Hibs 1 Dundee Utd 2: We're playing for our pride insists Murray

Published on Monday 4 May 2009 09:57

IAN MURRAY today insisted personal pride has to be the driving force for Mixu Paatelainen's players after this defeat by Dundee United saw Hibs' already slender hopes of European football shatter.

While overhauling both Aberdeen and United had looked a forlorn dream in any case, Easter Road boss Paatelainen had identified both this game and Thursday night's Edinburgh derby as key to making the seemingly impossible possible, arguing, with some justification, that two wins would put his side back "in the mix".

Today, however, with United now ten points ahead and only four matches remaining, it's the Tannadice outfit which looks certain to be competing in the Europa League next season alongside Hearts, who are now firmly in the sights of Craig Levein's side.

Catching Aberdeen in fifth place wouldn't be enough to have the fans scrambling for their passports, although with Hibs trailing the Dons by six points, it looks more likely Hibs' season will end with the club in the exact same position they entered the final run of five matches, namely sixth.

If, on the face of it, the remaining games appear to have little significance, at least as far as Hibs are concerned, Murray begged to differ. He said: "I think a lot of personal pride plays its part.

"We have Hearts in a derby which, even if it was a friendly, both sides want to win, then we have Rangers and Celtic, both of whom are going for the title at Easter Road and there's always a decent atmosphere in Old Firm games.

"You want to play well in them, they are on television and it might be a chance for guys who are going out of contract at the end of the season to come in and show our manager and others what they can do.

"Then we have Aberdeen away when they could still be pushing for Europe so they are all significant games in terms of personal pride and picking up points.

"We are still playing for points so, even if we finish in sixth, we want as many points as possible.

"To say there's nothing to play for in terms of placement is perhaps true, but not personal pride."

Murray acknowledged, however, that Thursday night's trip to Tynecastle had been made all the more problematic following the controversial red card flashed at Chris Hogg by referee Stevie O'Reilly following his challenge on United's Craig Conway in the dying minutes.

Barring a successful appeal, the paperwork for which will be lodged with the SFA today, Hogg will join skipper Rob Jones, Sol Bamba and Colin Nish, who all missed this match because of suspension, in the stand at Tynecastle, stripping Paatelainen's squad of yet another key player. Seconds earlier, Conway had evaded a tackle from Hogg's team-mate David van Zanten, an incident which left the Hibs full-back lying on the deck having collected a stray boot in the face, albeit totally accidentally. Whether O'Reilly mistakenly thought Hogg was exacting a measure of revenge on behalf of Van Zanten, only he can say, but he had no hesitation in whipping out the red card, too quickly in Murray's estimation.

He said: "The referee was very quick to go to his pocket, he was really quick and did not give himself much time to think."

Murray, along with Paatelainen, questioned whether the game should have been stopped before Hogg's intervention, given that Van Zanten had suffered a head knock but, to be fair to the official, the incidents were separated only by a couple of seconds. Nevertheless, players of both sides agreed with Paatelainen and Levein that the decision had been "harsh" in the extreme.

The Tayside boss said: "Chris Hogg is an honest, whole-hearted defender. He does go in hard but I would be expecting my defenders to do the same, they do do the same.

"It looked like he was late but it was not face-to-face with high studs, it was harsh."

Paatelainen, naturally, agreed saying: "Chris went totally and wholeheartedly for the ball, not the player. These are big decisions, decisions which decide matches and they have to be correct. I did not think it was a malicious tackle or too aggressive.

"He went for the ball, he was right down there and didn't go for the ankles.

"Possibly it was a yellow, but no more than that in my opinion."

Paatelainen's view that such decisions can affect the outcome of matches was highlighted as, with Van Zanten still receiving treatment on the far sideline and the home side down to nine men, United substitute David Goodwillie scored the winner, the youngster, incredibly, now able to boast a record of three SPL goals – all against Hibs.

