Saturday saw Internet supporters league team, Erin Hibs,
travel to Ayr for the first round of the Scottish Cup
against Ayr Utd. A kick off time of 10.30am meant an early
start for the Erin lads and things were compounded by a
puncture on the M8 for the car that was transporting 3 of
the players.
This incident meant that Erin Hibs took the field with 10
men and had to put a real shift in for the first 30 minutes
until the remainder of the team arrived. Inspiration was the
name of the day however and when Ayr were awarded a
seriously dubious penalty, Stevie Brady having made a
fantastic tackle on the Ayr striker, only to see the referee
point to the spot. Justice was done however when Hibs keeper
Mark Skinner pulled off a fantastic save, diving to his left
to palm away the Ayr striker's well struck effort.
This spurred on the Hibs side and, after
a sustained spell of pressure, the men in green and white
made the breakthrough. Some superb link play on the left
side of the box saw a neat ball played into Sean Lally who
took out 2 defenders with an exquisite back heel into the
path of Bob Murray who ghosted past the remaining defender
before delivering a low cross that saw the Ayr full back
deflect past his keeper and into the net. This goal was no
more than Hibs deserved but unfortunately it was short
lived.
A rare Ayr attack saw the ball deflected
and from the resultant corner, some poor defending saw an
Ayr defender rise unmarked at the back post to bullet home
the header. Hibs were by this time up to eleven players and
seemed to be having trouble adjusting. The first half ended
1-1.
Some strong words at the interval obviously worked wonders
and Hibs, with the wind at their backs, came out for the
restart with even more determination. Relentless pressure
from the kick off saw the Edinburgh men camped in the Ayr
half.
Fantastic closing down from the Hibs
strikers meantthat the defenders had no time on the ball and
Mark Lally and Bob Murray in centre midfield were always
there to pick up the loose pass. Graeme Coyle and Robbie
Wood on the left and right wings were terrorising the full
backsand this meant that Shaun Cassidy, Steve Brady, Mike
Kelly and Johnny Valentine had very little to do at the back
whilst wee Mark between the sticks could have been forgiven
for nipping over to the nearby burger van for a Bovril to
keep himself warm! Shaun Cassidy is a hard man to keep down
though and when Hibs were awarded a corner 10 minutes into
the half, he ran fully 70 yards to take it. A wise decision
indeed as his wind assisted in swinger sailed over the
keeper and in at the back post 2-1 Hibs.
The Edinburgh side then began to totally
dominate, the strikers, Sean Lally, Ryan and Gary Webb were
putting in a power of work and not giving Ayr a minute. 3-1
soon arrived and it was midfielder Mark Lally with a
stunning left foot strike from outside the box.
Soon after Stevie Brady made it 4 with a
30 yard free kick which took a slight deflection before
zipping into the bottom corner and there was to be no let up
as Hibs bombarded the Ayr goal. 5-1 came after some superb
control and dribbling in the box from Bob Murray who then
flashed a shot past the keeper to get him the goal he richly
deserved.
Murray was superb throughout and was
awarded Man of the Match, an accolade which has been pinned
on this player regularly in recent games. The final nail in
the Ayr coffin came from the foot of Robbie Wood with 10
minutes remaining when he unleashed a fantastic shot from a
tight angle after cutting in from the right.
So a great result and performance from Erin Hibs who
actually face the same opponents on their own patch in 2
weeks time in the British Cup, the boys in green and white
surely confident after today's result. A final word for the
manager Raymond McGrath who couldn't make it to the game
today, the players dedicating the result to him for his
continued hard work for the team.
