Aberdeen 0 Hibernian 1

27th October 2002
Scottish Premier League
Attendance:

Scorers:
Hibernian: Brebner.

This is a copy of a report of the game as it appeared in the Scotland on Sunday on Sunday 27th October 2002

Dons dither as Hibs hit new heights

GRANT Brebner’s first league goal of the season made it five Premierleague wins on the trot to carry Bobby Williamson’s side above Hearts into fourth place just in time for the latest derby against their bitter rivals.

However, it was a medical rather than a football matter that pleased this most doleful of managers.

Scarcely anyone who saw Alen Orman suffer a seizure against Rangers last Thursday would have given him even the slightest chance of playing at Pittodrie yesterday, but the Bosnian-born wing-back showed an amazing power of recovery that can only help overcome some of the prejudices associated with his condition.

There are a fair number of precedents, as the affliction didn’t prevent Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Handel or Socrates - the Greek philosopher, not the Brazilian World Cup star - from making a major impact on history. And Williamson believes Orman’s example can provide inspiration for current sufferers.

"My only concern for Alen was his lack of rest," said Williamson. "He has been in turmoil in the last few days after having such a public seizure and has not had a lot of sleep.

"But now he has got his head around the fact that he is an epilepsy sufferer, he will become a stronger person."

Williamson added: "It was always up to the player if he was going to take part, but Alen has been playing with this condition for over a year and nobody realised anything was wrong with him.

"He had a fit a couple of weeks ago on a Friday before a Saturday game, and that’s why I knew he would be OK for this match. He will be fine."

Orman played an important part in the victory against an Aberdeen team who created enough chances to win a whole host of matches only to squander them all.

A team that built its reputation on a record-equalling nine home victories in a row last season now have just one success in the league in seven attempts during the current campaign. The lack of a natural goalscorer has long been at the centre of their problems, and whatever other qualities Darren Mackie possesses, a ruthless streak in front of goal is not one.

Mackie hit an early shot from an acute angle against the upright, reacted sharply to gather the rebound only to scoop the ball wide of an open goal, as the most frustrating incident in a depressing afternoon for Ebbe Skovdahl.

The Aberdeen manager also suffered on the sidelines as French midfielder Nicolas Fabiano set an acute-angled drive wide of the far post in the 13th minute, then squandered a delightful Mackie through ball by clipping it over the bar in 22 minutes.

Skovdahl had a pretty clear idea even that early that they were unlikely to score, and he was as painfully honest as ever in summing up what was an entertaining, if ultimately fruitless afternoon for his side.

"I can’t believe we lost the game, as we had enough chances to have won it early," he said. "We’ve failed to score in our last two home games now, and that has to be a concern.

"However, Darren Mackie was too anxious with his chance as he should have been more composed in front of goal. If you can’t even pass the ball into an empty net you are always going to struggle to win matches.

"We now have three very difficult games coming up in November, as we play Celtic and Hearts away as well as Rangers at home and our record in those fixtures shows me that we don’t take much from those games."

By contrast, Hibs are in the satisfying position of making it 15 points from the last 15 available, in stark contrast to a four-match losing streak that started the season and started the rumours that Williamson’s position at the club was under threat. The arrival of left-sided players like Yannick Zambernardi and Sunderland’s on-loan youngster Craig James has certainly given a better balance to the team, and they possess in Jarkko Wiss one of the country’s truly two-footed players.

The Finnish international midfielder was equally dangerous swinging in set-pieces with the right or left foot, and it was no surprise that one of his free-kicks should finally break the deadlock.

Some dreadful Aberdeen defending contributed to Brebner’s decisive strike in the 72nd minute, as the player himself indicated afterwards.

He said: "It was a great ball in and I think Garry (O’Connor) won it. I expected the first defender to clear it, but after that it went through another one of the Aberdeen players’ legs before it landed at my feet in the six-yard box."

It was the sort of chance that even Mackie would have found difficult to miss, as Brebner span round to hammer a shot past Peter Kjaer and set up an intriguing Edinburgh derby next Sunday afternoon.

His manager may have claimed to have given little thought to avenging the 5-1 thrashing from their bitter rivals at Tynecastle back in August, but Brebner definitely had no such qualms. He said: "It’s great to have got the five wins in a row in the league, but the derby games are always different and we know not to read too much into that.

"The defeat at Tynecastle still hurts, and I can remember how we felt sitting in the dressing-room after that game," the midfielder added. "We will take that pain into this match and be determined to make amends."

Aberdeen: Kjaer, Rutkiewicz, McGuire, Anderson, McAllister, Bisconti (Billio 76), Darren Young, Deloumeaux, Derek Young (Michie 70), Mackie, Fabiano. Subs not used: Preece, Tiernan, Clark.

Hibernian: Colgan, Fenwick, Townsley (Smith 75), Zambernardi, Orman, Wiss, Brebner (McManus 84), Murray, James, O’Connor, Paatelainen (Luna 90). Subs not used: Caig, Nicol.

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