Hibernian 0 - 1 Dunfermline: Hibees vent fury after feeble showing

“HEARING the Hibernian support in the away end at Celtic Park celebrating at the full-time whistle was a special moment.” That was Colin Calderwood in his programme notes. Seven days on from that match and the cheers had been replaced by vociferous jeering.

But the boos which resounded round the ground as the players left the field after another home defeat were just the appetiser as an angry section of the support reassembled outside the main entrance calling for the board to be sacked and the immediate departure of chairman Rod Petrie.

Hibs have now managed just one home win in nine months in the SPL and the frustration has been growing. The fans have not been slow to voice their displeasure, with the booing almost de rigeur come full-time at Easter Road. But yesterday was a step up from that. It was the day when the fans’ patience finally snapped. And it should make for an uncomfortable and contentious AGM on Tuesday. The chairman has ignored calls for his own head and that of his manager Colin Calderwood already this season but weathering this storm is not going to be easy now that Hibs have sucked back into the relegation dogfight.

“Without a doubt, we are more disappointed than them,” said Calderwood. He said he hadn’t had the chance to speak with Petrie since the match but that he would do so before the AGM. But they will have to go some if they are to put a positive spin on things and offer hope that the current squad can find a way out of the mire. There have only been 12 wins in Calderwood’s 49 games in charge and only one at home in the league this season and Calderwood says that he has to take most of the flak, although considering he fielded the same starting XI which held Celtic to a 0-0 draw at Parkhead last weekend, the players are not blameless.

“It is a sad day,” admitted Ivan Sproule, his post-match interview accompanied by the noise of irate shouting and singing. “I would expect nothing else. If I was a fan I would be angry, disappointed, everything they are at the minute. It’s not good enough.”

It was the same team but a very different performance from a week ago. Yesterday they simply weren’t good enough and came unstuck against a team which had started the day second-bottom of the SPL. And they wonder why frustration is their fans’ most enduring feeling.

The emotions of the visitors could not have been more contrasting. This was their first win in 11 matches, the last coming way back in August. It was enough to lift the Fife side into tenth position.

For long spells in the second half they were hanging on but they can take pride in doing everything they needed to. Hibs, meanwhile, will have a fortnight to work on their own deficiencies when it comes to converting possession into something more worthwhile.

In the build-up to the match the Hibs camp talked about respecting the opposition despite their lowly position and they chattered on about how the points would not be gifted to them. But when it came to substituting words with deeds, they came up short.

It was credit to Jim McIntyre’s men. Struggling with form, they have maintained a laudable level of belief if this performance is anything to judge by. Coming into the game on the back of a 4-1 hammering from Dundee United and bedevilled by injuries, they had been hampered further by the SFA’s decision to uphold the red card dished out to Gary Mason last weekend, which ruled the midfielder out of this contest. But they earned this win over adversity and over a team which lacked their spirit.

The only goal came in the second minute and was the first example of the kind of delightful pass Paul Willis would whip into the box all afternoon. His cross in from the left was met by Austin McCann, utilised in a more advanced role than normal, and he finished calmly at the back post.

Watched by former Hearts manager Csaba Laszlo, Hibs had more possession but could not muster enough quality or poise in their final pass or shot against a Dunfermline side who were organised, dogged and more than able. The link-up play wasn’t good enough and neither were the deliveries or the attempted executions. That was particularly evident in the opening period of the second half when Hibs camped out in the Dunfermline half without finding a way through and it said everything about the impotency of the attack that captain Garry O’Connor was taken off as Hibs looked for some fresh ideas. Even with the net gaping late on, Leigh Griffiths could only crash his shot off the crossbar, his blushes only marginally spared by the fact the assistant referee had already flagged for offside.

“We had 88 minutes to get the game back,” said Sproule, “and we didn’t get it back. We are nowhere near where we should be at the minute.”

He said it was a sticky patch and he and his manager reiterated their belief that the can find a way out of it.

But the excuses are running out almost as quickly as the patience.