O'Connor dive?

[Monts]

Looked like it to me.

[Northernhibee]

Know I'll get shot down for this, but I'll be disappointed if it was. Gaz has enough talent to not need to dive, always disappointing to see.

[Jonnyboy]

Looked like it to me.

Not seen it again yet bernz but McInnes reckons GOC dived and that the ref was hoodwinked

Have to say my first impression was penalty as GOC tried to jink round the defender who bodychecked him.

Will look at the highlights with some interest :greengrin

PS From then on Steve Conroy seemed hell bent on giving St J every free kick possible so maybe McInnes was right?

[BigBamba]

Was a definite dive from my angle.

[H18sry]

The defender blocked him when he was clean thru, so it was a pen he maybe went down a bit easy,but if the defender is stupid enough to block him so be it :wink:

[hibbysam]

My first thought was dive, said this to the others and they seemed to agree it was very soft, reactions tell a story and the St J boy wasn't too pleased!

[Westie1875]

I thought it looked a pen so would need to see it again, Garry isn't prone to diving so I'd be surprised.

McInnes has a cheek moaning with Sandaza in his team, goes down at the slightest touch.

[Monts]

Know I'll get shot down for this, but I'll be disappointed if it was. Gaz has enough talent to not need to dive, always disappointing to see.

I agree! If it was a dive GOC goes down a little in my estimations. He's better than that

[fat freddy]

no doubt from my angle high up in the west...a brilliantly executed fall.

[CallumLaidlaw]

I just don't get that if the ref thinks it's a pen, why was the St Johnstone player not sent off. Or even booked? Looked like the last man and a goalscoring opportunity to me

[givescotlandfreedom]

Think it was a dive too. Referee had it in for us after that with some truly bizarre decisions in their favour.

[MWHIBBIES]

From my seat it looked like the defender hit him with a baseball bat. Stonewaller IMO.

[Sir David Gray]

My contact at the game tonight said it was a stonewall penalty decision.

That'll do for me. :greengrin

Although on Sportsound, it was described as "controversial".

[steakbake]

I was thinking this in the light of the recent Scotland game v the Czechs. "Its not in our game" was the kind of response mixed with the anger and impotence of people who live by that.

We whinge when it is given against us, but honestly, how many times have you supported a team which has been gallant losers because some tit has taken the invisible bullet or at least made a bit of a meal of something which wasn't much more than a tap?

If an attacker goes into the box and feels the brush of an opponents foot on his shin and sees an opportunity, why the hell not?

I'd rather see Garry blast the ball in from a resulting pen that read the moaning face posts on here about if we'd got the penalty, things would have turned out different.

We're 10th in the league - every possible goalscoring opportunity must be taken to its fullest. Once we're top of the league, then we can worry about playing nice.

[Dunbar Hibee]

Jesus Christ. Would you rather he didn't win the pen and we don't get 3 points? Gaz can dive and win pens every week if he wants. As long as we win games.:aok:

[frazeHFC]

Stonewall penalty. 3 points. Move on. :thumbsup:

[oldbutdim]

It was (imho) a bit soft, but I didn't think a dive.

I'll need to watch again in slo-mo.

[Albion Hibs]

Not bothered in the slightest if it was a dive I have to say.

It looked like he got through between two of the St J players, and whilst he may have played for it I thought there was contact, and any striker would go down in that situation.

[Sir David Gray]

Just seen it on Sky Sports News.

Looked like a foul but they only showed the one replay. I would like to see it again, ideally from a different angle.

[Wotherspiniesta]

Thankfully from our point of view, Gaz didnt suffer a leg break. Shocking challenge and the St Johnstone boy was lucky to stay on the park. :agree:

[joe breezy]

Looked like a dive without the benefit of a replay, looked like he was diving well before he could have been touched by the opposition player...

[matty_f]

I thought it was a foul, but then I sit at the other end in the west lower so I couldn't say either way with any conviction. Looked like he made sure the ref knew he'd been fouled though! Thought the ref had a great view of it, and he seemed certain enough it was a penalty.

Other than that, the ref was a total bawbag tonight. Gave us nowt.

