Hibs 'will be a big scalp for Irvine Meadow'

Published on Wednesday 2 December 2009 08:41

A LOOK through the Irvine Meadow squad is enough to convince Hibs midfielder John Rankin that the Ayrshire side will be no pushovers when they travel to Easter Road.

The junior side pulled off a shock in the Scottish Cup last weekend when they knocked out Second Division Arbroath and were handed a dream tie in the third round of the competition against John Hughes' men.

Names like former St Mirren and Raith midfielder Mark Crilly, Brian McGinty who is also a Saints old boy, Stephen Docherty who starred for Airdrie and ex-Kilmarnock forward Emilio Jaconelli immediately spring off the page in the Meadow line-up.

And, while the draw threw up three all-SPL ties, Rankin is convinced that Hibs will face just as tough a task when they play host to Meadow because their stars will treat the match as their own cup final.

He said: "It's obviously something new for us to be playing a junior side in the Scottish Cup but a few of the faces will be familiar because I know that a lot of their players have played in the senior ranks and I know that between them they will have a lot of experience.

"I am sure that it will be a really tough game and that they will really be looking forward to coming to Easter Road – I think we would maybe have been one of the ties that they would have been hoping for when the draw was made.

"They would have been looking to come up against one of the SPL sides and a game away from home, so I am sure they will enjoy every minute of it.

"From our point of view, the most important thing was getting a home tie and fortunately that has happened.

"When you look at some of the other games, Kilmarnock have got Falkirk, Hamilton play Rangers and Hearts are up at Aberdeen. That's three really tough ties and obviously we know that it also means three of the SPL sides will be going out in this round."

Having failed to lift the Scottish Cup since 1902, Rankin admits that he'd love to be part of the side that finally brought the old trophy back to Easter Road. "It's the first round for us and we don't want to make the headlines for the wrong reasons, it's also a cup that we have not done too well in over the past while and that's a statistic that we would love to change this year.

"We know that it is a potential banana skin but it is at home and we are looking forward to it.

"Last year, because we played Hearts in this competition, it was well documented that we had gone so long without winning the cup.

"Obviously it's over 100 years and to be honest, every single one of us is sick of it. We'd all love to be part of the team that eventually goes out and breaks that hoodoo.

"At the moment though, we just have to take it one step at a time, it is the very early stages and we have got a home tie so we have got to make the most of it."

And Rankin knows exactly how the underdogs will feel, because he experienced the exact same emotions when he and his Ross County team-mates felt when they had to travel to Parkhead a few years back.

The midfielder was part of The Staggies side which lost 2-0 to Celtic in January 2004 in the Scottish Cup, goals from John Hartson and Paul Lambert sealing their fate.

But the Hibs player believes that then-manager Alex Smith gained huge respect from players and supporters of both sides because he refused to allow his side to sit in and wait for defeat to come to them.

Instead they hassled and harried Celtic – and played some decent football into the bargain – before eventually being knocked out.

"In my first season at County we played Celtic in a cup tie at Parkhead and we went into that game as massive underdogs," Rankin admitted, "so I know how the Irvine Meadow players will be feeling when they come to Easter Road.

"Alex Smith was the manager at that time and he went there with the philosophy that if we were gong to lose, we were going to go out in style. In the end we lost the game put we put on a good show and when the final whistle went, we got a standing ovation from the Celtic fans because we hadn't just gone there and sat in. I think it was nice for them to see."

Hibs have been praised for their own attacking brand of football this season and were rewarded at the weekend when hitman Derek Riordan hit the two goals which handed them victory over Falkirk.

However referee David Somers and the SPL have given his first strike as a Brian McLean own goal after the ball took a deflection off the Falkirk player and that statistic will now go down in the history book.

Rankin though, has no fears hat his team-mate will add more than a few more to his tally before the end of the season and he laughed: "Derek's not too happy, he's complaining that Celtic's Scott McDonald got his goal even though it took a deflection.

"Obviously the fact that the league have taken it off him doesn't mean anything and he is still claiming it! I think the club will give it to him but I'm sure that he'll have a few more to add on to them come the end of the season.

"He was in the right place at the right time to put the ball across goal and if the defender doesn't put it in then Stokesy is just waiting to put it into the back of the net so I don't know why they don't just give it to the attacking player because I'm pretty sure that the defender wouldn't want it.

"It was great technique, the way that he played it in, especially with the ball on his weaker foot. The second goal was just typical Derek and it was a great win for us, confidence is high now after that and two really hard-fought draws."

This weekend Hibs take on Motherwell and Rankin knows that victory could prove crucial come the end of the season and is hoping that his side can take all three points to stretch the gap on their rivals for a place in the Europa League next year.

He continued: "They are all difficult games to be honest, I think that Motherwell's win at the weekend was probably their best performance of the season so far.

"They are very attack minded and they are a good footballing side as well. The league is tight at the moment, we know that we have lost two games and that we are only two points off the top of the table, but if you look at it the other way, we are also only two points off of fifth place. It's a strange one but we are just taking everything in our stride, taking each game as it comes and hopefully we can get another three points in the bag this weekend to take us that wee bit further away from the teams below us in the table right now.

"Getting those points keeps us right up there at the top end of the table, people have said that we're doing well and it's great to be there at this stage of the season but we're not looking at top spot right, we're just trying to keep ourselves in front of the wee group that is tucked in behind the Old Firm.

"We have done well to stay up there so far and, if people are saying that the Old Firm haven't been doing as well as they should, that's great because it gives everyone else a chance to catch up on them. I don't think that anyone is going to run away with the title this season."

Rankin himself would love to chip in to his side's cause with a few goals of his own but playing a deeper role in recent weeks has left him still looking for his first strike. However he hopes that it won't be too long before he breaks his duck.

"We started the season with three up front and recently we've had four," he continued. "It is something of a different role for me, I am sitting that bit deeper so I know that it will be a bit more difficult for me to get as many goals as I did last season. I am enjoying the role that I played on Saturday so hopefully I can continue playing in there and maybe add a few goals as well."