Time to move on
Rachel makes an earlier than usual appearance this week in the wake of Sunday's defeat....

The euphoria surrounding Sunday’s Cup Final against Livingston died down after the Final whistle and most Hibs fans fell to earth with a bump during the second half.  Yes we did believe that we had a chance of winning the CIS Cup but unfortunately this was not to be.  And now the euphoria and unity that was ever present in the Hibs support during the build up to the Final has once again gone astray.  Now it is back to bickering about whose fault it was that we lost on Sunday.  Some mainly blame the players while others lay the blame at the door of Bobby Williamson.  Who is really to blame? In my eyes it is not time to start the blame game, lets for once not blame anyone.  That may seem strange to some but blaming players or coaches won’t turn back the clock.  Now it is time to look forward not back.

When I stepped out into the Hampden stands at the Final the sight that lay before me was almost unbelievable.  I could see that soon the majority of the National Stadium would be swathed in green and white.  As kick off approached the singing began.  The sheer volume of noise coming from the Hibs fans sent a shiver down my spine and made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.  But the biggest roar of all came when the teams emerged from the tunnel and onto the park.  Led by Gary Smith and Stuart Lovell both teams looked around as they stood in front of a very full Hampden with fans willing their respective teams to bring the silverware back to their beloved club.

An awesome sight - pity there was no reward!  (hibs.net)

The game itself for me came and went.  After the second goal – which was definitely the sucker punch – went in I think most of the Hibs fans knew that their dreams of silverware were over.  Many began to vent their anger and frustration at the players, the manager and in some cases each other.  After the final whistle the emotion of the day spilled over from fans and club staff alike.  While Livingston celebrated the Hibs players sat on the ground exhausted, disappointed, frustrated and upset by what had just unfolded over the past ninety minutes.  As they went to receive their runners-up medals the remnants of the Hibs support numbering roughly seven to eight thousand applauded them and snatches of “We’ll support you ever more” could be heard above the noise of the Livingston fans celebrating.

In the post match press conference Bobby Williamson looked downhearted as did both Gary Caldwell and Gary Smith the two players chosen for post match comment.  Each of them knew that they had let the fans down and were extremely disappointed to have done so as so many turned up to the Final.  Doing that press conference was probably the last thing any of those Hibs players and indeed Bobby wanted to do but to their credit they still did it answering the questions that the press put to them with no hesitation.  That made me feel prouder of the team than I already felt.  I was proud for them just to be at the Final in the way that they did it.  It would be a long journey home for the team like it would be for many of the fans on Sunday evening with everyone feeling the same disappointment of not bringing the CIS Cup back to Easter Road.

Now it is time for everyone in the Hibernian family to look forward to the return to league duty against runaway leaders Celtic at Easter Road.  Now we must concentrate on getting behind the team for the remainder of the season as the club strive to finish in the top half of the SPL.  The fans will still remember this result but the disappointment and frustration will end.  Lets do this one thing and get behind the team now and for the rest of the 2003/2004 SPL season.