Hibernian 5 - 1 Hamilton: Free-flowing Hibs make John Hughes's target of third place look cautious

Published on Sunday 24 January 2010 23:35

AFTER such a resounding victory had confirmed Hibernian were back at their best, it was no surprise to find John Hughes in ebullient form. He was "going public", he declared, with the challenge he had set his players: "There is no point in shying away from it. I want third place and the European spot."

The words were uttered with the manager's usual assertiveness, but in the light of what we had just seen they sounded more like a note of caution than one of adventure. There was indeed no point in shying away from the desire to claim third place: with Dundee United inactive on Saturday, this result put Hibs – albeit briefly – into that best-of-the-rest position.

But, with Celtic displaying chronic problems this season, is Hughes shying away from a real chance of finishing second? Or, while going public with one demand, is he in private asking his players to attempt something bigger?

With a match at Celtic Park coming up on Wednesday, Hughes is smart enough to know not to tempt fate by getting carried away. "The Old Firm are miles in front, so I would settle for third spot," he insisted when pressed, ignoring the fact that at the time he was speaking Hibs were just two points behind Celtic. "But you have to shoot for the stars and you never know what will happen," he added.

The stars were shooting in this match, all right. Anthony Stokes and Derek Riordan got two apiece, but both might have ended up with hat-tricks, and the score would have ended up far higher but for excellent displays by both goalkeepers. Graeme Smith was the busier of the two both early on, when Accies began brightly, and in the closing 20 minutes, when the withdrawal of first Liam Miller and then Kevin McBride weakened the Hibs midfield. In between, however, Tomas Cerny had to perform heroics merely to ensure his team could maintain self-respect.

Three matches against Rangers had to have taken something out of Hamilton, especially with the midweek cup replay having gone to extra time. Yet the way in which they ended the game proved they were not exactly out on their feet, and to lay too much emphasis on the visitors' weaknesses would do an injustice to Hibs' strengths, for in the end it was the quality of finishing which made the difference between the teams.

That should be qualified slightly, as for the opening goal the quality of Miller's through ball to Colin Nish was what made the difference. Breaking from midfield, the Irishman saw Riordan making ground up the left, but, with the defence distracted by that run, Miller delivered a perfectly-timed pass to Nish, who dinked it past Cerny.

The second goal was all Stokes. Nudging Alex Neil off the ball some 30 yards out, the striker strode on confidently and drove his shot home from a little way outside the box. Neil had fallen over at the challenge, and he and his team-mates thought a foul should have been given, but any perceived injustice was cancelled out just before half-time when Nish appeared to be pushed in the box and the referee declined to award a penalty.

Two down midway through the first half, Hamilton could do little except go on the attack, which only opened up more space for Hibs to press home their advantage. Just before the half-hour, a rapid break up the right by Stokes produced a third goal. His shot came back off the bar and rebounded perfectly for the lurking Riordan, who had no difficulty in netting first time. Five minutes after the break Riordan got his second direct from a free-kick, awarded after Neil had pulled John Rankin's shirt. And then, less than five minutes after that, Stokes wrapped up the scoring for the home team with a shot from the right of the box after Riordan, collecting a superb long pass from Miller, had crossed from the left.

Abdessalam Benjelloun, Patrick Cregg and Daniel Galbraith then came on one by one for Hibs, but the net effect of those changes worked in Hamilton's favour. So too did the introduction of former Hibs player David van Zanten 20 minutes from time: no sooner had he come on than he delivered a long, looping cross from the right to the far post, where Flavio Paixao was waiting to turn it in.

That was the only time Accies managed to get the better of Smith, however, and after the match the keeper sounded a little bit more hopeful than his manager of splitting Rangers and Celtic. "There's no question we can do it," he said when asked about the supposed target of third place.

"You go on about third, I always like to get as close to second as possible. If you keep on chasing them you don't need to look behind you."

MAN OF THE MATCH

Anthony Stokes (Hibs)

The striker scored two and had a hand in another as he returned to his predatory best. The close control he displayed in the lead-up to his second goal was a textbook lesson in how to make space for yourself in a crowded area, and he was a menace to the Hamilton defence, off the ball as well as on, with his clever runs.