FOUR years ago I stood in the Hampden technical area as a coach at Queen of the South and watched as an Aberdeen side failed to get into a Scottish Cup final due largely to poor defending – and yesterday I felt as though I was watching the whole thing all over again as my old side lost in another semi-final, this time to Hibernian.
They froze again in the first half and just didn't turn up.
It was a poor performance overall, but they just never looked comfortable at the back and didn't handle Garry O'Connor or Leigh Griffiths at all well. Aberdeen were also let down by a lack of creativity in midfield and went long all too often because they had the two big guys, Scott Vernon and Rory Fallon, up front. By contrast, Hibs were excellent; they were solid defensively, their midfield pressed all over the place and we all know what the front two did. They were by far the better side in the first half.
Craig Brown made a tactical change after the break when he brought Fraser Fyvie on for Ryan Jack and he gave them a bit more composure and a bit more creativity. I don't think the boy was brilliant when he came on but he offered them something different. Sure, they didn't create many chances, but they finally started pulling Hibs players around the pitch, and when Fallon's wonder goal went in I was thinking there was only one team that was going to go on and win it.
Hibs were starting to look tired by that stage. They had to change their goalkeeper when Graham Stack went off with a hamstring injury and it looked like fate was written for Aberdeen to finally reach a final. But it summed up their day that they lost a goal from more poor defending. O'Connor was offside just slightly when he flicked the ball through to Griffiths, but everything that was wrong with Aberdeen in the first half came back to haunt them in that moment. Craig's side would have thought they could go on and win it at that stage but it was all pulled away from them – it was another semi-final and yet again it has just not gone for them.
I know Craig well and he will be gutted right now. But I think he will admit that Aberdeen's defending was poor; you are not going to get to cup finals if you defend like that.
I think Hibs prove that. They were so solid yesterday and in Griffiths they have a striker who will get them goals. I worked with Leigh at Dundee and I know what he is about. I have watched him over the last couple of weeks and felt he wasn't at his best, but he was a revelation at Hampden – he always looked a handful and worked his socks off for his team. It would be easy to say 'he's the goalscoring hero that took Hibs to the final', but I look for him to show greater industry because I know he can score goals and it was all there against Aberdeen.
He can now be part of something remarkable at Easter Road. One of the poorest Hibs teams for years are on the verge of becoming legends. If they avoid relegation and win the cup final, they will be heroes for their club. There have been better previous Hibs teams that could have been legends, but came up short. If this team win the cup, though, that is the status that awaits them.
A lot of the credit for that has to go to their manager, Pat Fenlon. He has brought their confidence back and led them to two wins and a draw leading up to their trip to Hampden. This is the nitty-gritty part of the season and you have to commend Pat for making sure they have come into good form at this stage. They pressed Aberdeen to death in the first half yesterday and that was another big win for his side.
I AGREE with Stewart Regan, I would prefer it if consistent under-performers kept quiet without feeling the need to criticise others, especially on Twitter. I am not a fan of the social networking site and I didn't feel any better about it after the Scottish Football Association's chief executive chose to have a dig at former referee Charlie Richmond.
I thought Charlie was a good referee, better than a few of the officials we have at the moment, and he had one of the best performances I've seen from a referee at Tannadice a couple of seasons ago. Rangers were playing Dundee United and Kris Boyd and Garry Kenneth squared up to each other three times in that match, but Charlie didn't book them immediately and showed them that he was going to referee the match sensibly. That's something I like to see.
If 'under-performing' is a label which Mr Regan wants to use then perhaps it would be better if he looked to his own office, because I think it might suit a few people in there. Next time look a little closer to home, Mr Regan.
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