It's a fact he puts down to being coached from time-to-time by former Jambos striker John Robertson, on whose own personal record in Edinburgh derbies no Hibs fan will want to dwell upon.

Van Zanten was replaced by Darren McCormack but, by then, the damage had been done, Paatelainen explaining the lengthy delay in bringing the substitute on by saying: "We did not realise David had to come off, we thought it was something that would take a couple of seconds.

"If we'd known we'd have made the change before that."

Almost four minutes, however, had elapsed between the tackle and McCormack's appearance, a costly period as it turned out and, presumably, something which will provoke a review of communications between physio and dug-out.

Whether Goodwillie would have scored had Hibs had ten men on the park is, of course, a matter of conjecture but, in truth, a draw would have been of little use to either side as Levein acknowledged in admitting he'd been far more adventurous in his team selection than he might have been had this been a game taking place in October. And it was a win – United's first at Easter Road in seven years – which the Dundee side, in Levein's opinion, one which few would disagree, deserved.

The absence of three of Hibs' tallest players – although United were missing Lee Wilkie – was telling, Darren Dods sending a header off the bar with Lewis Stevenson taking Danny Grainger's effort off the line before Dods nodded a Danny Swanson corner down for Wayne Feeney to sweep home the opener.

Before then, Jonatan Johansson had forced a good save out of Lukasz Zaluska and the Finn was in place to collect John Rankin's clever flick to present Steven Fletcher with the equaliser.

With both sides recognising the need for victory, the second half was an open affair, the game stretching as both sets of players sought that vital second goal, one which looked like eluding them until that controversial ending.

THE TEAMS

HIBS

Ma-Kalambay

Van Zanten

Hogg

Thicot

Stevenson

Rankin

Rosa

Murray

Riordan

Johansson

Fletcher

SUBSTITUTIONS

O'Brien 62 (Rosa)

McCormack 89 (Van Zanten)

McNeil

Keenan

Hanlon

Chisholm

Cropley

FORMATION

4-4-2

DUNDEE UTD

Zaluska

Caddis

Kenneth

Dods

Grainger

D Robertson

Wesolowski

Buaben

Swanson

Feeney

Shala

SUBSTITUTIONS

Gomis 25 (Wesolowski)

Goodwillie 58 (Shala)

Conway 77 (Swanson)

McGovern

Dillon

S Robertson

Kovacevic

FORMATION

4-4-2

STAR MAN

CHRIS HOGG had done well in the absence of Rob Jones to hold Hibs' defence together as United pressed for a winner and was the victim of some rough justice when shown the red card, a harsh decision everyone said – apart from referee Stevie O'Reilly.

TOP SHOT

GARRY KENNETH had Yves Ma-Kalambay stretching every inch of his 6ft 5in frame to touch away a snap shot from the big defender.

TOP SAVE

LUKASZ ZALUSKA had to look sharp in getting down low to his right to touch away a net-bound shot from Jonatan Johansson, who had beaten Darren Dods to Steven Fletcher's cross.

REF WATCH

STEVIE O'REILLY was far too quick in reaching for the red card for Chris Hogg. A few moment's contemplation would have led him to realise a yellow was more than sufficient for a tackle which was a split-second out.

MATCH FACTS

GOALS

Hibs: Fletcher (39). Dundee United: Feeney (27), Goodwillie (89).

SHOTS ON TARGET

Hibs 2

United 6

SHOTS OFF TARGET

Hibs 3

United 7

CORNERS

Hibs 3

United 9

OFFSIDE

Hibs 4

United 2

FOULS AGAINST

Hibs 16

United 15

BOOKINGS

Hibs: Rankin 57 (foul on Caddis). Dundee United: D Robertson 31 (foul on Rosa), Grainger 68 (dissent), Goodwillie 89 (over-celebrating goal).

SENT OFF

Hibs: Hogg 85 (foul on Conway).

ATTENDANCE

10,591

NEXT MATCH

v Hearts (a) SPL, Thursday, 7.45pm