Hibs and Killie miss a trick in top-six tussle
HIBERNIAN 0 KILMARNOCK 0
HIBS enjoyed a late flurry but missed out on the chance to climb above city rivals Hearts ahead of Saturday’s Edinburgh derby.
Likewise, Kilmarnock missed enough chances to win a couple of games on a night when they slipped a daunting eight points behind Rangers in the battle to finish second.
Hardly an occasion likely to be long celebrated, then, by either club. And it’s doubtful if, even by the weekend, many in attendance will remember much about this oddly flat encounter on a bitterly cold night in the capital.
The second half was more entertaining than the first. Which wasn’t hard. But, in a game with four bookings for the visitors and two for the hosts, the emphasis was very much on breaking up play.
Which was surprising when you consider the form of both clubs, especially looking at how Killie climbed back into third spot with their five-goal demolition of Hamilton last weekend.
Hibs remain undefeated in the league under new boss Paul Heckingbottom but, after five wins from their last six league matches, might have expected more here.
The last time these teams crossed paths, of course, the Rugby Park floodlights failed twice on that dark December afternoon.
But it was Hibs who suffered power failure, succumbing to a 3-0 loss at odds with the usual pattern when this pair clash.
Kilmarnock’s previous two visits to Easter Road, after all, had ended in 3-2 and 5-3 wins for the hosts.
So, an aggregate score of 8-8 in their last three meetings? If ever a fixture was due to produce a dull nil-nil…
Early signs looked promising for the visitors, who had a spell of possession when Hibs could barely get a toe on the ball, never mind make an actual interception and do something productive with it.
The men in red and black just kept switching play, giving and going, probing and exploring the ranks of green for weak spots. Of which there were more than a few.
Killie boss Steve Clarke, suffering from a heavy cold, might have been feeling a bit better after those opening exchanges here. Especially if the visitors could carve out a clear-cut chance.
Hibs? They could have done with putting some passes together. Or at least curing themselves of whatever was ailing their central midfield trio of Stevie Mallan, Vykintas Slivka and Stephane Omeonga, all guilty of gifting possession to the opposition.
Mallan playing in the holding midfield role seemed particularly odd, given his goal threat and lack of natural defensive instincts.
With 24 minutes on the clock, indeed, he was one of several Hibs players caught out as Kilmarnock stole the ball and broke from midfield.
The visitors should have done better than produce an Aaron Tshibola shot that curled high and wide of the target from 20 yards.
With home defenders retreating, a little more patience may well have been rewarded. Stuart Findlay should also have done better than to put his free header from a Rory McKenzie corner straight into the arms of Ofir Marciano.
It took until after the half-hour mark for Hibs to show some signs of life. Angered by McKenzie’s professional foul on Lewis Stevenson, for which the Killie winger was booked, they raised their tempo.
An absolutely blistering counterattack starting in their own box ended with a Daryl Horgan shot well held by Daniel Bachmann.
And Omeonga, fired up by an earlier clash with Yo us souf Mulumbu, suddenly started finding gaps to go at the visitors. But the home side’s inability to defend at set-pieces should have seen them fall behind just before half-time, Marciano again grateful for poor finishing by Killie as Kirk Broadfoot — unmarked to meet a McKenzie free-kick — headed straight at the goalie.
And, ten minutes into the second half, Paul Hanlon committed the kind of howler that deserved to be punished with a goal — but wasn’t.
The Hibs centre-half played a pass straight to the feet of Jordan Jones, who advanced on goalkeeper Marciano and let fly with a well-hit shot… only to see the Israeli international throw out a giant right paw and pull off a wonder save.
Hibs looked much improved when Darren McGregor came off the bench to replace Slivka, allowing Mark Milligan to step forward into the midfield holding role and Mallan to push up one.
Oli Shaw also came close to making an impact from the bench for the hosts, nodding wide from a Stevenson cross after another driving Omeonga run. But, over the course of the 90 minutes, perhaps none looked more likely to score than a certain Kris Boyd.
On as a half-time sub, he had to wait until six minutes from time for his opening. But his header from perfect Boyd range — no more than five yards — was stopped on the line by the well-positioned Marciano.