Scottish Cup Final Review
Well a few days have passed since what could have been a great moment in Hibernians history. One thing for sure is that it won’t be forgotten but for all the wrong reasons.
If the game was to be played in the stands, the Hibs would certainly have won. The atmosphere pre-game from both sets of supporters was electric and the excitement was palpable.
Hibernian supporters had gone to a lot of effort before the game to make their end a sea of green. With card displays and flags for all fans it would have been a sight to behold for the players coming out the tunnel. Hearts meanwhile opted for a large ‘crowed-surfer’ flag and some fairly homosexual scarf twirling. No contest really.
The optimism from both sets of fans was high, its a shame that when the game started it was clear one set of players didn’t share the same belief.
They say the 12th man has a massive part to play in helping a team get a victory. Well as supporters we did all we could by cheering the team on and I even lost my voice but apart from 1 or 2 players, nobody in green wanted it.
1-0 down.
2-0 down.
No reaction from any player. They looked slow, uninterested and second to every ball. The few rare times we did string a move together there was little movement which was massively frustrating. At times Hearts were toying with us until a few minutes before the break when McPake, our standout player, managed to tap in from close range. To say this was a lifeline was an understatement. To go in at half time only a goal down was a real bonus, it maybe should have been more but the key thing was that it was just 1.
As the Hibs players were roared off the pitch, I knew a reaction had to come in the second half. A real shame though a Mr Craig Thomson was going to get involved.
40 seconds into the second half and we are a man down, penalty scored and now trailing 3-1. The ‘foul’ for the penalty was never inside the box when Santana dived. Gutted. No argument about the red as there was a foul outside the box but the penalty was twisting the knife. At this point everyone knew the game was done. The mountain was to steep to climb.
The Hearts scored 2 more before the referee put us out of our misery.
What a nightmare. Coming away from the ground the overriding feeling though wasn’t of disappointment, wasn’t of frustration, it was of anger. I was angry as to why those 11 players on the pitch played like they didn’t care. Played like it didn’t matter. They massively let every single supporter down on Saturday and for that it will be hard to forgive.
The cup run was always a bonus, the team we had was hopeless and Hearts were always the favourites. So in a way nothing was shocking. We have had much better teams than that not win cups and so we will dust ourselves down and pick ourselves up. The taunting about the cup will continue but for this game, it has to be taken on the chin.
Hearts have more quality players, played better and showed fight. However hard to say, on the day, Hearts more than deserved it.
It feels a dark time to be a Hibs fan just now but this is as low as it can get. The board, the management team and the players will take stock and hopefully come back stronger next season.
A few months off talking about Hibs might be a good thing.
