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David Murphy did not make it in time to take part and so Stephen Glass retained his place in the side at left back for the visit of the league champions. A good performance for the reserve side on Monday was enough to see Gary Smith return to the side with Chris Hogg dropping to the bench, but another notable absentee in the Hibernian line-up was midfielder Michael Stewart – Ivan Sproule therefore was on from the start.
Hibernian F.C. Match Reports
Scottish Premier League
Hibernian 2 Rangers 1
Sunday 27th November 2005
Hibernian and Rangers supporter’s took the decision to turn the minutes silence in memory of George Best into a very vocal tribute for the legendary footballer, every supporter in the stadium standing and applauding throughout in a touching tribute to the man who once graced Easter Road Stadium.
Hibs created a chance inside the first minute, Ivan Sproule breaking into the left of the Rangers area before firing in a shot that was only just blocked and scrambled clear. A lively start for Hibs continued when O’Connor was taken down just outside the area, Riordan swinging that in – claims went up for a hand ball, but it broke to Brown 12 yards from goal only for the midfielder to skewer his effort wide of the target. Riordan was spoken to by referee Dougal after going in hard on Ian Murray, dumping his former skipper to the Easter Road turf.
image Ferguson did similar to Beuzelin in the centre-circle seconds later as Hibernian continued pressing the visitors back into their own half, Rangers first threat coming when a loose header by Smith almost let Jeffers in on goal, Caldwell clearing the danger. At the other end and Sproule again had Rangers in trouble, cutting the ball superbly into the path of Riordan but the striker saw his effort from 12 yards blocked. Waterreus was in action again to cut out a dangers ball from Thomson with O’Connor waiting for a any slip by the goalkeeper, O’Connor again posing a threat after 10 minutes getting onto a Glass pass in the area before eventually being crowded out by the Rangers defence.
O’Connor was dumped to the deck after beating Andrews in the air and Hibernian had a free kick wide on the left – that was swung by Riordan in to O’Connor was had a free header from six yards but agonisingly could direct the ball only straight into the arms of Waterreus. Murray posed the first real threat to the Hibs goal after 14 minutes, his ball from the left superbly cut out by Malkowski. Riordan went down in the Rangers area to claims for a penalty that did not impress referee Dougal in the slightest, but Sproule continued to cause panic in the visiting defence every time he got on the ball, Rae delighted to clear for a corner from the flying winger after 17 minutes.
Hibs took a sensational and deserved lead seconds later – and Sproule again did the damage, breaking into the area before slipping the ball to Riordan who had the simplest of tap-ins for his first ever goal against an Old Firm side. That was the least Hibs had deserved as now over 20 minutes into the game Rangers had simply not been seen as an attacking force – Thomason was chopped by Rae in the centre circle next, the Rangers man the first to see a yellow card for that one. Murray had to clear for a corner under pressure from Whittaker as Hibs continued to press forward against the champions, Thomson however failing to get the ball past the first defender for that one.
imageRae was replaced by Hemdani after 24 minutes – but within seconds Hibernian were 2-0 up! A superb ball from Riordan on then right found O’Connor in space yet again – this time he made no mistake, taking the ball on the volley and planting it into the corner leaving Waterreus no chance. That caused some Rangers supporters to head for the exits, somewhat premature with now just 27 minutes on the clock – the home fans indeed had seen their side give up a similar lead just over a week earlier so nobody was at this stage adding up the win bonus payments.
Kyrgiakos took Riordan out 25 yards from goal as Hibs continued to apply the pressure, the ball broke back out of the area from that free kick where Caldwell drove in a shot that Waterreus did well to block low to his left. Murray held off Scott Brown as the Hibs man tried to force his way through on the half hour just before a Glass mistake almost let Rangers in – the ball broke straight to the other end where Andrews returned the favour, in both cases strikers unable to take advantage of the defensive errors.
Kevin Thomson was controlling much of the movement through the middle of the park, and that was starving the champions of any quality possession however Rangers were reorganising themselves as the final ten minutes of the half approached, for all that they were not yet finding a key to Malkowski’s goal area, long balls the order of the day and invariably drifting through to the Hibernian goalkeeper. A superb ball from Beuzelin appeared to set Sproule away, the speed of the winger fooling perhaps the assistant referee who had the flag up for offside when Sproule had appeared everything but.
A dangerous ball from the right posed a real threat to the Hibs defence, fortunately however it missed the waiting Jeffers to be scrambled clear – Riordan picking up on the loose ball and cutting it into the Rangers area but straight at Marvin Andrews rather than his strike partner Garry O’Connor. Five minutes from the break and Murray dumped Riordan to the turf for a Hibs free kick and a glare from the referee. Murray was spoken to a minute later for a check on Scott Brown as the Hibs man strode through the Rangers defence again after 41 minutes, as the ball was swung in from that there was a bit of pushing in the area causing the official to order a re-take – a pity as the initial kick was a dangerous one, the retake drifting harmlessly wide of target.
