It's a strange game football. This was perhaps our worst performance of the season, the Rangers game excepted, not as fluent as the Hearts game, not as exciting as the Dunfermline one. Yet there was a strange feeling of relief at the final whistle, like a large weight lifting. We'd won.
Yet I didn't feel as excited as I should have, more a feeling that we'd just got out of jail. We're far from out of the woods yet, but we're back in contention with teams above us once more. To be fair, though, the average age of this Dundee team was just around 22, and we fielded 8 Scots and an Englishman out of the 14 players used. The 2 on the bench who weren't used were also young Scots.
It was difficult to find anything interesting to report from a Dundee point of view in the entire first half. Early on Forbes almost got Caballaro in on goal but he was fractionally slow with the pass and Fabian was caught offsides. Caballero was showing glimpses of his rare talent and one turn that completely flummoxed a defender had the fans applauding.
Young Gavin Beith had hardly settled into the game when he bravely rose to challenge for a high ball. The resultant head knock saw the kid stretchered off in the 5th minute and he took no further part. He's to be checked out at hospital for concussion.
Two minutes later we go behind to the softest of goals from the dark blue point of view. From a corner kick we get 3 chances to clear the ball but when it goes no further than O'CONNER he sends a glorious drive into the far corner of the net to give Hibs the lead.
In the 9th minute a moment of controversy when Wullie Young turns a blind eye when a Jablonski shot appears to strike the arm of Colgan who had raced out of his box to challenge the young midfielder.
Nemsadze threads a superb ball through the Hibs defence to Sara unmarked to the right of the goal. Instead of trying to control the ball or have a go the big striker knocks it high across the goal but there are no takers.
In the 12th minute Caballero finds Sara yet again, all the play is going through Sara and he's failing to deliver. His resultant cross for Forbes sails miles over his head.
Hibs are in full control at this stage of the game, and Speroni had to make 2 excellent saves to keep his team in the game. My next scribbled note came in the 25th minute when a Hibs player was booked after Mr. Young had allowed at least a dozen fouls go unpunished before. Forbes followed him in the book not long after.
The game was getting niggly. Hibs seemed content to try to unsettle Dundee, and they were certainly grafting hard. But there was a distinct lack of any cohesion or football being played in this first half.
Just before half time Barry Forbes, who was looking good, ghosted down the left and his final ball is desperately toed for a corner with Sara waiting to pounce. Jablonski gets a free header from a corner but nods the ball over the bar to his own disgust.
Hibs deserved the lead at the break, but Dundee had turned on a woeful first half performance and the fans were quite rightly very unhappy at this stage of the match.
Sara finally got a shot at Colgin when he fired a shot straight at him from a difficult angle after Jablonski had laid the ball to him.
Fabian Caballero forced Nick Colgan to make the save of the game, fingertipping Fab's great shot from the right.
Dundee had raised the game a fraction but it was still poor fare that was on offer. I witnessed more punts up the park in this game than I ever hoped to see again from a Dundee team.
With half an hour remaining Milne replaced Sara and new signing Steve Lovell came on to make his debut, replacing the very impressive Forbes on the left.
Why Hibs persisted in wasting time with half an hour to go but it seemed that instead of having a go at Dundee Bobby Williamson was content to see them hold the lead. O'Conner was booked for a blatant dive and Colgin followed him into the wee black book for time wasting at goal kicks.
15 minutes remaining and some Dundee fans actually making their way out at this early stage. I found myself watching the match, but not enjoying it, entering some sort of sleep like state that I haven't experienced since the Jocky Scott days, and wishing the whistle would go to put me out of my misery.
|
The last 15 minutes had moments much more like old times. Perhaps the players felt the same weight the fans had and with this goal there was a definite lift in the heart and the players found a bit more spring in their step.
Giorgi Nemsadze turned on a magnificent last 15 minutes, so too did Fabian Caballero. They were the two who showed the flair and imaginative use of the ball that we had became all to used to seeing for two seasons. The others had given their all and worked their socks off but there is a lack of cohesion about the team just now.