[barcahibs]

Didn't think it was a dive as such, it looked to me like O'Connor had realised he had no chance of getting to the ball and scoring so he elected to run into the saints defender who was stupid enough to get in his way. There was contact but Garry made no effort to avoid it - and to be fair you could argue why should he?

[duffers]

I'd say he went down easy, but contact was made, therefore a penalty.

[The Harp]

Had a pretty good view of it from the back row of the FF. Not a dive for me at all. Looked like the defender left his leg in there and Garry used the experience he's gained playing at a high level to ensure he tripped over it. Hope I'm not faced with changing my opinion after seeing it on tv but I don't think I will.:wink:

[YehButNoBut]

Looked like there was some contact but Gazza made the most of it. :greengrin


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RMZhw1LzYk

[oldbutdim]

I'd say he went down easy, but contact was made, therefore a penalty.

Contact was made therefore a penalty?


You've been paying too much attention to Andy Walker.

:confused:

[Bayern Bru]

I'd say he went down easy, but contact was made, therefore a penalty.

Football is a contact sport...If every time a player went down in the box, a penalty was awarded, we'd see eight or nine penalties a match at least.


FWIW, it's soft as anything, but I still think - and I thought at the time from my seat in the lower West - that it was probably a justified penalty. Looks like McCracken's leg catches O'Connor? Totally played for it though. :greengrin

Also, those highlights make a mockery of the match reports saying that Sproule scored 'from six yards out.' Looks a bit further out than that!

[snooky]

From the vid, the ST J player puts his hands up immediately even though his back is turned when Gaz goes down.
The 'hands up' shows that he knew he'd done something and was pleading for leniency.
Verdict: Guilty by his own actions. Hang him!
3 points in the bag.

[LeithBoozy]

The Ref who was in a good position did not hesitate, so IMHO it was absolutely the correct decision. Great to watch another scintillating performance from our garry

[SkintHibby]

Jesus Christ. Would you rather he didn't win the pen and we don't get 3 points? Gaz can dive and win pens every week if he wants. As long as we win games.:aok:

Sorry but I want Hibs to win games fairly and honestly. I despise cheating in football.:agree:

[Judas Iscariot]

Sorry but I want Hibs to win games fairly and honestly. I despise cheating in football.:agree:

It's only cheating if you get caught :aok:

[DaveF]

Didn't think it was a dive as such, it looked to me like O'Connor had realised he had no chance of getting to the ball and scoring so he elected to run into the saints defender who was stupid enough to get in his way. There was contact but Garry made no effort to avoid it - and to be fair you could argue why should he?

Spot on, and McInnes would want his forwards to do exactly the same if they were in that position.

It was a soft decision but clever forward play and it went for us on the night, You can be sure we'll have one against us soon enough!

[DaveF]

Sorry but I want Hibs to win games fairly and honestly. I despise cheating in football.:agree:

You'll be a long time dead before football is cheat free, so I would lower your expectations, enjoy the break (and the 3 points) and move onto Ibrox.

[Jones28]

It was a penalty


A soft one


But a penalty none the less :greengrin:flag:

[AlbertK86]

just watched it a few times on Sky Sports News and the defender sticks his heel out quickly and catches Gaz. soft but similar to what the old firm get all the time and stonewaller compared to Villa's at the weekend.

As somebody said earlier the boy putting the hands up so quickly gives it away.... he knew he had clipped him

Anyway 10 goals already in a team that has been pash... keep it up Gaz... a class above but still not good enough to get ahead of Goodwillie the prolific EPL scorer in the Scotland squad !!

[khib70]

Was right in line with it and it was a penalty every day of the week. It's amazing how some people find us winning a game so hard to deal with:rolleyes:

[basehibby]

He drew the foul and went down when contact was made - clever play - penalty was the correct decision.

[Keith_M]

There are a lot of sneaky tricks that defenders can make to just put the player off but not quite enough of an effort that the referee will blow for a free kick. GO'C has always been one to provide a dramatic reaction to this, so that the referee will notice. For instance, if he's pushed in the back, he'll jump forward and throw his hands in the air, usually resulting in a free kick.