The majority of the Rangers support had remained and were doing their best to raise the champions as the half entered the final few minutes, Hibs continued to frustrate however with Beuzelin taken down by Ferguson for another Hibs free kick in the centre circle. Sproule was inches from breaking free again in the final minute of the half, a flag again raised and this time perhaps correctly. The whistle went to a standing ovation from the home fans rightly delighted with what they had seen thus far.
Half Time: Hibernian 2 Rangers 0
Thompson replaced Jeffers in the Rangers attack for the start of the second half, while unsurprisingly Tony Mowbray stuck with the same eleven trusting them to learn from the previous game at Easter Road. Hibs could expect to be put under pressure early, and Rangers did indeed have a free kick in the first minute at the corner – that was superbly cleared by Sproule helping out his defence at the edge of the area, and it was the home side who were launching into the attack again, Sproule just failing to find Thomson in the area.
An O’Connor cross from the right was just inches behind Riordan who was as ever right there in support, while at the other end Burke went down at the edge of the Hibs penalty area earning only a warning from referee Dougal for diving. Riordan then turned Andrews in the area leaving him behind as he tried a shot from a tight angle that Waterreus held well, Namouchi then taking Scott Brown down just inside the Rangers half as the midfielder again threatened to break free. The game was flowing from end to end as the Ibrox side were giving a much better account of themselves with play evenly balanced thus far in the half, but Ivan Sproule almost turned the Rangers defence inside-out as he charged into the area before his shot went inches wide of the target.
Riordan then came close to breaking free through the middle, the striker unable however to control the ball and forced to check back again, the move eventually failing with an offside flag against the striker. Ferguson was warned for a tackle on the irrepressible Thomson after 56 minutes, the Rangers man frustrated at his inability to get the ball off the Hibs midfielder. Andrews cleared just ahead of O’Connor as Hibs surged forward again, but it was Rangers who found the target after 58 minutes – the ball broke to just outside the area and Ferguson drove the ball through the busy penalty area, it taking a deflection before finding the Hibs net.
Rangers made another change immediately, Lovenkrands going on for Burke with 31 minutes of the game remaining. The game then right back in the melting pot with possession of every ball being ferociously contested. Scott Brown was booked after 62 minutes – as was Rangers skipper Ferguson for an incident missed by most in the stadium but not the match officials. Malkowski had a punch clear a dangerous delivery from the right as Rangers were now posing a threat that had been completely missing from the champions in the first half, Rangers seeing much more quality possession in the midfield area and building from that.
The Ibrox side might have been level when Malkowski could not get to a high ball and Namouchi pounced from 12 yards, hooking it high over the bar with the target gaping. For the first time in the game Hibernian were now under real and sustained pressure with Rangers taking control of proceedings, it was time for strong defending but Beuzelin was too strong in the middle as he was next to see a yellow card after 67 minutes. The final ball was not working for the home side now as in a rare attack at this stage Whittaker went inside while Riordan was breaking to his outside, Thomson was then hurting after taking a knock, Scott Brown putting the ball out of play to allow treatment for his midfield team-mate.
image The signal to the Hibs bench was that Thomson could continue, with Hibernian now having 20 minutes remaining to keep the champions at arms length. Hibs had a free kick from the restart when Thomson himself was bundled off the ball 22 yards out – Glass and Riordan over the ball, Riordan curling a superb effort that beat Waterreus but also shaved the outside of his post. Hibs sent in Steven Fletcher to replace Garry O’Connor with 16 minutes of the game remaining, Fletcher’s first involvement hooking the ball out of play as Hibs looked to move forward up the left. Rangers had a corner on 77 minutes that Fletcher did well to head clear, the ball was sent immediately into the path of Sproule but the winger had gone too early and was offside.
While Hibernian were again seeing more of the ball that final pass in and around the area that was always there in the first half was now going astray, at the back however Rangers the Easter Road defence was still holding up to the Rangers attack as the game entered the crucial final ten minutes. A superb tackle from Whittaker halted the next Rangers move up their left wing, that seconds before Sproule broke free but his shot was superbly blocked by Waterreus before being scrambled clear. That came with the clock now showing just five minutes of play remaining and the game still on a knife-edge.
Gary Smith had turned in a great performance at the heart of the defence, the veteran again on hand to halt a Rangers assault on Malkowski’s goal. Hibs then had a great chance to wrap up the points but the final ball again to Beuzelin was too high for the midfielder to control six yards out. With two minutes regulation time Morrow was sent in for Riordan, and as 3 minutes were signalled for added time Sproule was pulled back for a poor offside call by the East Stand official. Malkowski clutch the ball to his chest as Rangers launched another attack from the right with Rangers throwing everyone forward now – it was a pulsating end to a great game as Sproule just failed to find Morrow at the other end.
Ferguson was sent off in the final minute of added time, a second yellow card after dumping Thomson, who had frustrated the Rangers skipper all afternoon. Shiels was sent in for Thomson who received a well deserved standing ovation from the home fans and a giant hug from his boss Tony Mowbray. The stadium erupted seconds later as the full time whistle went on a superb game of football – and a well deserved victory for Hibernian.
