Paul Kane: The lack of stomach was gut-wrenching

AS A fan you can accept defeat, but it was the manner of the defeat yesterday that was really gut-wrenching for the Hibs supporters.

As an ex-player, you know that no one goes out intentionally to put on a performance like that of Hibs yesterday. It was nothing to do with tactics or formations – they just didn’t turn up. There was not one Hibs player you could give pass marks to, and it was summed up for me on the bus coming home by a fan who pointed out that when Wimbledon played Liverpool in the 1988 FA Cup final, even though Liverpool were massive favourites, right at the start Vinnie Jones nailed Reds key man Steve McMahon to let them know they were in a match. Throughout the whole of yesterday’s final, there was not one tackle like that from Hibs.

Also, the likes of Rudi Skacel and Ian Black are good players, but if you give time and space to players like them, they perform even better which is why they dominated the game. We didn’t put our foot in for the second ball, never mind the first ball, and that sums it up for me. Their third goal just after half-time was the killer, which also saw Pa Kujabi getting sent off. If we had survived maybe another five or ten minutes without losing a goal and player, things might have been different, but to be perfectly honest, the better team won on the day.

The only positive thing we can take out of the final is the support that went through to Hampden. Some of the Hibs players might not be there next season, but it’s the fans who have to live with the consequences for a long time, and the bragging rights are definitely with the Hearts supporters this day, no question.