St Mirren 0 Hibernian 0: Shiels subjected to fans' abuse

Published on Saturday 1 November 2008 19:02

THE only incident of note at Love Street yesterday occured after the full-time whistle. It made for a stain on an afternoon that left no other mark. As Dean Shiels walked towards the tunnel at the end of an entirely underwhelming scoreless draw, he was abused by a group of St Mirren supporters over his visual impairment, the Hibernian striker having an eye removed three years ago after losing the sight in it as a youngster.

Shiels, earlier substituted following a knock, responded to the taunts by making a play for those responsible and was immediately restrained by Easter Road coach Donald Park. Despite the appalling and distressing nature of the victimisation, Shiels said later he had "reacted stupidly" to the sort of shouts he revealed he regularly has to face at away games.

"I get it quite a lot but I just concentrate on playing," he said. "But I heard it more because it wasn't during the game. They can say what they want, there is freedom of speech. It was just a handful of people."

Shiels is wrong because, just as with those indulging in racism through singing The Famine Song, abuse on the grounds of disability is illegal. His treatent calls into question again the conduct of Scottish football supporters that too many are willing to excuse.

Yesterday was the last time Hibs will visit the Love Street, with the Paisley club moving into a new stadium in January and Shiels, understandably, won't be sorry to see the back of it. "It is pretty dour and not that exciting." The same could be said of yesterday's match.

Bizarrely, Gus MacPherson claimed the peformance of his men was the "best" they had produced all season. "It is a frustrating point because I feel we deserved to win."

The St Mirren manager, voted the best in his business for the month of October, was on more solid ground claiming his team had passed the ball around better than their opponents and only fell down through not being "a wee bit sharper with the final pass or the final cross". He lamented opportunities squandered by Billy Mehmet and Dennis Wyness, two of only a handful of scoring opportunities across the entire contest.

His Hibs counterpart, Mixu Paatelainen, meanwhile, bemoaned the fact his team's passing "fell apart" after 20 minutes. Nothing in the visitors' play was ever very together, especially in attacking areas. The Finn, banished to the Love Street stand for the start of a four-match ban, retained the three-man strikeforce of Steven Fletcher, Derek Riordan and Colin Nish in an unchanged XI from the team that won plaudits in losing 4-2 at Celtic Park the previous week. But he did not derive the same forward thrust from his 4-3-3 formation. Or, more accurately no forward thrust in the opening period.

Hibs' three forwards were practically bystanders. In sticking to advanced positions, the attacking trio left their midfield outnumbered. As a result, St Mirren were able to take the initiative, with Garry Brady's promptings and Franco Miranda's unchecked marauding down the left flank ensuring the notable activity, such as there was, tended to restricted to the visitors' half.

The Spaniard had a series of shots from the edge of the area that didn't trouble Yves Ma-Kalambay. The much, and justly, maligned Hibs keeper dealt pretty convincingly with any balls pinged in the direction of his goalmouth, though most floated straight towards him. The best conjured up by either side before the interval were quarter chances (they weren't so clear-cut even to be of the half variety). Nine minutes from the break, Shiels slalomed his way into the penalty box and it looked as if a net-bursting shot might ensue. Alas, such an exciting prospect was ended when Jack Ross slid in and nicked the ball away from the midfielder's toe.

For about the first 10 minutes of the second half, a sense of urgency seemed to grip Hibs, and Riordan ghosted in at the back post to force a decent close-range block from Mark Howard only for the striker's follow-up to bounce harmlessly into the keeper's arms. Billy Mehmet then failed to make the most of the first real, honest-to-goodness opening when free in the middle of goal he grazed rather than powerful contact with an inviting Miranda cross.

And so the pattern played out. Wyness really ought to have shot straight at Ma-Kalambay when he was picked out on the edge of the six-yard box by a Murray cross but he turned one way, then the other instead of taking a touch and blootering the ball. Both teams stepped up the energy levels in their attempts to snatch a late winner and Howard was at full stretch to tip over a fizzing drive from Hibs' substitute Fabian Yantorno. Pity he only got 23 minutes.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Across the 90 minutes, no fewer than nine strikers were given a crack at rustling up a goal. Yet the man whose forward forays carried most threat was St Mirren left-back Franco Miranda.

QUICK FACT

Hibs haven't won at Love Street since 1999. Not as bad as it sounds with St Mirren not in the same league as them for around half the years since.

TALKING POINT

Why do the cretins who attend football games believe they have the right to abuse players in any sickening fashion they like, as those who thought Dean Shiels was fair game for having one eye did yesterday? It was disgraceful.