The start of any new League season brings with it a sense of optimism and so it was when Kilmarnock came calling on the opening day. In the first 20 minutes, Hibs played some lovely, fast, one-touch stuff and were all over Killie. However, as time went on and our play failed to serve up the goal it deserved, you got the impression that we were a bit powder-puff and that the front pairing of O’Connor and McManus could play for a week without scoring. The goal, when it did come, came midway through the second-half for Kilmarnock. Whilst the free-kick was deflected, most Hibs fans thought Simon Brown in goal should have saved it. So, a 1-0 defeat at home to Kilmarnock was, perhaps, not the best of starts but, to his credit, Mowbray refused to panic - outwardly at least. What he was thinking privately is anyone’s guess but it is possibly safe to assume that amongst those thoughts was a sense of anxiety that his first foray into management had not gotten off to the best of starts.

Fir Park has been a bit of a mixed bag for Hibs in terms of results. However, a fine away win settled the nerves and gave everybody associated with the Club not only a lift but a fair bit of confidence too. This was followed up by a reasonable performance at Castle Greyskull against the Sticky’s. Whilst perhaps not deserving anything from  the game, the performance by our young team clearly gave Mogga some pride. Still, the first 3 games had given us 3 points when we should have been looking at getting at least 4. Meanwhile, back at the ER Ranch, the Rangers game saw the end of Grant Brebner’s Hibs career. He sat out the 4-0 CIS Cup win against Alloa (for whom Gareth Evans, sadly, did not come on) and was given to Dundee United the following day. Much has been rumoured about the reasons for his departure and there is little doubt that most fans were baffled by the decision as there was no obvious replacement waiting in the wings, he had just signed a lengthy new contract, and Mowbray had been praising him just weeks earlier. If it was a disciplinary issue, surely the fans had a right to know? If it was for footballing reasons, it seemed a strange but brave decision by Mogga.

Next up were Dundee at home and surely a good bet for 3 points? Where do you start? Derek Riordan – still regaining full fitness – started and ran the show for much of the game. After going 4-1 up, Hibs metamorphasised into Brazil as, for a ten-minute spell, they played arguably the best football seen at ER for over 30 years. Then they metamorphasised into the Blue Brazil as they conspired to throw away a 3-goal lead. All 3 goals conceded were defensive errors and Brown was, once again, heavily castigated by some as was the perennial blunderer, Colin Murdock. Getting back to the car and turning on Radio Scotland, I was forced to listen to Sandy Clark gleefully admit that he had witnessed a “fantastic” game of football. Whether he would have been as objective had Hibs come back from a 3-goal deficit I doubt it but, for once, he was right. The only problem was that we snatched a draw from the jaws of victory. It was a lesson that needed to be learnt.

Mike ‘Chicken’ McCurry: “Excuse me guys, but any chance of getting your autographs once you’re finished?”
 

There were few takers for a trip to Inverness, sorry Aberdeen, to see a Derek Riordan-inspired Hibs take all 3 points against a limited Inverness team. Still, these were the games we were drawing or worse last season. There were few Inverness fans there to see their team getting beaten and you can’t but help feel sorry for a team with a core support of 1,500 having to travel 120 miles on a Saturday to fulfil a ridiculous SPL rule. Then you remember that they are managed by Robbo!

As the Sellick juggernaut rolled into town on the crest of a Buckfast wave, there was a real feeling that Hibs could at the very least give them a real game. This was our first game on Setanta and it was immediately noticeable that the ER crowd was up on the corresponding fixtures from the previous seasons when the games had been live on BBC1. Setanta may just be Old Firm TV but it is better than watching your team take a hit because the game is live on BBC1 Scotland. In the event, it was Celtic who got hit. Hibs started well and took the game to the Weegie Stormtroopers. Having won all their previous SPL games, it was clear that Celtic without King Henrik had not lost their winning touch. However, they had resorted to hoofing long ball after long ball to Fatty Arbuckle Hartson. At the other end, Celtic struggled to cope with the pace of the Hibs forward line. The goal when it came was the result of some lovely work down the right side by Steven Whittaker, who deservedly won Man of the Match later. As he hit a low cross in, the ball took a deflection off Bobo the Clown’s boot and sailed over Marshall’s head. Cue delirium in the Hibs ends and Delirium Tremens in the Celtic end. However, like a wounded animal, Celtic soon responded. The equaliser came as a result of the ball being poked through to the Celtic attacker by a Hibs player. However, the Linesman on the far side, mistakenly thought – as did most Hibs fans – that the ball had been put through by a Celtic player and had thus resulted in the goal being offside. McCurry – for it was he – correctly thought the goal had been legitimate but took an eternity consulting with his Linesman before awarding the goal. Now, whilst he was later shown by the TV pictures to have made the correct decision, why did the erse make such a meal of the decision? No sooner had we stopped berating ‘Chicken’, David Murphy went up the other end and put us in the lead again. This was cancelled out just before half-time by a simple Hartson equaliser as Murray and Caldwell decided to take their half-time break 3 minutes early. The second-half was a bit of let-down but Celtic hung on to take away a jammy point. It was the first time in a long time that Hibs fans went away from a game against Celtic disappointed with a draw.

