Hibernian 1 - 2 St Johnstone: Sloppy Hibs fail to conjure up display fit for club hero

Published on Sunday 1 May 2011 14:09

HIBERNIAN lost so much more than a match on Saturday. The last gasp-goal from Kevin Moon to give St Johnstone victory was a blow, but it was when the news filtered through that legend Eddie Turnbull had passed away that the real misery took hold.

It was a defeat which would have frustrated Turnbull. Having taken a one-goal advantage in the 23rd minute, when Akpo Sodje picked up a long ball from Paul Hanlon and sent it over the advancing Peter Enckleman, Hibs had the opportunity to kill off an anxious-looking St Johnstone side unable to score a goal for themselves in the league since 1 February.

However, while Ricardo Vaz Te rattled the inside of the post with a 64th-minute effort, they could not put the game to bed, and when their guests conjured up their hallelujah moment in the 73rd minute and Liam Craig became the first of Derek McInnes' men to net a SPL goal in 1107 minutes of football, Hibs lost the impetus.

"To concede a goal that cheaply from a corner, it's not as if they had to work that hard to score that goal, so that's disappointing," said Callum Booth, who was moved forward from his usual full-back berth to play wide midfield.

"That's the last two games at home where we have been 1-0 up and we should be going on and winning these games but we just need to keep going and with three more games to go we can't let our heads go down."

Confessing that he did not feel he and his team-mates had done enough to win, Booth argued that they probably had merited a draw. That was denied them, though, two minutes into stoppage time when a star emerged in the shape of Kevin Moon.

"The first goal gave us a massive lift," said the midfielder. "The first half we knew ourselves that things hadn't gone well, but to come out in the second half and win is great credit to the manager."

McInnes had rallied his troops with a half-time talk that demanded his players show what they are capable of, and they went on to do so.

While Vaz Te's near thing was a let-off for St Johnstone but in the 73rd minute, they finally found the target themselves. Danny Grainger pinged across a corner for substitute Craig to head past Jakub Divis and suddenly it was game on.

With five minutes to go Peter MacDonald had a close-range shot blocked just a yard or so from goal. Still the visitors pressed, taking advantage of Hibs' inability to keep the ball in safe areas and see the game out or get right up the field in search of their own winner. And into the second of the three minutes added on, Craig's cut-back in the box found Moon who buried it.

Calderwood said afterwards that the players had been unaware of the sad news about Turnbull before the match. One hopes they might have turned in a more passionate performance had they known.However, the Hibs manager will be hoping he can engineer a better send-off for his illustrious predecessor by putting things right on the pitch next season.