Hibs 4 Sad / Sorry etc Saints Zilch League Table Here
Team: Cuthbert, Murray, Forsyth, McCluskey, Dasovic,
Weir, Kemble, Tommy, Pope Falconer, Jackson
Subs Geddes, Paddy, Dods, JR, BigMac
That's it. The end. Finito. Never mind the Well game next week or the small matter of the Clyde game, today was the game that finished Sandy Clark's career. I just can't see him surviving now. Sure Hibs are a good team and played well against us but Saints were just dire - not so much beaten as humiliated. And whilst the manager will no doubt take most of the blame there are 11 players on the park who deserve to take their fair share as well. Disjointed, apathetic and just looking plain bored they're a disgrace to the jersey. We've got an U-21 side that's playing well and scoring goals and an U-18 team that wins as well - it's well past time that they were given their chance and if it means wholesale changes and a few prima donnas in the first team get their feelings hurt well it's nothing compared to what the fans are being forced to go through.
Main failed a fitness test which meant Cuthbert was lumbered with being the unlucky soul stuck behind what some folk would consider a "defence" - though to most of us it looked like 3/4/5 (depending on which formation you believed we were playing) journeymen who are past it. And just to give us all a good laugh the sub keeper was the one and only Bobby Geddes - give youth a chance. That'll be the day. Even better was the reintroduction of Weir as well as Forsyth with Dods and BigMac dropping to the bench - yup let's play the attacking sexy fitba. If that's sexy then Gordon Smith knows what he's talking about.
From the start the 3-5-2 / 3-6-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-4-1-1, oh bugger it. Start again. From kick-off the 11 "individuals" were involved in a crappy scrappy defensive game as time and time again we did nothing (and I mean nothing) but defend in our own half with no pretence of attacking the home side. Even on current form it was a nightmare to watch and despite Hibs rarely threatening the only real chance in the whole of the first half was a Wacko 20-yarder which just dipped over the bar. Oh yeah and Tommy managed a run up the wing and a cross - pity he didn't check to see if there was anyone in the box to aim for.
25 minutes gone and any slight forlorn hope of snatching even a consolation point was gone. Flash tried to see what life was like on the halfway line only for De la Cruz (remember the one that looked crap in Athens) to win the ball, beat him to the byeline and send a cross into the box for Luna to head home. Rumour has it there were some so-called defenders in the vicinity but I couldn't see any.
We tried to mount an attack but Pope's effort on goal was dropped by the keeper and when the ball fell to Dasovic he managed to hit the weakest shot of the season. That was it for action - the game was dire. Chopper picked up a needless booking for a tackle from behind and Hibs had a couple of offsides but for both sets of fans it was just crap. The only slight smile on the Saints fans faces was seeing Jack booked for fouling Dasovic.
Second-half was just as bad. Within a minute a Hibs defender hit a slacker-than-a-girl-frae-the-Hulltoon backpass. In go Tommy and Willie the OAP only for Colgan to beat the pair to the ball. Total shite. Flash went in the book next but even that wasn't a sign of any sort of fight from Saints and 10 minutes after the break a Hibs corner saw Fenwick totally bloody unmarked head the ball into the net. 2-0 and the roof was about to cave in.
We broke up the park and Tommy got to the byeline but his cutback found the usual lack of blue jerseys. BigMac came on for Flash but 2 minutes after losing the 2nd goal a loose ball on the edge of the box saw Brebner hit a low drive which despite Cuthbert's efforts went into the net. 3-0. The 4th came a couple of minutes later. Tommy the non-wing-back failed to prevent de la Cruz get into the box (not that the rest of the defence helped) and his square ball was tapped home by Allan Smart (yup these games have to have the token ex-Saintee score the goal - remember Roddy in the 4-1 defeat to Partick which cost Hermann his job?).
Sandy put on Paddy for Wullie the OAP but suffice to say the 350,000 man managed to live up to the expectations every Saints fan has for him and proceeded to do fuck all. In fact the last 20 minutes (and boy they dragged) saw the total of one sodding shot on target from MacDonald whilst the rest of the time was spent wondering where Hibs would score from next and watching the 11 blue jerseys argue and whinge at one another.
Final whistle eventually came and the boos started. Forget any MoM award - nobody even came close. I honestly don't know where we go - whether or not the manager stays won't make any difference to my attending the matches and following the club but to be honest I think it's a matter of days now before the changes are rung.
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| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | Points |
| Celtic | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 22 |
| Rangers | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 22 | 6 | 18 |
| Hibs | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 12 | 14 |
| Livingston | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 13 |
| Kilmarnock | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 11 |
| Dundee | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 13 | 11 |
| Hearts | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 10 |
| Aberdeen | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 10 |
| Dundee United | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 8 |
| Dunfermline | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 6 |
| Motherwell | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 17 | 6 |
| Saints | 8 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 16 | 3 |
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