Pat's nightmare before Christmas

Published on Thursday 13 December 2007 12:04

PATRICK NOUBISSIE felt as if he'd been handed an early Christmas present when he learned he was to finally make his long-awaited Hibs debut.

His big day out, however, didn't go to plan as the Easter Road outfit found the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium as unforgiving as ever last Saturday as John Collins' side failed to score for the fifth successive time at that particular venue as they slipped to a 2-0 defeat.

Today, though, the midfield star was hoping boss Collins will give him the chance to fulfil another dream by giving him the chance to play his first home match when Falkirk visit Easter Road on Saturday.

Other than a trial match against Livingston in which he caught Collins' eye way back in August, the closest the 24-year-old Frenchman had got to the action was a seat on the bench against Dundee United.

But now he has been given a taste of the SPL, Noubissie is desperate to prove to the Hibs support that the wait to see him in a green-and-white jersey has been worthwhile.

He said: "I was delighted when I was told I'd be playing against Inverness, it felt as if the manager had given me a present just before Christmas.

"I was very excited but the fact we lost the game meant it didn't mean as much to me as it should have done.

"It was a very disappointing end to the day."

Noubissie only learned an hour before kick-off he'd be in the starting line-up as Collins stuck to his policy of not naming his side until the last possible moment - even although the former FC Sedan player and his team-mates had travelled to the Highlands the previous day.

He said: "It was a long, long journey to Inverness.

"I hadn't realised just how far it was and the rest of the boys were laughing as I kept asking if we were nearly there only to be told we weren't even halfway to Inverness.

"The gaffer didn't tell me to do anything special in the game, just to go out and play as well as I could. Although we lost, I felt I played quite well."

The few hundred Hibs fans who ventured north on a miserable day were impressed by Noubissie's robust style in the middle of the park, a few of his no-nonsense tackles provoking a predictable reaction from the home support.

Noubissie, however, merely shrugged his shoulders and said: "I like to pass the ball but I enjoy the physical side of the game as well and I don't mind putting in a few tackles. The referee didn't give any fouls so there was nothing wrong with them.

"I'm happy to go winning the ball and letting all our really talented players play."

Having been spotted in that trial match, ironically arranged to allow Livingston boss Mark Proctor to cast an eye over him while Collins assessed the attributes of striker Mickael Antoine-Curier, Noubissie was immediately farmed out on loan to the Almondvale side.

And he admitted that, without that spell with the First Division club, he'd have had difficulty in acclimatising to the top flight in Scotland.

He said: "My few months with Livingston really helped me, it sharpened me up.

"The SPL is sharper than the First Division but the games I played for Livingston stood me in good stead at Inverness.

"Unfortunately, the game didn't work out the way we would have wanted although I didn't think we played badly at all. We had a couple of chances to score before they did and even then we all thought Clayton Donaldson's shot which hit the bar had crossed the line before the goalkeeper caught it.

"Had we levelled it would have been an entirely different game and we could well have come away with at least a point from it.

"I was aware before the match that we hadn't even scored a goal at that ground which I found very surprising and not doing so again was very disappointing. But Inverness are a very hard team to play against, they are well-organised with a 4-5-1 formation which makes them very difficult to break down and from what I understand quite a few teams have struggled when they've gone up there."

The final scoreline made it a miserable return journey, the 150-mile trip down the A9 made all the more wretched by driving rain and snow - although Noubissie was blissfully unaware of the hazardous conditions.

He said: "As I hadn't played a full match for some time I was very tired so I simply fell asleep on the coach and slept all the way home."

Now Noubissie is looking forward to being part of Collins' plans for Saturday although, again, he knows he'll have to wait until much nearer kick-off to find out.

And, with Hibs having slipped to fourth place in the SPL table thanks to a run which has seen them pick up just five points out of a possible 21, he is well aware of the importance of the clash with Falkirk. He said: "Although they lost quite heavily to Celtic the other night, Falkirk have been going quite well and they'll be looking to take something from this match. But it is very important for us that we emerge from the game with three points after what has happened recently.

"We feel we should have taken a few more points than we have, but we can't afford to look back, we must look ahead and do our best to win.

"On a personal level, I'd love to play on Saturday and prove to the Hibs fans that the club made the right choice when they decided to sign me.

"I went to a few games at Easter Road when I was with Livingston and I was on the bench for the Dundee United game so I know what the atmosphere is like. I love the passion of the Hibs fans, the way they get behind the team and I hope I get the chance this time to get out there and play in front of them."