DUTV
STORY OF THE MATCH | RANGERS (A)
25th November 2024
United were left to regret a poor start at Easter Road as they went down 2-1 to the home side. Goals from Leigh Griffiths and Eion Doyle had Hibs cruising before substitute Gary Mackay-Steven pulled one back for United. A Rudi Skacel header was then chopped off for offside despite the United man being level with the Hibs defence when the ball was played and the same man hit the Hibs bar as United tried and failed to get something from the game.
Peter Houston made only one change from the side that started against Motherwell in midweek as Mark Millar was chosen ahead of Richie Ryan in midfield. Gary Mackay-Steven again occupied a place on the bench alongside short-term signing Rudi Skacel.
It was a very disappointing first half for United. The first 15 minutes of this game were marked by two sides struggling with a skiddy pitch as pass after pass was misplaced. The only incident of note came after five minutes when Cierzniak in the United goal was judged to have picked up a backpass but the United wall did well to block a Leigh Griffiths shot from the resultant free kick.
The first real sight of goal for either team came for Hibs after 16 minutes and again it fell to Griffiths but his 30-yard free kick was easily held by Cierzniak. The SPL's top scorer was not to be denied for long though. With 18 minutes on the clock, Eion Doyle broke quickly down the left before firing a pacy cross to the back post that the arriving Griffiths was more than happy to half-volley past Cierzniak into the roof of the net to put the home side ahead.
It could have been worse for United on the half-hour mark if it hadn't been for a superb saving tackle by Willo Flood after a mazy run by David Wotherspoon left him bearing down on United's goal.
A minute later and United were finally threatening inside the Hibs half. Johnny Russell, a spectator up until this point, took the ball on a terrific run down the right before being unceremonially bundled to the ground. The resultant free kick from Gavin Gunning, however, fizzed unthreateningly past Ben Williams' right-hand post.
With United clearly struggling to get a foothold in the game, manager Peter Houston felt an early change was necessary and Marc Millar was withdrawn for Gary Mackay-Steven with just 32 minutes on the clock. It was an unsurprising and welcome move and immediately led to a more threatening United side up until the break although they were unable to get back on terms before referee Craig Thomson blew the half-time whistle.
Unfortunately for United, within five minutes of the break, Hibs were two goals up. Paul Cairney was given far too much space down the left, nutmegged Keith Watson and made the byline before pulling the ball back to Eion Doyle whose controlled finish flew past Cierzniak.
The two-goal cushion was to last little more than a minute though. A high clearance by Brian McLean led to a horrendous mix up between goalkeeper Williams and defender Paul Hanlon. Williams seemed caught in two minds between a pass and a clearance and ended up laying the ball into the path of Gary Mackay-Steven. The young United player was delighted to side-foot it into an empty net from the edge of the box to bring United back into a game that had been running away from them.
Just a minute later, United could have been level. Another great run from Mackay-Steven allowed him to feed Johnny Russell inside the box but United's top scorer took a heavy touch and the chance was gone.
Despite there having been three goals already, the biggest noise of the game came on 57 minutes as the Hibs fans showed their feelings towards ex-Hearts man Rudi Skacel. He replaced Stuart Armstrong in the United midfield as the game became far more open and even than the first half.
After 72 minutes, Skacel had the ball in the net from a header only for the assistant referee to flag for offside, in what seemed a harsh decision. The ball was whipped in by Flood, Skacel allowed it to bounce before heading past the goalkeeper only for the flag to go up. Five minutes later, Skacel had the Hibs crossbar shaking. A Willo Flood corner was cleared only for Skacel to catch it sweetly on the volley from fully 30 yards and crash it off the woodwork as United desperately sought the equaliser in front of their travelling fans.
United continued to press and this left them open to the counter attack. On 81 minutes, Hibs had a three on two but substitute Ivan Sproule elected to go on his own but could only shoot wide.
The last five minutes were all United. First, a Gunning header from a Flood corner was held by Williams before a teasing ball in from Brian McLean was frantically cleared from the Hibs six-yard box. Just a minute later, Skacel nearly made it a dream return to Easter Road but his left-foot strike from a Jon Daly knock-down flew just wide of the post.
The final moments were a scrappy affair as Hibs ran down the clock and it was a frustrated United that left the field ruing a poor start and an apparently harsh refereeing decision.
Man of the match: Gavin Gunning. He was consistent at the heart of the United defence and offered a threat at set-pieces when required as well.
