Please sir, can we have
some more?
The morning after the night
before - and it's still fantastic - STUART CROWTHER
THERE WILL BE THOSE WHO will this morning still have a moan.
After all, Hibernian failed to move forward to the 2nd round of the UEFA
cup, that it has to be said was the point of the exercise and in that
Hibernian last night failed. But don't tell that to 16,000 Hibs
fans, the vast majority of whom remained to the bitter end, with quite a
few remaining until long, long after the bitter end.
Is
though 'bitter' end the correct term? Probably not, because surely
no Hibs fan can this morning feel in any way bitter. For years, the
Hibees were stagnant, almost destroyed at the end of the 1980's, a brief
flurry of defiance in the early 1990's, but for the most part, the
traditions of our great club lay stagnant and going nowhere. Last
night was the culmination, so far, of three years of hard work by Alex
McLeish and Andy Watson, three years in which we have witnessed a steady
rise of Hibernian in stature and style. Hibs might have failed to
qualify for the next round of the UEFA Cup, but they did NOT fail their
fans, this Hibs side produced some of the most exciting moments ever
witnessed at Easter Road stadium. Hibs versus AEK Athens will be
added to Hibee folklore alongside Real Madrid, Barcelona, Napoli, Porto.
Craig Brewster skips clear of a tackle against Athens (sns)
Still
though it is what might have been. In that last touch of the ball of
the regulation 90 minutes, Paco Luna was about one inch away from becoming
a living Easter Road legend, the man who scored the hat-trick that took
Hibs through on a famous victory. It did not happen, but the victory
will still remain famous, and Paco may yet become that living legend
alongside quite a few in this squad brought together by McLeish and
Watson, ably assisted by their board of directors. It was not just
the Hibs fans who stood proud on their Easter Road seats last night, the
Hibs boss was equally glowing in what he considered to be the highlight of
his managerial career so far. "We should have
won it, no doubt about that we should have won it in normal time,"
McLeish croaked after the game, his already
course voice suffering from a night of over-use and emotion.
McLeish continued: "The chances we had were
unbelievable but lady luck deserted us. I could not fault the
players, they were fantastic. I asked them to give me everything and
they did that." The clear
pride felt by McLeish was not just directed at his players either, the
Hibs boss having called on Hibs fans to turn out in numbers and create a
wall of noise that would help unnerve the visitors from Greece. He
got that with interest, prompting McLeish to say:
"Great credit to the Hibs fans. They were absolutely outstanding
from start to finish. They obviously thought we had a chance as well
by filling the stadium, we were confident - we thought that Athens would
panic under pressure and that proved to be the case. Paco could have
had four or five, he was superb but should have won it for us in the dying
seconds. The bottom line is we should be in the next round."
Paul Fenwick blocks and AEK attack (sns)
Hibs
lost Franck Sauzee ten minutes before the end of regulation time, the
skipper needing stitches in a serious facial injury after an incident that
added insult to injury in that a free kick was awarded against Sauzee!
The skipper will now be considered doubtful for the game against
Livingston on Sunday, Hibs having to lift themselves once again and turn
attention to the crunch match against the surprise package of the SPL.
Still out for that clash will be Gary Smith, while John O'Neil looks
likely to be on the treatment table this morning along with a few others
who suffered minor knocks against AEK.
There
are those who say after the amazing scenes at Easter Road last night that
Hibs have peaked, that in some way the reverse in being eliminated from
the UEFA Cup will effect their league performances. The truth is
that Alex McLeish, as he has shown in the past, will simply not allow this
to happen. The call from the vast majority of Hibs fans glowing
from the wonder of it all this morning then will be -
please sir, can we have some more?
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