Hibs way to strong for Shipyard.
The Shipyard suffered a heavy defeat to an excellent Hibs side that had Scotland international Kevin Thomson pulling the strings in midfield, Thomson was ably assisted by Dean Horribine, Taylor Hendry and Jamie Beaton who all turned in great performances. Some of these youngsters must surely be coming in to Terry Butcher’s thoughts as his first team squad continue to struggle in the SPFL. For the Shipyard the returning Mikey Couser who had a fine game in goals and managed to keep the score below double figures probably merited a man of the match award. Jordan Mushet, Gavin Bridges and Jamie Fyfe made way for Couser, Keith Buckley and Joe Samson after last week’s narrow loss to Coldstream.
The visitors were up against it in the early stages and it was no surprise when Hibs took the lead in the fifth minute. Kevin Waugh saw his thunderous strike hit the post but Lewis Allan was on hand to turn the loose ball into the net. A second goal came on eleven minutes and Horribine was on hand to turn in a cross from the right from around six yards. Couser saved well from Hendry before the Shipyard had their first opportunity after twenty minutes. Perntreou spilled a ball at the edge of his box but rather than try a first time lob Adam Doig opted to try and control the ball and he was closed down. The Shipyard lost a third goal after 22 minutes and it was almost a carbon copy of the second only this time it was Beaton who tucked from close range. The Shipyard had been complaining about some dubious offside decisions and their mood wasn’t helped in the 25th minute when Hendry lobbed the ball over Couser from what looked like a pretty blatant offside position. Hibs continued to dominate and create chances and a fifth goal came just after the half hour when Horribine scored again from close in. Kevin Masson drove at the Hibs defence but when he got his shot away it lacked the power to trouble Perntreou. Dale Robertson had another chance for the Shipyard but he fired over the bar after the ball broke to him following a corner.
The Shipyard seemed to have steadied the ship in the opening stages of the second half and Doig had an attempt that was not too far away, however, when Hibs went up the other end Gareth McCaffrey scored with a fierce shot from twenty yards. It was soon seven when Hendry also scored with a good strike from the edge of the box. The Shipyard kept plugging away and Doig shot into the side netting from a tight angle. Couser’s goalkeeping and been sound and he produced two very good saves in as many minutes to show his quality. With five minutes remaining Masson took on the Hibs defence himself and after weaving his way into the box was denied by a great save from Perntreou. Couser then slightly put a dampener on his display when a wayward clearance fell to Allan who made no mistake as he made it 8-0. The Shipyard were awarded the chance of a consolation goal in added time when the referee deemed that a Hibs defender had committed a foul as a free-kick was played into the box and awarded a penalty. However, for the second week in a row Masson saw his kick saved, which just about summed up the day for the Shipyard.
Teams: Hibernian: K. Perntreou; A. Dunsmore; K. Waugh; D. Horribine; R. Wilson; N. Martyniuk; G. McCaffrey (S. Martin); K. Thomson (E. Smith); L. Allan; T. Hendry; J. Beaton (R. Baptie). Unused Subs: A. Black & D. Horne.
Burntisland Shipyard: M. Couser; P. Bell; J. Samson; A. Clark; C. McKay (B. Smart); K. Masson; K. Buckley; C. Lowe; A. Doig (J. Fyfe); A. MacDonald (G. Blyth); D. Robertson. Unused Subs: G. Bridges & J. Mushet.
Referee: R. Thomson.