Hibs up and running with thriller

The victory, narrow as it was, has, in the words of the manager, got Hibs "up and running", providing a platform on which to build and the confidence to do so.

If the goals tally didn't quite match that earlier epic at Fir Park, one which returned an SPL record which you'd imagine will stand for some time, then there were certainly plenty of thrills for both sets of supporters and goalmouth incidents aplenty to suggest that the five scored was something of a paltry return.

Both Hughes and his Motherwell counterpart Craig Brown saw enough to enable both to suggest that their respective sides might have done so, the Hibs boss claiming, with some justification, the margin of victory could have been greater while the former Scotland manager was equally right in suggesting his team deserved a bit more than nothing for their efforts.

Ultimately, however, the Steelmen paid the price for failing to cash in on their early dominance although goalkeeper Darren Randolph's fifth-minute stop from Anthony Stokes hardly hinted at what was to come, John Sutton applying the finishing touch to Tom Hateley's cross, his strike coming in the middle of a fraught spell for the Edinburgh club.

"We should have had an unassailable lead," sighed Brown, before reflecting there's probably no such thing when these two clubs clash, although it was an accurate description of proceedings as Hibs struggled to wipe the sleep from their eyes, the noon start more usually associated with a gentle Sunday stroll for the morning papers and rolls.

Chris Humphrey terrorised Paul Hanlon on the right flank, firing in a series of crosses which simply begged to be put beyond Graham Stack in the visiting goal while Motherwell's 4-1-4-1 formation left them with a firm grip of proceedings in midfield.Sol Bamba, at his imperious best, twice came up with last-gasp blocks to prevent Sutton adding to the advantage he had provided, Steven Saunders powered a header over rather than in before Hibs slowly began to turn the tide in their favour, Kevin McBride bursting into the penalty area only to see Randolph pushing his viciously rising shot behind and then Bamba managing to get his head to Derek Riordan's free-kick for Stokes to blast home from a couple of yards - deep into the second minute of added on time at the end of the first half.

Stokes' goal, his third of the week following his double for the Republic of Ireland's Under-21 side, couldn't have been more timely, leading Brown to observe: "We had enough chances but if you do not take them you pay the penalty."

Hughes, of course, has always made much of Hibs' formidable strikeforce, the trio of Stokes, Riordan and Colin Nish having notched more than 50 between them last season but, on this occasion, it was defender Paul Hanlon and midfield ace Liam Miller who got the goals which ultimately proved decisive.

Humphrey had sent in a speculative cross which sailed over the hands of Stack and crashed back off the inside of the post and Riordan had seen Randolph, who had fingertipped away another Stokes effort, get his body behind a low shot as the game stretched, a scenario which helped Hibs with their ability to hit on the counter- attack, the Hibs striker delivering, at the second attempt, a wicked cross which allowed Hanlon to steal in to bundle the ball home at the back post.

Motherwell were angry on two counts, that Bamba had impeded Randolph and Hanlon had used an arm to propel the ball over the line. the youngster's hesitancy before wheeling away to celebrate suggesting there might have been some sort of question mark over his goal's legitimacy.

There were none, however, when Riordan threaded the ball through for Miller to drill a low shot under Randolph to give Hibs a two-goal cushion. Nothing, however, is quite so straightforward for Hibs and when Nish inadvisedly tugged at substitute Nick Blackman's jersey referee Craig Thomson immediately pointed to the spot.

"Soft", was Hughes assessment, given Blackman had been clearly heading out of the penalty area, while Brown felt it was the least obvious of the three claims his side had.

Jamie Murphy left the game on a knife-edge as he sent Stack the wrong way from the spot although Hibs, revelling in the space afforded as Motherwell fought to get back into the game, could, and probably should, have had the game well beyond their opponents, just as Brown felt his players had let the Easter Road outfit off the hook in those opening minutes.

Randolph managed to prevent Miller claiming an identical strike, Nish ran out of legs having been sent free by Stokes and Riordan twice contrived to screw shots over and wide, substitute David Stephens highlighting the precarious nature of Hibs' lead as he threw himself in front of Keith Lasley's injury time shot to ensure victory.

No goals, then, for Riordan who professed to being happy enough to lay claim to three "assists", leaving a clearly happy Hughes to say: "I felt that for the first 25 minutes Motherwell were the better side.

"We took that long to get ourselves going so we were delighted to get a goal right on half-time.

"We were the better team in the second half. I've seen better football from us but I felt with the three we have up-front we could score.

To be honest, I felt we were good for another two or three.

"I thought we got our substitutions right, big Stephens went on and gave us a physical presence when they were putting high balls into our box.

"I was delighted with the spirit and character we showed to win.

"But we aren't getting carried away, it's the first game of the season. Last year expectations rose too high. We improved on the year before which was good but we have to keep expectations down, try to win every week and see where it takes us.

"We are at our best when we play with a pride, passion and real desire. However, we need all 11 to be doing that. If one or two up top take a day off that's when we are vulnerable."

Boss John Hughes couldn't have asked for much more from the opening game of the new SPL season, one in which the Easter Road outfit hope to at least emulate last year's fourth place finish, than the three points earned from a pulsating 90 minutes.The goal, though, according to Stokes remains the same: "Europe." He said: "I think we are looking more solid defensively and in midfield and with our striking options there's always the chance we will score goals.

"But when Motherwell had us under pressure there were bodies being thrown in front of the ball, everyone got 30 or 40 yards back up the pitch to defend and overall it was a good performance."