However, in the last 15 minutes we suddenly began finding the gaps that had eluded us all through the game. Gavin Rae could have given Dundee the lead after amazing interpassing by Nemsadze and Caballero set him in on goal. It looked like he might have taken the ball another yard or two further in but he opted to shoot first time and the ball zooms wide of the far post.
|
The 90th minute, a blur of players in the box, an almight scramble and panicky attempts by Hibs to clear the ball. Suddenly a figure looms large and the ball soars high into the roof of the net. It wasn't until the DJ announced the name STEVE LOVELL as the scorer that a buzz went round the ground. The debut boy with perhaps the only thing of note he'd done in the half hour he was on had gained us our first 3 points of the season and the finish was good.
The game seems to go on for an eternity after that and both teams try to attack, but at last Mr. Young blows for time and the relief is great.
Not the kind of football the purists want to see, but against a Hibs team more than happy to play a spoiling game and boot the ball out of the park when danger threatened, no one can really criticise. Maybe it was horses for courses and the tactics were right for the day. If we hadn't won maybe I'd be crying for JD's head. He lives to fight another day.
And who knows, we watched United beat us twice last season with similar tactics to that used by Hibs. Maybe today was a rehearsel for the derby.
FORM RATING: JULIAN SPERONI - no chance with the goal and after that he made a couple of good saves. Nothing to do in the second half but deal with pass backs. DAVE MACKAY - His best game for some time, especially in the second half. He seemed to deal with any threats down his wing very well and is beginning to deliver better cross balls when overlapping. BARRY SMITH - If you berate a player when he's bad surely you should praise him when he's good. Barry was my man of the match today, he was gutsy, battled from start to finish and was a true captain by example. LEE WILKIE - One or two basic errors apart Lee was another fine performer at the back. His tackling was divine and he showed a cool head and tried to be positive throughout. JONAY HERNANDEZ - after last week it was obvious he was more restrained today and not allowed so many spearheads into the opposition box. But he showed amazing touches and skills and his cross into the box for our equaliser was perfection itself. GAVIN RAE - still not the player he should be, but had his moments. A couple of surging runs and a shot that didn't miss by much. He played a much deeper role again today and was involved in a good few last ditch tackles at the edge of the box. Still gives the ball away too easily at times, though. GIORGI NEMSADZE - never has a website editor prayed to be wrong. My scoop on Giorgi going to Celtic will be found true or nonsense in 7 days time. Please tell me my source was having a joke at my expense. Giorgi when he was on song showed skills out of the top drawer. GAVIN BEITH - only on for 7 minutes when a clash of heads saw him stretchered off. This guy has great talent, his chance will come again. BARRY FORBES - The best I've seen young Barry play. Some excellent surging runs down the left, intelligent play and you could see what he was trying to do. He'll get better with matches. These youngsters who got little or no chance under Ivano must think it's Xmas with JD at the helm. JUAN SARA - Still not firing on all cylinders. Slow in reacting to balls played to him, not working hard enough, not challenging in the air enough and totally lacking in confidence. Having said that he'll probably score a hat trick next week. FABIAN CABALLERO - Began the game well, showing some great touches and skills, then fell out of the game as he so often does. But in the second half he came closest to scoring before he finally did so. He ended the match in blazing form and he's getting closer all the time to the Fab we all know so well. STEVIE MILNE - came on and battled as he always does. Lack of work rate or commitment has never been a crime that can be laid at Savo's door. He caused a lot of panic in the Hibs rearguard. STEVEN LOVELL - What a way to start as a Dee. A goal in his debut and a winning one at that. I saw him touch the ball 8 times in the half hour he was on, and he seemed to be playing a deeper role, more of a midfielder than a striker. But he popped up in the right place at the right time and no one can complain. It will take time to get to know his mates and understand the Scottish game of kick and run as well. But that was a perfect start, young man. NEIL JABLONSKI - He's a Scot, from Glasgow, despite his name. I watched him play at Thomson Park not so long ago in a mini tournament and I was immediately struck by the talent of this kid. Think he's not much over 18 and is a great player for the future. Any experience he can gain now will prove useful for him in future. A wee bit overawed at times but he got stuck in and sent some intelligent balls to players in space. Remember this name, he could go far, very far.