Doidge seals third spot for Hibs as Glass is shattered

HERE endeth the argument. Hibernian finish third in the Premiership, a lofty height they haven’t reached for 16 long seasons, after seeing off the challenge of Aberdeen at Pittodrie.

A Christian Doidge volley just before half-time was enough to clinch a victory that put the Scottish Cup finalists six points clear of their nearest rivals with one round of fixtures remaining.

And the manner of last night’s head-to-head encounter arguably summed up the respective campaigns turned in by these teams.

The Dons dominated for long spells but couldn’t find a finish. A slightly under-strength Hibs were far from their best, yet their ever-dangerous frontline got the job done.

Stephen Glass will have been given a few more insights into the work needing done during the close season.

And Jack Ross can relax heading into Saturday’s visit of Celtic. Maybe even rest a few key figures just seven days out from their return to Hampden to face St Johnstone.

Ross revealed he had always set high targets for his team, saying: ‘It’s been a driver from day one of pre-season.

‘We wanted to finish third and win a cup. It’s big. Not unrealistic for a club of Hibernian’s stature.

‘It’s not easy. But we’ve pushed and pushed.

‘The players will tell you how often I’ve spoken about it. We’ve had countless biggest games of the season. We’ve not been perfect but very few teams are. They should be immensely proud of what they’ve achieved.

‘You can set ambitions but you need a buy-in that you can achieve them.

‘They’ve shown character, resilience, played brilliantly and dealt with bumps along the way.

‘All the accolades they get, things like most away wins in a season, they deserve them. It can be an absolutely outstanding season if they win the Cup. We’ve set the bar high and raised expectations. We need to meet those.

‘Everything now is about May 22 and being successful on that day.’

Against an Aberdeen side who had taken four points from their first two league games under Glass — a 1-1 draw at home to Celtic and a 2-1 win at Livingston — the visitors had to withstand no little pressure.

Crosses, driving runs, even an optimistic penalty shout by Lewis Ferguson… all kept the Dons on the front foot inside the opening quarter of an hour.

Bang on the 15-minute mark, the hosts should have taken the lead from Dylan McGeouch’s drilled low corner from the right. Flo Kamberi arrived right on time for the pre-planned move — but failed to make any connection with the ball as he swung his right boot at it. Tommie Hoban got a second bite at the chance but merely mis-hit his effort skyward.

Six minutes from half-time, Aberdeen squandered an opening.

Kamberi did really well to outmuscle Martin Boyle in pursuit of a ball fed into the left side of the Hibs penalty box.

When the Swiss forward pulled the ball back into the shooting zone, Ryan Hedges scuffed his effort — and Callum Hendry put the follow-up over the bar. Just minutes later, Hibs made Aberdeen pay for their profligacy, as a free-kick was sent down the left and worked back into the middle.

Jackson Irvine’s lay-off invited Doidge to have a go from the edge of the box — and the big man’s right-footed volley got past Gary Woods despite the keeper getting something behind it.

The visitors might have had a second right after the half-time break, Irvine’s effort from a tight angle clipping the bar after another good delivery by Boyle.

When it came to missing the target, though, the Edinburgh side had nothing on the home team.

Hedges pulled one wide of the near post after being allowed to turn inside the box with 52 minutes on the clock.

And Kamberi very nearly missed the Richard Donald Stand with a left-footed effort from the edge of the box moments later — a truly dispiriting end to a fine counter.

Aberdeen continued to push forward in numbers, of course, and substitute Niall McGinn wasn’t far away with a flashing header inside the closing five minutes.

However, Dons fans could hardly be shocked to see their team draw a blank — a hallmark of this season when they’ve come up just short.

A disappointed Glass said: ‘I think when I took the phone call we were ten points behind. So it was a long way to claw back.’