Jones inspires Hibs to victory

Published on Saturday 17 January 2009 18:33

Hibernian 2 Jones 12, Riordan 84 St Mirren0

WHEN Rob Jones is in this kind of form Hibs are a tough side to break down. Not only does he thrust his body in front of everything heading towards his own goal, he is a constant threat in the opposition area too.

This was a match where the first goal was always likely to prove pivotal. Jones' defensive bravery ensured it didn't fall to St Mirren, his aerial prowess was enough to gift it to Hibs.

There was already the hangover from last weekend's Scottish Cup exit to contend with, as well as the absence of the suspended Steven Fletcher and David van Zanten and the injured Ian Murray, so when St Mirren took the game to Hibs in the early stages, there was a nervousness in the ground.

The Leith side's season has been an up and down affair thus far, with fine spells of form interrupted by moments of self-harm. But there was at least some character in this performance. There needed to be.

St Mirren travelled through to the capital with the capacity to take something from the match. After their own indifferent start to the campaign, they have strung together a six-match unbeaten run since the end of November and have the swagger of a side enjoying the luxury of breathing space between themselves and the relegation squabble. They started the game with purpose and, with Craig Dargo and Dennis Wyness up front and several players possessed of progressive possession behind them, there was a determination to move the play into Hibs' half.

Garry Brady was a driving force in that and in the fifth minute Colin Nish had to clear his ball into the box, but the striker got it away only as far as Stephen McGinn who blasted his shot goalward and Rob Jones had to block. Brady broke into the Hibs area again a minute later but tried to do too much and when it broke to Wyness he couldn't find the net. From there play swung to the other end, as Hibs proved their willingness to sit in and hit on the break, but when the ball found Derek Riordan, his first-time attempt wasn't good enough.

In the 12th minute, it was St Mirren again. This time Franco Miranda swung in a cross from wide left and found Wyness unattended at the back post, but he couldn't get purchase on a header.

But then came the goal that settled the home side slightly. Steven Thicot burst from central midfield and from about 35 yards skelped it goalwards and forced Mark Howard to tip it over the bar. But from the resultant corner he couldn't deny Jones. Making the most of a crisp and incisive Riordan delivery the Hibs captain glanced his header into the net. It was a good move from two players who looked in the mood throughout the 90 minutes and it gave Hibs an advantage in more ways than one.

Not only were they a goal up, with nerves expunged, they knew that St Mirren would have to continue playing an open game in a bid to get back into things. That was always likely to allow them further opportunities to hit on the break.

They certainly had their tails up and Lewis Stevenson was the next to threaten but he hit wide. Then Nish and Riordan linked up on a couple of occasions, eventually forcing a save from Howard in the 35th minute. Nish played it in from the right and although his strike partner had made a timely diagonal run to the near post, he couldn't connect and Howard was able to smother the ball.

St Mirren were still foraging forward, but while the build up work was there, they couldn't cut through the solid Hibs rearguard. Andy Dorman had the best effort in the second half but while he did a lot of the hard work well, he couldn't combine power and precision when it mattered.

It seemed that may be a similar story for Riordan. Despite posing a problem with deliveries from dead-ball situations, when the chances fell to him in open play, he couldn't get the break, but as Gus Macpherson's men tried to carve out an equaliser in the latter stages he was able to pull out one of his specials to put the game beyond them.

St Mirren had come close again in the 81st minute but Jones, just a few yards in front of his own goal-line, was again the spoiler, heading Dorman's goalbound shot away.

But then, in the 84th minute, Riordan struck to score his seventh goal of the season. From wide left, he sent a right foot curler towards Howard's back post and while it clipped the upright on the way, it was still able to sneak inside and settle things.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Rob Jones. A rock in defence, blocking shots and producing clearing headers and then he weighed in with the opening goal.

QUICK FACT

With two of his team-mates sidelined for yesterday's match due to indiscipline, Sol Bamba should have been smarter. Instead he was booked for dissent just before half-time, taking him over the points tally and will now miss the Motherwell match in a couple of weeks.

TALKING POINT

The state of the Easter Road pitch. St Mirren weren't the only ones complaining about it, Hibs aren't pleased with it either and it made it tough for both teams.

Pitch is an embarrassment, says captain

HIBS captain Rob Jones has slammed the condition of the Easter Road pitch, saying he has played on better Sunday league surfaces, writes Moira Gordon.

Speaking after his side had defeated St Mirren 2-0, he backed up the views of opposition boss Gus MacPherson as well as his own manager Mixu Paatelainen. "I won't mince my words, that pitch is embarrassing. I don't know how any team or player can play good, attractive football on a surface like that. It's probably the worst I've seen since I've been here and you just don't expect to play on a pitch like that, not in the SPL.

"I don't know what's wrong with it, I'm not a groundsman. If I was a groundsman I would do something about it. We are still trying to play the way the gaffer wants us to and the way our players want to play but, at times, it's very difficult and the turf just gives way with you, it's very bobbly out there and very wet but you have to deal with it."

MacPherson didn't think teams should have to. Describing the pitch as "shocking" he said: "In this day and age that's not a surface top level football should be played on. You could see the problem for both teams. In the final third we couldn't get the shot away quickly enough but the players have an excuse when the pitch is like that."

At half-time, as the St Mirren players waited for their hosts to re-emerge, it was like watching the stomping of the divots at a polo match, and Paatelainen acknowledged the problem. "Unfortunately that is the situation. I know that the chairman is looking at it and there's a possibility, when the time is right, that we can do something about it."