Hibs 1-1 Kilmarnock: Hibs show their true grit

Published on Monday 14 December 2009 08:56

ANTHONY STOKES today insisted that his side have discovered a new grit and determination under John Hughes after grinding out a valuable point in Ayrshire.

Rugby Park has proved a massive stumbling block for Hibs in recent seasons, their last win away to Kilmarnock in the league coming back in January 2007, and that was the case again at the weekend.

However, Hibs had to be satisfied with a draw after showing great character to bounce back after going behind to a Mark Burchill goal to claim a share of the spoils.

Stokes was the goal hero, racing on to a quick free-kick from Colin Nish, who was again outstanding, to slot home low and on the angle past the diving Mark Brown.

Although Hibs then had chances to snatch all three points – including a shot from Derek Riordan that came back off the top of the crossbar – the Irishman admitted his side had to be pleased with the effort and fighting spirit they conjured up.

Of his strike, he said: "It was a great ball in. It was straight into my stride and I didn't even have to take a touch on it so the finish was easy really.

"It was just one of those days where we all had to graft really; they played a lot of balls from the back upwards.

"I thought that we showed a bit of character to bounce back from going a goal behind.

"I think that we have shown over the last few weeks that, even when we're not playing particularly well, we are still working hard and grinding out results.

"That was the case on Saturday again but I think that we should have been looking to win that."

The result extended Hibs' unbeaten run to 11 in the league and Stokes is hoping that his side will be able to add to that when they face Aberdeen at Pittodrie this weekend. "We've been on a run of 11 games unbeaten right now and that is our priority," he said. "We're more interested in extending that than looking six months down the line.

"We are in a good position now and if we maintain that form then I think we will be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.

"The standards that we have set ourselves in recent weeks, I think we're a bit disappointed to have drawn against Kilmarnock, but the way that the game went, it can be hard to bounce back sometimes when you are away from home.

"We're just looking forward to next week. The league this year is very competitive. Our run of form has been consistent and we are looking to continue that."

Hughes' side looked the more threatening in the opening stages and won a free-kick almost 25 yards out after Liam Miller had been brought down by Danny Invincibile with eight minutes gone. It was a typical forward's challenge and Merouane Zemmama stepped up to hit the dead ball but could only curl his right-foot effort over Brown's crossbar.

Nish and Stokes linked up well in the opening stages but when the former set the Irish striker free in 14 minutes, he could only fire a weak effort towards Brown that the Killie goalkeeper made easy work of.

Once again, Graham Stack had failed to recover in time from the back problem that saw him taken off as a substitute against Falkirk and miss out altogether against Motherwell, so Yves Ma-Kalambay retained his place in the starting line-up.

And the big Belgian had to stretch every sinew of his body to deny Killie with 17 minutes played when Mehdi Taouil released Garry Hay and he whipped in a wonderful cross that made it to the back post for Kevin Kyle.

The Rugby park hitman was perfectly positioned for the downward header but Ma-Kalambay somehow got over to his left to push the effort away with lightning speed.

The keeper had to be on his toes again when Kyle turned provider, teeing up Invincibile on the angle and the Australian looked certain to open the scoring but was foiled once again by Ma-Kalambay, who spread himself well to block with his feet.

Hibs were getting change down the right-hand side and Stokes and David Wotherspoon carved the home defence open at the other end, the defender cutting a ball into the middle for Riordan to have a go from, but his shot on the turn was again easy for Brown to deal with.

Just before half-time, Hibs could have made the breakthrough, this time when a long ball from Wotherspoon fed Stokes through the middle. He, in turn, found Zemmama and the little Moroccan's tight cross was simply begging to be put into the net but neither Nish nor Riordan could get their head to it.

Hibs were made to pay for their missed opportunities after the break when they fell behind. Jamie Hamill's ball into the box looked as though it would be claimed by Ma-Kalambay – only for the big keeper to fumble and allow it to spin back out into the box.

The Belgian was left to claim in vain for a foul, Steve Conroy ignoring his shouts as the ball was sent into the back of an empty net by Burchill.

Seconds later, Sol Bamba came close at the other end but his long-range effort was just inches wide of Brown's right-hand post.

It was only a matter of six minutes, though, before Hughes' men did level and Colin Nish had the last laugh as two Kilmarnock players tried to rile their former team-mate by stabbing the ball away from him when he was trying to take a quick free-kick.

The big striker still managed to get a foot to it and take a quick free kick, sending the ball into the path of Stokes, who was lethal with a low drive on the angle to beat Brown.

Stokes added: "I am on seven at the moment. I am happy enough with the goals that I have scored so far.

"The last few weeks I have been feeling a bit more confident and I am fitter, so I am just looking forward to the games that are coming up."

Killie could have bagged the advantage again when Kevin Kyle rose to head down and towards the bottom left-hand corner of the net, but Easter Road kid Wotherspoon was in the right place at the right time to clear off the line.

At the other end, Hibs felt hard done by with 70 minutes gone when Nish went down under pressure from Frazer Wright in the box but referee Steve Conroy waved away his claims, much to the striker's frustration.

Kilmarnock manager Jim Jefferies was satisfied with a point but was angry with his defenders for allowing Nish to take the free-kick quickly to set up Stokes for Hibs' equaliser.

He said: "I spoke to my players after the game and they felt that the free-kick was a bit harsh, so they were standing around arguing with the referee instead of getting on the ball.

"You need to keep drumming it into them, especially in the situation we are right now, to get on the ball and let the referee push you back. You don't let them take it quickly.

"When they were allowed to take it quickly, our two centre halves were in dreamland I think. Simon Ford played extremely well on Saturday, they both did, but that one lapse of concentration cost us. The problem started, though, in the middle of the park when they gave away the free-kick in the first place.

"When Derek Riordan hit that one at the end, I thought 'here we go again' because we know that he is capable of doing that.

"Thankfully it came back off the crossbar because I think it would have been a real travesty if it had gone in and Hibs had taken the points.

"I think a draw was about right."