The Celtic game was notable for several reasons. Firstly, it reinforced the newly-held perception that Hibs were one of the most positive and attractive footballing teams in the country. Even Gordon Smith was praising us! Secondly, the game saw the emergence of Guillaume Beuzelin as a star in the making. It’s early days but his touch, awareness, and instinct for a simple, killer pass were strongly in evidence against the best team in the country. Thirdly, due to a challenge from Alan Thompson, the game also saw Scott Brown stretchered off with ligament damage and a lengthy period on the sidelines. He will be missed but hopefully will return early in the New Year. Fourthly, the game once again confirmed the return to form of Garry O’Connor – it’s good to have you back Garry! Finally, Hibs showed the rest of the SPL that Celtic under O’Neill are fallible. They are much poorer without Larsson and players like Lennon and Balde have outlived their usefulness. Run at them and you can beat them. The good news is that, because STV have Champions League games on, you can watch them getting horsed every second week. You can’t beat it!!!

The following midweek, Hibs travelled to the Land that Time Forgot, aka Hamilton, to play minnows Albion Rovers in the CIS Cup. Managed these days by Crunchie, Rovers took the lead and could have gone two up but the quality soon told in the end and Hibs ran out comfortable winners. Back to SPL business and Hibs managed to beat high-flying Aberdeen at Pittodrie with another quality strike by Riordan. We nearly did the same against Dunfermline but they snatched a draw at the death in what was probably a fair result. Still, it was a good run of results, particularly when you consider the age and size of the squad. Ian Murray had reverted to playing at the back in the absence of Colin Murdock and looked solid, even though he had been out for nearly a year. We need to get him signed up on a new contract. Dundee United at ER always seems to have a bit of needle in it, largely due to the presence of Fat Hun Ian McCall. Whilst not Hibs’ best performance of the season, the consensus was that they were well worth the 2-0 victory. Ian McCall however, seems to see a different game from everyone else. He whined on about how his team were unlucky and it is great to see how last year’s media darling has fallen from grace as his pisspoor team languish at the bottom of the table. He really is a joker and for that reason most Hibs fans would surely love it if he got punted.

Fat, moaning, torn-faced, deluded, soon to be unemployed ex-Hun

A lot of pish has been said about the 2-1 defeat to Hearts – most of it by Craig Levein who seemed to take umbrage at Mogga telling the media that Hearts played the ball above the cloudline. Well, it ain’t Hibs who play a defender as their lone striker. No need to apologise for telling the truth Tony! The less said about the game the better. We were pulled down to their level and we can only hope that it was a valuable lesson learned. We got it out of our system by cuffing Livingston, er, 2-1. It was more comfortable than that though as The Man from Bonkle denied us 2 penalties and a legitimate goal. Stephen Fletcher played particularly well after coming on for the injured O’Connor. As we sailed above Hearts and into fourth place, the long trip down the A71 to Kilmarnock beckoned. After going in 3-0 down at half-time, Hibs pulled one back but were always up against it in the second half. It was a collective and individual shocker of a performance but perhaps such days will have to be accepted with such a young and developing team.

So, how are we doing so far? Well, being comfortably mid-table is a good foundation on which to build for the rest of the season and, certainly, some of the play has been terrific. However, the squad – particularly the defence – looks threadbare and, at times, a bit shaky but, up-front, we have one of the best strike forces in Scotland and players such as Dean Shiels and Beuzelin have added a bit of quality to the midfield. A good start then – let’s hope we can keep it going. Until next time………

(NC)