The question is, is that cheating? If he wasn't pushed in the back but pretended he was, that is clearly cheating. However, if he gets pushed, and put off his stride but no free-kick is given, to me that's unfair on the attacking player, so why not let the referee know what just happed, even if you could be accused of an over-reaction?

Now, I wasn't at last night's game, so can't say how much this applies to the penalty situation, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was something similar to the above.

[Duffys13]

Jesus Christ. Would you rather he didn't win the pen and we don't get 3 points? Gaz can dive and win pens every week if he wants. As long as we win games.:aok:

My thoughts exactly, we really needed that win last night and would not have got it without that pen!

[happiehibbie]

i sit in the FF i though it was a pentalty right away looking at the vid from another poster the defender has his back to him but does put his arms up and sticks his heel out I think it was a penalty

[jdships]

Remember the old " chestnut" about Peter Craigmyle , the ref.
When taken to task by a player re a penalty kick he had just given replied -
" Read the "Pink News" to night , son, and you will know if it was a penalty " !!!!!!!!!!!!!

"You win some you lose some " :wink:
:flag:
:greengrin

[BEEJ]

Was right in line with it and it was a penalty every day of the week. It's amazing how some people find us winning a game so hard to deal with:rolleyes:
From where I was sitting in the East it looked like a penalty due to body-checking / obstruction.

Looking at the footage it still looks like a penalty to me - just because the defender has turned his back on O'Connor doesn't mean that he is incapable of committing a foul. He did and the award was correct.

Otherwise Conroy gave St Johnstone the benefit of the doubt in every other incident. Lost count of the number of times a Hibs player was barged into from the back with a leading arm / elbow and it went unpunished. The booking of Osbourne for his first offence (a marginally late tackle) was OTT. And Jody Morris should have been red carded for his appalling tackle on Pallson near the end.

So I don't believe that the referee has been conned and I actually think we did well to win despite his efforts.

:flag:

[KWJ]

Really don't think it looks like a penalty but I'm not complaining!

[HibsMax]

From the vid, the ST J player puts his hands up immediately even though his back is turned when Gaz goes down.
The 'hands up' shows that he knew he'd done something and was pleading for leniency.
Verdict: Guilty by his own actions. Hang him!
3 points in the bag.

That is exactly what I was going to post. The video replay I saw (the one just above your post) is a little blurry but it looks to me as though the StJ player:
1. leaves a trailing leg, and
2. puts his hands up in the air before contact was made

It may not have been much but it looked deliberate to me.

The thing about penalties, any foul really, is that it doesn't take much to knock a running man down, especially if he is already a little off balance.

One thing to note though is that GO had definitely lost the ball. I think that if that other StJ player running in from the right (top of screen) wasn't there we might have seen him make more of an effort to stay on his feet.

[forthhibby]

Was right in line with it and it was a penalty every day of the week. It's amazing how some people find us winning a game so hard to deal with:rolleyes:

so was i, if defender didn't want to make a challenge he should have stood still with hands up in the air, the way some foreign defenders do now, but he may no effort to avoid collision with gaz, defender knew what he was doing imo

[Stevie Reid]

Thought at the game that he had made a meal of it to make sure the referee knew he was fouled - looking at it now, it's pretty blatant dive as far as I'm concerned.

Do I care? Do I ****

[CB_NO3]

Jesus Christ. Would you rather he didn't win the pen and we don't get 3 points? Gaz can dive and win pens every week if he wants. As long as we win games.:aok:

Exactly my thoughts. Diving is a skill IMO

[ancient hibee]

The defender wanted to make it look like he wasn't tackling so turned his back and left his foot there-he was outconned.

[snooky]

The defender wanted to make it look like he wasn't tackling so turned his back and left his foot there-he was outconned.

