JEKYLL AND HIDE
Hibs raise game for Old Firm but not the other sides.. it’s a worry
SOMEWHERE in my scrapbook is a Record Sport back page of the T Man going toe to toe with former magician, escapologist and referee Mike McCurry.
Exhibit A appears to show yours truly manhandling the extroverted official.
I was a Hibs player and it was the first time Alex McLeish had come back to Easter Road since leaving the club to become Rangers manager.
We were three goals down, Ulrik Laursen deliberately stopped Fernando Ricksen’s shot with his hand on the line and was sent off.
I told Mike what I thought of his decision, I called him a “cheating b ****** ”.
I’ve omitted a colourful word in the interest of family newspaper decency but the implication was that he was out to favour Rangers.
I was fuming with Mike and refused to leave the field. At one point I laid hands on him – we had been pumped, it was pure frustration.
Franck Sauzee was the manager at Easter Road, he wasn’t impressed. I was fined two weeks’ wages and missed some key games. That night all those years ago – December 2001 – came flooding back as I saw Martin Boyle suffer the same fate in defeat to Ross County.
I’ll get to him in a minute but how typical of Hibs. Highs and lows in the space of a few days.
This is a group of players who hadn’t played for three weeks before beating Rangers in the League Cup semi-final at Hampden.
Prior to that they had lost their previous four games but
all of sudden they delivered an empathic performance.
In a matter of a few days all of those good feelings come crashing down to earth and it’s a downer again. It’s a worry.
I always expected it to be a difficult game against County. They have hit a bit of form and Dingwall is never an easy place to visit as it presents different challenges than usual, the distance to the Highlands from Edinburgh being one.
Despite what the league table may suggest, I don’t believe County are the worst team in the league.
This fixture was always going to be close and would be decided by whichever side managed to get that wee break.
It was hard to believe this was the same Hibs side which had hammered Rangers and it was also a night of missed chances.
Kevin Nisbet was guilty of passing up a few openings and all of a sudden there were red cards being dished out and a bad night became a nightmare.
County managed to get that break with their goal and then it’s compounded by the disaster of Christian Doidge being sent off and rightly so.
The biggest issue of the night was Boyle also seeing red for something he said to referee Gavin Duncan.
Duncan had a bad night and Boyle has shown his frustration but it’s damaging and insult has been added to injury as he’ll now miss a big game this weekend.
He’s one guy Jack
Ross can’t do without. When Boyle is at it, Hibs are at it as he’s the difference maker, you only need to see what happened against Rangers at Hampden.
But he will now sit out the game with St Johnstone in Perth on Saturday while Doidge could miss that match and the clash with Rangers at Easter Road on Wednesday if Hibs’ appeal fails.
There appears to be an issue with Hibs being able to raise their game against the Old Firm and then dip for other matches. It’s not good enough, it’s now five league defeats in a row and the worst top-flight run since back in season 2013-14. The fans will be delighted to reach the League Cup Final but that achievement is clouded by where we are in the league. Seventh spot and in freefall and the big R is something we need to talk about as five straight defeats is relegation form. Jack will know that but the pressure is on. There is a lot of football to be played before the cup final so Hibs need to get the finger out and start producing consistently.