Better by degrees for hibs

It would be pushing it to claim Hibs’ fortunes have taken a turn for the better over the course of this month but September has, at least, seen a small but nonetheless significant improvement for Colin Calderwood’s side.

A run of four matches unbeaten and with it a place in the last eight of the Scottish Communities League Cup has restored, partially, the feelgood factor, the Easter Road outfit having also managed to claw away from bottom place in the SPL table.

Okay, it’s only been a marginal rise, just a point separating them from the position they’d been in a few weeks ago but now, with Wednesday night’s game in hand against St Johnstone, there is the chance to pull themselves towards a more respectable midtable placing in a league which, outwith the Old Firm, continues to throw up eyebrow-raising results such as St Mirren’s 3-0 mauling of Kilmarnock.

St Johnstone, as well as others, have been somewhat erratic, but they’ll arrive in the Capital buoyed by yesterday’s convincing home victory over Hearts and well aware of the vulnerabilities which continue to afflict Hibs, namely that ongoing tendency to make it too easy for their opponents to score. It is a factor which has not only contributed to months of misery for supporters but an equally dismal home record, Calderwood’s players without a league win at Easter Road since February 26. Nine such games have been played since the 2-0 win over Inverness Caley, ten goals conceded in the five matches towards the end of last season and, now, seven more in four fixtures in this campaign.

In all, Graham Stack has been forced to pick the ball out of his net 15 times in just eight SPL clashes, cleansheets something of a rarity for the goalkeeper and his team-mates.

And while this might have been a six-goal thriller, Hibs storming back from 3-1 down and seemingly heading for certain defeat, the fact they managed to score three at home and not win shouldn’t be overlooked, Dundee United finding their way past Stack all too easily.

Calderwood admitted: “There has to be an improvement, we look too vulnerable. I think we are a bit open. They could have scored first easily.” Leith-born Danny Swanson had scuffed a great chance wide and had his run on Stack halted by what he saw as a dubious offside flag before Hibs, in the estimation of United boss Peter Houston, scored against the run of play, Junior Agogo providing a delightful through ball for Garry O’Connor who, having rounded Tannadice goalkeeper Dusan Pernis still had much to do but did so with aplomb, delivering a shot with both power and accuracy from a tight angle to beat the covering defender on the line.

It was O’Connor’s eighth goal of the season and the manner in which he took the opportunity would have caught the eye of watching Scotland manager Craig Levein, although Calderwood afterwards refused to enter a debate as to whether his striker deserved a recall for the forthcoming crucial Euro 2012 qualifying matches against Spain and Liechtenstein.

His stance, though, did nothing to diminish his appreciation of O’Connor’s finish, Calderwood saying: “It looked as if the keeper had managed to force him wide but he fired it in with power because there was still someone covering. It was top class. I didn’t see his second goal on Tuesday night [against Motherwell] because someone stood in front of me so I didn’t realise what a good finish that was as well.”

Hibs’ lead was, however, again all too short-lived, Stack failing to hold a low shot from former Hibs midfielder John Rankin – whose run into the danger zone had gone unchecked – allowing United skipper Jon Daly to hammer home the loose ball.

Four minutes later and Hibs were behind, Agogo robbed by Rankin to put in Swanson for what is almost becoming his customary goal against his “hometown” team. And when Daly threw himself full length to head home a Paul Dixon cross which should have been cut out long before it reached him, it looked all over for Hibs.

But just as they’d been hit by that quick one-two in the first half, they stunned United with two goals in rapid time themselves. In a move straight from the training ground Isaiah Osbourne peeled round the back to gather Leigh Griffiths’ corner, gathering the ball and drilling in a low shot which caught the outstretched leg of Tayside defender Scott Robertson and flashed over the line.

It was put down as an own goal but the former Aston Villa midfieler remained adamant his shot was destined for the net in any case, even though Willo Flood was positioned on the far post. No matter, it put Hibs right back in the game and barely two more minutes had elapsed before O’Connor returned Agogo’s favour, providing the pass for his team-mate to steer a precise shot into the corner of the net for his first goal in a green and white shirt.

“Gutted,” was Houston’s reaction, the United boss going on to say: “It feels a bit like a defeat, a mad minute. We’d shown great character to get in front having gone behind against the run of play. At half-time I felt there was more to come from us and we got it with a great goal to go 3-1 up.

“Then we lost a couple of soft goals. The first wasn’t going in, Flood was going to clear it. When I look at our week we’ve won two, come to Easter Road and scored three but it could have been so much better.”

Houston felt that if his side had steadied themselves at 3-2 for five minutes they’d have held out to win but Calderwood believed the impetus turned in his team’s favour. He said: “It was another good game of football but I think the players take the credit because we were really up against it for a period. We did not play in the second half and them scoring a third was probably just reward because of how poor we were. But then we got a goal and suddenly that sparked it.

“They got a goal first half, then scored quickly again and that changed the game in a moment. But when we got our third the momentum was, I think, a bit more with us and had there been another goal you would not have been surprised if it was for us. But in all honesty, they looked as if they could have scored as well.”

The need, however, for a home win wasn’t lost on Calderwood although with just one league victory to their name such a result would be welcome wherever it might come. The Hibs boss reasoned: “If you have ten home victories at the end of the season that would be nice.

“If they came in the first ten games everyone would say you have a great home record. If you finish with ten it’s still a good home record – but it’s a stuttering start.”