Hibs 2-0 Aberdeen: Hibees smash and grab another win

Published on Monday 21 December 2009 09:52

IT's that time of year when football stars swap their strips for all sorts of tawdry fancy dress costumes as they set off for their Christmas party.

And few would have blamed Mark McGhee's Aberdeen side for wondering, as they watched Anthony Stokes bundle home Hibs' second goal, if their opponents had packed Dick Turpin masks, striped jerseys and a set of bags marked "swag" before setting off on the long journey to Pittodrie.

For while the Easter Road outfit eventually ran out comfortable winners, at that point, nine minutes into the second half, it looked very much as if John Hughes' players had staged a heist worthy of the Ocean's Eleven team.

Stokes' first goal, just before the interval, had certainly come very much against the run of play as Aberdeen, still smarting not only from the previous week's loss to Hamilton but the manner of their defeat at Easter Road earlier in the season in which they also lost two players to red cards, sought to wreak revenge amid the swirl of snow which had engulfed the stadium apparently prompting Hibs to change from their intended all-white kit to their traditional green.

But despite the Dons' early dominance you could sense what was about to happen, the opener again emphasising Hughes' claim that with players such as Stokes and Derek Riordan on the pitch his side are always likely to grab a goal whoever the opposition.

Latching on to a through ball, Republic of Ireland hitman Stokes broke through Charlie Mulgrew's challenge to slip the ball under Aberdeen goalkeeper Jamie Langfield.

It was his eighth of the season, and he didn't have to wait long for his ninth, reacting to fellow striker Colin Nish's scuffed shot to prod home at the back post, the home side's claims for offside waved away by assistant referee Brian McGarry who looked perfectly placed to make judgment.

Five goals in three games from Stokes have helped make it 12 SPL matches without defeat for Hibs, impressive records both on a personal level for Stokes and, more importantly, for the Edinburgh club as, with Dundee United idle thanks to the wintry weather, they not only tightened their grip on third place but continued to keep the heat on both leaders Rangers and Celtic.

Amid the statistics, sight shouldn't be lost of the fact this was Hibs' first away win since dumping Motherwell 3-1 at Fir Park almost three months ago and while Hughes' players can boast a record of having lost just once on their travels, the manager was only too well aware that four draws "on the road" had inflicted some damage as he called for more victories outwith the Capital.

To that end, there was no surprise to find Hughes delighted to be facing the hazardous journey home with all three points from what has always been a difficult venue for any side, not withstanding Accies' victory in the Granite City seven days earlier.

He said: "It was a massive result for us. We knew this was always a hard place to go, that they would be hurting after last week so we are delighted to be going down the road with three points.

"I felt Aberdeen were slightly the better side in the first half and we possibly scored against the run of play and Stokesy enjoyed a ricochet which put him through.

"The second half we were much improved, scored a second goal and deserved to win. It was a professional job. Stokesy got two but we also have Derek, Colin and Benji who can all score goals so you have to be delighted to have players like them at your disposal."

As ever, it will be the strikers, and in this instance Stokes, who will take the headlines, but Hughes was quick to point out another clean sheet had been clocked up, Hibs' sixth in a run of nine games which has seen them concede a miserly three goals with only ten lost in 16 matches, a record which can only be matched by Rangers but one which will be put to the test – on both sides – when the two clash at Easter Road in Sunday's noon showdown.

The fact Hibs enjoyed another shut-out was down in no small part to the efforts of Yves Ma-Kalambay, the towering goalkeeper providing the perfect riposte to those who had criticised him for the goal lost at Kilmarnock a week earlier although he had been vindicated by Hughes who insisted the young Belgian had been fouled.

On three occasions before Stokes nosed Hibs ahead, Ma-Kalambay was in action, getting the merest of touches on Gary McDonald's low angled shot, pushing a Charlie Mulgrew free-kick round the post and then tipping over a dipping cross from Darren Mackie which was threatening to creep in under the bar.

And in the opening minutes of the second half, he prevented the Dons getting back into the match as he again fisted away a Mulgrew free-kick, tipped a rising shot from Richard Foster over and then stretched every inch of his 6ft 6in frame to get to McDonald's close-range drive.

Given that Aberdeen notched up a plethora of corners, 12 in all, it was inevitable that Ma-Kalambay would be beaten, but there was David Wotherspoon to take Andrew Considine's header off the line, the third time he'd done so this season and another sign of the work and organisation which is being put in on the training ground on a daily basis, the youngster merely shrugging his shoulders as he nonchalantly observed: "That's my job."

But, as the mounting statistics suggest, Hibs have lost that tag of being regarded as "soft touches," Hughes having instilled a steel and determination in his side, an attitude epitomised, he believes, by skipper Chris Hogg, who has bounced back from being dropped earlier in the season to become a rock in the heart of defence.

Hughes, however, believes Hogg adds much more than just an individual contribution each week, insisting: "Our back four were immense, marshalled well by the captain.

"But Chris has been really good for me.

"I could possibly pick the reason for that, he's clever enough to grasp the concept of what I am after and then he goes out there and applies himself."

For his part McGhee, while questioning whether Stokes was offside for that all-important second goal, was more circumspect about the outcome than he was earlier in the season following that bad-tempered encounter at Easter Road, reasoning that even if that strike had been disallowed Hibs would have gone on to win 1-0 given his side's inability to put the ball in the net.

The Dons have managed to do so just 12 times this season, going a long way to explaining why they now lie 14 points behind Hibs, McGhee answering the question on whether he felt his team was the better side for long spells by saying: "How do you measure that? It's the one that scores the most goals."

And that is what's proving to be the difference between Hibs and many of their rivals this season.