Foley cash exciting but Clancy's folly leaves bad taste

I feel like a stuck record with the complaints about the officials but again, it’s a key factor in Hibs not getting the result that their performance merited. Hibs were terrific on Wednesday in a fixture with which we routinely struggle. On a night when their high-flying hosts were determined to put right a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Rangers at the weekend, Hibs dominated large spells of the game and played a style of football that isn’t often seen in this fixture.

Many pundits and supporters had all but written Hibs off for this game, but those tracking our form rather than our results would have maybe given us more of a chance. Performances have improved steadily since that woeful display against St Mirren, as Nick Montgomery’s January signings gain fitness and familiarity with the team.

You certainly wouldn’t have identified Hearts as the side with a 21-point advantage based on Wednesday’s match, and it will frustrate Hibs that they didn’t leave Gorgie with three points.

The reasons for that can be attributed to some wasteful finishing – Myziane Maolida will wonder how he missed a back-post header that looked easier to score but as well as misfiring in front of goal, Hearts pulled off several goal-line clearances with dogged defending.

Emiliano Marcondes had put Hibs in front with a well-worked goal that started with David Marshall and flowed down Hibs’ right-hand side, leaving Martin Boyle with the chance to slot past Zander Clark in the Hearts goal. Boyle’s effort was blocked on the line but Marcondes was in the right place at the right time to slot home the rebound. 

Actions of a few risk damaging derbies for the many

Just before half-time came the game’s big talking point. Hearts winger Kenneth Vargas tumbled in the box as he challenged Will Fish, and referee Kevin Clancy pointed to the spot. The VAR felt that the decision was potentially a mistake and called Clancy to the monitor to review the incident. Incredibly, Clancy felt there was enough contact to stick with his original call, and awarded the penalty, which Lawrence Shankland duly dispatched after dodging several objects thrown in his direction from the away end.

With tickets already hard to come by, that behaviour risks giving Hearts cause to cut Hibs’ allocation for the fixture, which would be brutal for a fixture that thrives on the atmosphere from full away ends.

On the penalty award, Hibs only have to go back as far as the Celtic game at Easter Road to ask why, after review, Hearts were awarded a spot-kick for far less contact than that which saw Martin Boyle booked for simulation. The referees no longer have the mitigation of only seeing an incident once from the view they have live. These mistakes are happening after consideration and with VAR on this occasion doing its job and highlighting the potential error to Clancy, Hibs will have every reason to expect another apology from the SFA this week.

Hibs didn’t let the decision affect their play, however, and a strong second-half showing wasn’t enough to find another goal that would have won the game, and despite dominating much of the final 45 minutes, the visitors had to settle for a point.

AGM points to exciting times and a bright future for Hibs

Hibs did have reason to celebrate 24 hours earlier, with the club’s AGM at Easter Road rubber-stamping the deal that will see Bill Foley’s Black Knight Football Club group purchase a 25% stake in the club for £6m.

The detail of the investment was presented to shareholders by chief executive Ben Kensell, who highlighted key infrastructure improvements – most notably to the Famous Five stand and the Hibernian Training Centre, the most significant being the installation of an indoor, all-weather pitch. Anyone who has been out to East Mains will understand the benefit that will bring, not least in giving the players a reprieve from what may well be the windiest location in Scotland.

Leith locals will also benefit from the investment, with plans to open a community hub within the Famous Five stand, and the Women’s team will be re-homed in a bid to boost their growth. To coin a political term, Hibs are levelling up almost all aspects of the football club, and with future capital calls guaranteed, the future is very bright for the Hibees.

Kensell pointed to player trading advantages and highlighted the signing of Marcondes as an example of how Hibs can use the relationship with the wider group to bring in players who would otherwise be out of our reach, while being sure to stress that Hibs are under no obligation to buy or sell any player that isn’t in the club’s plans – 'there is no Bournemouth B', Kensell said. 

On the face of it, the deal looks to give Hibs the best of both worlds – a wealthy and invested minority owner supporting the interests of the Gordon family, who retain full control at the club. We become part of a group while retaining our own identity and the fortunes (in both senses of the word) of the club remain in our own hands.

Wednesday night showed that the gap between Hearts and Hibs isn’t as big as the league table suggests, while Tuesday perhaps reflects that it could soon shift in Hibs’ favour with this ground-breaking deal. These are exciting times to be a Hibee!