"Gazumped", you might say :greengrin

[jdships]

Sorry but. I want Hibs to win games fairly and honestly I despise cheating in football.:agree:

If you have played a team sport , at any level, you should know rhat decisions go for you and go against you .
A referee has a split second to make "his call" .
We have the benefit of seeing replays from half a dozen angles .
How do you define cheating ?
If a player scores from an offside position scores do you expect him to hold his hand up and ask the ref to dissalow it because he " cheated" ?
Playing the game on rhe " edge" has gone on for years and will remain that way until we reach rhe stage where the game is stopped at every instance to look at "video evidence"
Games will then take about four hours ro complete . and probably won't stop " cheatong :rolleyes:

I accept you saying " I want Hibs to win games fairly and honestly " which is what I would imagine most of us would want but the " nature of the beast" says " using a situation for personal betterment" will prevail :greengrin:wink:

[tanfield]

Good to see that Gareth Evan's impact is FINALLY being felt! :)

[Alfred E Newman]

The highlights confirm what I thought at the game. A dive.

[joe breezy]

The highlights confirm what I thought at the game. A dive.

exactly, being at the game just means you most likely didn't have as good a view as the TV...

[HibsMax]

The highlights confirm what I thought at the game. A dive.

I suppose I need to see a clearer video because the one I saw (the one posted earlier in this thread) shows the StJ player leaving a trailing leg for GO to trip over. It's not the same as watching HD 1000fps zoomed in but that's how it appeared to me. If anyone has a clearer video to look at, let's see it. I can't see BBC highlights because they don't let non-UK people see them.

Edit : Just watched it on Hibs TV and it looks like he (should have looked at his number) left his left leg dragging along the ground behind him. No doubt it was a soft one and GO makes a meal of it but I still think there is contact there.

[bob12345]

I don't know how anyone who's seen the BBC highlights can say that's a penalty. The player turns his back and tries to get out the way. We would be livid if that was given against us.

[bighairyfaeleith]

I don't know how anyone who's seen the BBC highlights can say that's a penalty. The player turns his back and tries to get out the way. We would be livid if that was given against us.

aye but it wisnae so I for one am ****ing delighted :greengrin

[CallumLaidlaw]

I thought it was a penalty when I was at the game, and after seeing the BBC highlights, I still feel the same. The defender turned his back but left his foot out. Gaz definitely made a meal of it, but the player left his foot out and tripped him.

[BEEJ]

I don't know how anyone who's seen the BBC highlights can say that's a penalty. The player turns his back and tries to get out the way. We would be livid if that was given against us.
If defenders leave a trailing leg in the penalty area, forwards will use it as an invitation to go over. Happens all the time.

Just because a defender is facing the other way as he does it is neither here nor there.

[nonshinyfinish]

Thought at the game that he had made a meal of it to make sure the referee knew he was fouled - looking at it now, it's pretty blatant dive as far as I'm concerned.

Do I care? Do I ****

Spot on.

Watching the highlights, it's as clear as day that Garry saw the defender coming and jumped into him.

Am I going to be handwringing about cheating? I think not, it's happened to us too many times to recollect. We got the penalty, GO'C stuck it away, and we won. McInnes can moan all he wants, the points are ours and that's all that matters.

[Sas_The_Hibby]

Football is a contact sport...If every time a player went down in the box, a penalty was awarded, we'd see eight or nine penalties a match at least.


FWIW, it's soft as anything, but I still think - and I thought at the time from my seat in the lower West - that it was probably a justified penalty. Looks like McCracken's leg catches O'Connor? Totally played for it though. :greengrin

Also, those highlights make a mockery of the match reports saying that Sproule scored 'from six yards out.' Looks a bit further out than that!

It was six nautical yards............ :wink:

[Sas_The_Hibby]

The Ref who was in a good position did not hesitate, so IMHO it was absolutely the correct decision. Great to watch another scintillating performance from our garry

I've seen enough terrible decisions given unhesitatingly by referees in good positions to beg to differ.................

[Sas_The_Hibby]

Was right in line with it and it was a penalty every day of the week. It's amazing how some people find us winning a game so hard to deal with:rolleyes:

It's hard to deal with anything so out of the ordinary! :greengrin

[blackpoolhibs]

I'd have been raging, as would 99% of this board had it been awarded against us. Saying that, i dont give a toss its been given our way. The 3 points are very welcome. :top marks

[AlbertK86]

Just watched it again on BBC web highlights. Their player turned his back and stuck his left leg out to trip him. No intention to play the ball and definately catches Gaz as he moves to go thro.

Definate penatly for me