SILENCING the Easter Road crowd one rain-soaked day in May 2014 will always be one of the most cherished memories of Tony Andreu's life. Three seasons have passed since the little French playmaker turned up in Leith to deliver a starring role as Hamilton Accies consigned Hibs to the second tier of Scottish football. Not only did he steer in the 93rd minute goal which tied the Premiership play-off between these two teams at 2-2 on aggregate, he then converted a nerveless penalty in the shoot-out as the fate of Terry Butcher's side was eventually sealed 4-3 by spot-kicks. Little did he suspect back then, as he cavorted around in celebration in front of the away fans, that he would be returning there in early January 2017 as a Dundee United player hoping to extend that exile into a demoralising fourth year.
"Easter Road is a special place for me, I have always really enjoyed playing there," said Andreu. "That was one of the best days in my career, getting promotion and doing it the way it happened. We had a bad result in the first leg but didn’t play badly, so we knew if we scored early in the second game we would be back into it.
“All season the Hibs fans were turning their back on the team so we knew the first goal for us would make it game on," he added. “It’s important when you can get at a team psychologically at their place and we managed to silence them. In my head it wasn’t silent at that moment but the stadium was."
“Am I surprised Hibs are still in the Championship? I am, but they have been unlucky because they have had Rangers and Hearts in there at the same time. It’s not an easy league to win and with the way the play-offs are structured it is difficult. It has been three years now so they are trying it again and now we are here."
While Andreu, on-loan from Norwich, where he was taken by his then Hamilton boss Alex Neil - also proved a source of annoyance to the Easter Road club when he popped up with a winning goal from the penalty spot a 1-0 United win at Tannadice in early December, he knows that nothing will be as decisive this time around. This is a new group of Hibs players, who lead United by a point at the top of the table. While it would be a psychological boost for either group of players to win the match, this one has plenty to run.
"Do I expect a reaction from the Hibs fans?" said Andreu, who has shaken off a rib injury in time to play. "Not really because it wasn’t just me, it was a whole team effort that day. The last time we went there they didn’t bother about me. It is a big game this time but even if we win it’s not over, just like it wouldn’t be for them if we don’t get a result. We want to win, we want to play well and we want to prove we can beat them again. But there is still a long way to go."
Were it not for a 1-0 defeat amid horrendous conditions United would go into tonight's match top of the table, rather than a point behind in second. That, one of only three league losses all season, punctured a run of 11 wins and three draws. They are boosted by a clean bill of health for key men Andreu and Lewis Toshney, with Frank van der Struijk the only man out.
"The conditions in Dumbarton were beyond a joke," said McKinnon. "The wind and the rain meant you couldn't read anything into it. If you take that ridiculous game out of the equation, then we've won 11 games and drawn 3. So we go into this game in good fettle.
“We've only lost three games this season," he added. "One was in the last minute at Falkirk when we were basically down to nine men, one was when we lost a freak penalty at Dumbarton earlier in the campaign, and then an even more freak of a goal in horrendous conditions at Dumbarton last Saturday. So we're going okay. If we can add a wee bit in January, we'll give it everything until the end of the season and see where it takes us."
Like his pal James Maddison, on-loan at Aberdeen, Andreu admits to the odd backward glance at Norwich, where he still has time remaining on his contract, and Neil's position has been a source of much intrigue. “I am a Dundee United player for this season so that is the biggest thing for me," said Andreu. “But I have watched Norwich when I get the chance, they had a good result against Derby the other day. It wasn’t good for a month or two but they will come back. I have another year left on my contract there so I will focus on the job here and see what happens after that.”
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