Teams:
Hibs: Williams, McGivern, Hanlon, Claros, Griffiths (Kuqi 75), Doyle (Stanton 88), Cairney, Wotherspoon (Sproule 78), Stevenson, Maybury, Taiwo
Subs not used: Murdoch, Handling, Caldwell, Donaldson
United: Cierzniak, Dillon, McLean, Gunning, Watson, Flood, Millar (Mackay-Steven 32), Armstrong (Skacel 57), Rankin, Russell, Daly
Subs not used: Banks, Douglas, Ryan, Gardyne, Dow
Referee: Craig Thomson
Attendance: 10,596
Peter Houston made only one change from the side that started against Motherwell in midweek as Mark Millar was chosen ahead of Richie Ryan in midfield. Gary Mackay-Steven again occupied a place on the bench alongside short-term signing Rudi Skacel.
It was a very disappointing first half for United. The first 15 minutes of this game were marked by two sides struggling with a skiddy pitch as pass after pass was misplaced. The only incident of note came after five minutes when Cierzniak in the United goal was judged to have picked up a backpass but the United wall did well to block a Leigh Griffiths shot from the resultant free kick.
The first real sight of goal for either team came for Hibs after 16 minutes and again it fell to Griffiths but his 30-yard free kick was easily held by Cierzniak. The SPL's top scorer was not to be denied for long though. With 18 minutes on the clock, Eion Doyle broke quickly down the left before firing a pacy cross to the back post that the arriving Griffiths was more than happy to half-volley past Cierzniak into the roof of the net to put the home side ahead.
It could have been worse for United on the half-hour mark if it hadn't been for a superb saving tackle by Willo Flood after a mazy run by David Wotherspoon left him bearing down on United's goal.
A minute later and United were finally threatening inside the Hibs half. Johnny Russell, a spectator up until this point, took the ball on a terrific run down the right before being unceremonially bundled to the ground. The resultant free kick from Gavin Gunning, however, fizzed unthreateningly past Ben Williams' right-hand post.
With United clearly struggling to get a foothold in the game, manager Peter Houston felt an early change was necessary and Marc Millar was withdrawn for Gary Mackay-Steven with just 32 minutes on the clock. It was an unsurprising and welcome move and immediately led to a more threatening United side up until the break although they were unable to get back on terms before referee Craig Thomson blew the half-time whistle.
Unfortunately for United, within five minutes of the break, Hibs were two goals up. Paul Cairney was given far too much space down the left, nutmegged Keith Watson and made the byline before pulling the ball back to Eion Doyle whose controlled finish flew past Cierzniak.
The two-goal cushion was to last little more than a minute though. A high clearance by Brian McLean led to a horrendous mix up between goalkeeper Williams and defender Paul Hanlon. Williams seemed caught in two minds between a pass and a clearance and ended up laying the ball into the path of Gary Mackay-Steven. The young United player was delighted to side-foot it into an empty net from the edge of the box to bring United back into a game that had been running away from them.
Just a minute later, United could have been level. Another great run from Mackay-Steven allowed him to feed Johnny Russell inside the box but United's top scorer took a heavy touch and the chance was gone.
Despite there having been three goals already, the biggest noise of the game came on 57 minutes as the Hibs fans showed their feelings towards ex-Hearts man Rudi Skacel. He replaced Stuart Armstrong in the United midfield as the game became far more open and even than the first half.
After 72 minutes, Skacel had the ball in the net from a header only for the assistant referee to flag for offside, in what seemed a harsh decision. The ball was whipped in by Flood, Skacel allowed it to bounce before heading past the goalkeeper only for the flag to go up. Five minutes later, Skacel had the Hibs crossbar shaking. A Willo Flood corner was cleared only for Skacel to catch it sweetly on the volley from fully 30 yards and crash it off the woodwork as United desperately sought the equaliser in front of their travelling fans.
United continued to press and this left them open to the counter attack. On 81 minutes, Hibs had a three on two but substitute Ivan Sproule elected to go on his own but could only shoot wide.
The last five minutes were all United. First, a Gunning header from a Flood corner was held by Williams before a teasing ball in from Brian McLean was frantically cleared from the Hibs six-yard box. Just a minute later, Skacel nearly made it a dream return to Easter Road but his left-foot strike from a Jon Daly knock-down flew just wide of the post.
The final moments were a scrappy affair as Hibs ran down the clock and it was a frustrated United that left the field ruing a poor start and an apparently harsh refereeing decision.
Man of the match: Gavin Gunning. He was consistent at the heart of the United defence and offered a threat at set-pieces when required as well.
Teams:
Hibs: Williams, McGivern, Hanlon, Claros, Griffiths (Kuqi 75), Doyle (Stanton 88), Cairney, Wotherspoon (Sproule 78), Stevenson, Maybury, Taiwo
Subs not used: Murdoch, Handling, Caldwell, Donaldson
United: Cierzniak, Dillon, McLean, Gunning, Watson, Flood, Millar (Mackay-Steven 32), Armstrong (Skacel 57), Rankin, Russell, Daly
Subs not used: Banks, Douglas, Ryan, Gardyne, Dow
Referee: Craig Thomson
Attendance: 10,596
