The floodlights were switched on as the game kicked off but they did little to lift the gloom which soon settled over the home stands. Craigan and Elliot were unfit so McDonald and Kinniburgh started. Kerr wore the armband in this game he'll wish to forget.
Six times we had to do this!
In an attempt to stifle the free flowing style of the opposition we lined up in 4-5-1 order. As the game developed it became apparent that a better tactic would have been to string eleven across our goal line.
A description of the four first half goals would not make pleasant reading for the claret and amber faithful. It will be enough to record that a combination of speed, accuracy of passing and clinical finishing overwhelmed our defence. Our attacks kept faltering with a combination of poor control and wayward passing contrasting to the efficiency of Hibs. We were fortunate not to be half a dozen behind by the break.
It was impossible for Hibs to maintain their total dominance in the second period and, although they took their foot off the pedal, we showed some threat mainly through shots from McGarry who tested Malkowski three times in the opening period. It was fitting that he got his reward later in the game.
It was also fitting that Jones joined Brown, Killen, Sproule and Shiels on the scoresheet – he had several chances earlier.
We left the field with our heads low and to add a further twist news came through that