in a rather accomplished manner. It was a cruel sight until it emerged that he had been saved by the flag.
The home side’s best chance of a leveller came from Peter Canero’s cross which bounced harmlessly off one of Kilmarnock striker Boyd’s legs. Like with Sanjuan he knew little about it.
The Teams:
Hibernian: Colgan, Laursen, Fenwick, G Smith, Orman, Brebner, Jack, Zitelli, Murray, McManus, Brewster.
Kilmarnock: Marshall, Canero, McGowne, Innes, Baker, Pizzo, Mahood, Sanjuan, Mitchell, Boyd, Vareille.
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