Falkirk's fluency plunders Hibs' thunder

Published on Sunday 16 December 2007 20:51

HIBERNIAN 1 Donaldson (20 pen) FALKIRK 1 Barrett (79)

ONE team played all the football. The other got lucky and grabbed a point.

The script will be familiar to Hibernian supporters, who can recall several occasions in recent seasons when their side's technical superiority was cancelled out by more robust opponents. On this occasion, though, the roles were reversed, with Falkirk being by far the more creative and pleasing to watch of the two teams.

Far more confident and composed than they were a few months ago, John Hughes's team were not thrown off their stride when they went behind to a Clayton Donaldson penalty midway through the first half. Instead, they remained patient, and eventually got a reward of sorts when Graham Barrett equalised with a shot from the edge of the box some ten minutes or so from the end.

Falkirk's superiority would surely have earned them all three points, but for the fact that they could not create enough clear-cut scoring opportunities. They enjoyed a virtual stranglehold in midfield, where Hibs' Guillaume Beuzelin and Patrick Noubissie could hardly get a kick of the ball, but could rarely produce the correct final pass into the box.

The return of Rob Jones gave the home team's defence some of the balance it had been lacking in the captain's absence, but that improvement was at least partially offset by a poor display at right-back from Thierry Gatheussi. Playing instead of Kevin McCann, who was on the bench, Gatheussi did at least win his team's penalty with a run into the box. That apart, however, he was a liability, and it was telling that none of his team-mates protested or appeared at all distraught when he was dismissed for a second yellow card in the game's closing minutes.

Hibs were able to hold out with ten men, but much earlier in the game they sustained a loss which could prove lengthy and costly. Steven Fletcher had to be assisted off the pitch after being injured in a challenge just before the penalty was awarded, and may have chipped a bone in his ankle.

John Collins's team have already suffered a slump in form of late, having won just one of their last eight matches. If, as is possible, they lose their top scorer and most impressive player of the season for the next six weeks, the damage to their hopes of a European place may prove irreparable. Fletcher had been able to show no more than a hint of his menace before being taken off, with a shot which Tim Krul was well positioned to save. At the other end, Pedro Moutinho shot into the side netting after being gifted possession by Jones's momentary lapse of concentration.

These early exchanges in which they maintained parity with Falkirk were the best segment of the game for Hibs, but it would be false to say they deserved their lead when it came. It was also a matter of some debate whether they deserved to be awarded a penalty after Gatheussi was tackled from behind by Dean Holden.

Iain Brines, the referee, indicated the Falkirk player had got the ball, and waved play on. Seconds later, however, he overruled himself after the assistant referee Stuart Macauley had waved for an offence.

Donaldson scored calmly from the spot, and Lewis Stevenson came close to putting Hibs two ahead a few minutes later when he hit the bar. Falkirk's self-belief would have been sorely tested if that effort had gone in, but, with just the single goal to peg back, they stuck calmly to their task.

The second half was far less entertaining than the first, with fewer real openings. Hibs only occasionally threatened on the counter-attack, and in the end Falkirk got the goal which had been threatening to come for some time when Barrett's shot on the turn took a deflection which slightly wrongfooted Andy McNeil.

Hibs were pinned back in their own half for the last few minutes, finding relief only through long aimless balls upfield. Having failed to win the battle for control of the midfield, they could not come up with another way of causing Falkirk problems, and as a result they spent much of the afternoon in uncharacteristically defensive mode.

"We sat back a bit, tried to defend, and that's not really us," as Donaldson said. "We're going through a bad patch. Any win will do."

It may turn out that Falkirk, by contrast, are doing no more than going through a good patch, but their performance here would suggest otherwise. They have improved steadily as a team, and they all look comfortable playing at a fairly high tempo.

With Russell Latapy putting in no more than cameo appearances these days, the responsibility for playmaking is now shared around, and as a result Falkirk are a far more difficult side to defend against.

"We're definitely going in the right direction," Barrett said. They are now only five points off the top six, but next face a stern examination of their credentials when they visit third-placed Motherwell on Saturday.

Man of the match

Steven Thomson (Falkirk)

Ably assisted by Patrick Cregg and Scott Arfield, Thomson played a crucial role in helping Falkirk seize control of the game, as the trio dominated in central midfield.

Referee: I Brines

Attendance: 12,391