Hibernian 3 Dundee 0: Green shoots

Sunday 7 October 2012

THE view from atop the Clydesdale Bank Premier League is one to behold for Hibernian, even if it is a little skewed.

Leigh Griffiths is mobbed by his team-mates after his goal gave Hibernian a two-goal cushion Photograph: SNS

Custom byline text:

By Chris Tait

The one-point gap that separates them from Celtic may have evaporated by around 1.15pm today – and is vulnerable anyway as the Parkhead club have two games in hand – but the Edinburgh side were last night able to plant their flag at the league summit after marching past bottom club Dundee.

It is a nice way to gauge how Hibs have responded to last season's campaign, carried out towards the lower end of the table before ending with that William Hill Scottish Cup final. That the season still has a long way to run should inform any talk of Hibs having turned a significant corner but that they have responded to defeat last weekend with such conviction would suggest the side is made of much sterner stuff nowadays.There can still be frayed parts to their play but Hibs were able to make themselves comfortable just four minutes into the second half when Leigh Griffiths added their second goal. The striker had flashed a low drive past a post on 10 minutes, his appeals for a corner kick ignored. Collecting a Ryan McGivern pass midway through the first half he had poked the ball behind the Dundee defence where the on-loan full-back should have been waiting. He wasn't. That Griffiths made the pass anyway was like a rebuke to his team-mate.His ire would be lifted on 29 minutes when Eoin Doyle put Hibs in front after help from some ponderous Dundee defending, Paul Cairney being allowed to reach the bye-line before clipping a left-foot cross to Doyle, who headed past Rab Douglas."Individual errors cost us a goal in the first half. Unfortunately, at this level you get punished for making those errors," said Dundee manager Barry Smith.His players knew that already – the Dens Park side have conceded 10 goals in their last four matches. There was a greater sense of solidity to their rearguard yesterday – Davide Grassi has returned early from injury to replace Iain Davidson at centre-half, the midfielder restored to his more natural position – but Pat Fenlon still sought to expose the heart of the visiting defence in the hope it would haemorrhage.The Hibs manager had instructed throw-ins near the penalty area to be tossed in for James McPake to contest. The defender gained modest reward, but did send a volley over the crossbar in the first half after a Griffiths corner. He is unlikely to mind too much after celebrating a clean sheet, and in front of Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill, too.He will also have been aware of the presence of Colin Nish. Admittedly, the burly striker is hard to miss. The former Hibs man was making his first return to Easter Road since being released last year, but Dundee were unable to profit from any rancour he held about his departure.Nish was caught offside after just five minutes, but lifted a shot on to the roof of the net anyway. The response was mild jeering from the Hibs supporters, many of whom never took to him during his time at Easter Road. When the Dundee forward was eventually substituted after 68 minutes their mood had softened, if only because he had bruised his old side without wounding them. Nish shot wide after 40 minutes from Davidson's cut-back into the penalty area, while Ben Williams beat away another fierce drive, but the hosts held firm.Dundee could not. There was nothing pretty about Hibs' second goal; Jim McAlister was adjudged to have bundled over Cairney as David Wotherspoon made his way in the penalty area, and Griffiths converted the spot-kick via a post. The Hibs striker was reserved in his celebrations out of respect to his former side, but that gesture will have felt hollow to Dundee as the goal all but ensured their fourth consecutive defeat. The international break may well feel like a reprieve.Hibs were to take advantage of them once more, though, when Wotherspoon strode into the area and his low shot hit the far corner on 74 minutes. That let the Edinburgh side make the final moments something of a procession – Griffiths trotting off to acclaim two minutes later, with Tom Taiwo, who had spent most of the afternoon getting to know another signing, Sean Murdoch, given his debut."We wanted to give him a taste of it," said Fenlon. It was an afternoon worth savouring.

Contextual targeting label:

Sport

Commenting & Moderation

We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.

Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.

Hibernian 3 Dundee 0: Green shoots

Commenting & Moderation

MOST READ

SPONSORED LINKS

MOST COMMENTED