Hibernian 3 Motherwell 1

23rd November 2002
Scottish Premier League
Attendance:

Scorers:
Hibernian: Paatelainen, McManus, O'Neil(pen).
Motherwell: Ferguson.

This is a copy of a report of the game as it appeared in the Scotland on Sunday on Sunday 24th November 2002

Hibs left looking pleased as punch-up

AT THE end of a week that has seen certain Scottish club managers find themselves in conflict with the international boss, there was some intrigue at Easter Road before a ball had even been kicked. A few days ago Bobby Williamson, the Hibs boss, had been bucking the trend by actually pressing for one of his players, Grant Brebner, to be included, rather than excluded, in future Scotland squads.

And then, yesterday, he promptly dropped the midfielder to the bench, where he stayed until the final five minutes. He won’t, meanwhile, have done his international prospects any good by only lasting for two of those, being one of three players sent off as the red mist descended on Easter Road.

By this time Motherwell were already down to 10 men, having had Daniel Sengewald sent off for two bookable challenges. These were relatively innocuous, however, compared to the full-scale rammy that followed a scything Stephen Pearson challenge on Ian Murray.

As Dougie McDonald brandished the red card at Pearson, David Partridge appeared to throw a punch at Brebner, after being apparently goaded by the Hibs midfielder. The other players on the pitch seemed to need no second invitation to get involved, and all hell promptly broke loose. It was a dramatic end to what hadn’t been the most enthralling of matches.

From what was until recently a closely-grouped pack, Motherwell are in danger of being hopelessly cut adrift, and with this game no more than 10 minutes old you feared the worst for the Lanarkshire side. Indeed, Hibs could have been three up in five minutes. They utterly dominated, appearing to be enjoying a numerical advantage in every area of the park. Motherwell went a goal down to Dundee United after 35 seconds last week; this week it took their opponents all of two minutes to create the first golden opportunity, when Paco Luna, completely unmarked in the heart of the box, had a free header from a Murray cross.

One minute later Luna had another glorious opportunity to put Hibs ahead, but his header, better this time and certainly goal-bound, was cleared by the head of Partridge, who did well to race back. And then in five minutes came the third chance, when another desperate goalmouth clearance resulted in the first of a series of Hibs corners. The first of these, taken by Jarkko Wiss, squirmed its way past the Motherwell striker Dirk Lehmann, but his goalkeeper, Francois Dubourdeau, thinking that Lehmann was going to boot it clear, was caught unawares when the ball appeared at his feet, and only just managed to prevent it crossing the line.

If it looked as if Motherwell were in disarray it was, simply, because they were. As so often, however, when the dominant side failed to convert any of their chances their opponents slowly crept back into the game and the first half developed eventually into a more evenly-matched affair.

Hibs weren’t helped after 36 minutes when Luna had to be stretchered off. He was replaced by Tom McManus, whose whiter-than-white bleached hair drew a cacophony of wolf whistles - presumably sarcastic - from the Easter Road faithful.

The replacement preceded Motherwell’s best spell of the first half. Steven Ferguson had perhaps the best chance, when a kind break set him up for a crack at goal on the edge of the box. When he hesitated, however, he had the shot charged down.

Perhaps Terry Butcher managed to instil some confidence and assuredness in his striker at half-time, because he reacted well when presented with another shot at goal - this one less straightforward - just two minutes after the re-start. Derek Adams played a high, and it must be said hopeful, ball that seemed to cause confusion between Hibs’ keeper Nick Colgan and Yannick Zambernardi, his defender. Between them, up popped Ferguson to head over the on-rushing Colgan.

Motherwell grew in confidence, but it’s unusual for the team at the bottom to ride their luck for an entire match, and the Steelmen were stung 11 minutes after the re-start by Sengewald’s ordering-off, an incident that certainly turned the match.

A Hibs goal seemed inevitable, and it finally came a few minutes later, when a Murray cross was simply converted by Mixu Paatelainen. They were on a roll, and McManus added a second after 63 minutes, when he connected with a Paatelainen header at the far post.

It was cruel luck on Motherwell, who responded by bringing on James McFadden for Fagan. Hibs, however, had inflicted the killer blows, and it was impossible to imagine Motherwell clawing their way back. Instead there was only frustration, which bubbled over in those closing minutes and was compounded by a third Hibs’ goal after John O’Neil had been brought down by Dubourdeau. The captain himself stepped up to stroke the penalty home with virtually the last kick of the game.

HOME