Hibs’ Head Coach Alan Stubbs was delighted to pick up three points away to Falkirk last night and leapfrog Saturday’s opponents Raith Rovers into second place in the Championship, eight points behind leaders Rangers although he admitted that he was surprised to see referee Alan Muir point to the spot when John McGinn clashed with Blair Alston inside the area just before the break.
Falkirk boss Peter Houston annoyed everyone at Easter Road after last season’s Scottish Cup semi-final when he criticised Hibs’ ability to deal with cross balls and Stubbs believes that his defenders put paid to that theory last night.
Speaking immediately after the game to Cliff Pike of Hibs’ TV, Stubbs said: “All the games we play against Fakirk are hard fought. They are not an easy team to play against. They are good at what they do and to come here and pick up three points tonight with a resolute performance speaks volume for the players who were involved.
“This was going to be a game that the back four would win for us and it so proved to be. They had to be resolute They threw a lot of long balls at us and it wasn’t so long ago that we were labelled that we couldn’t deal with crosses. I think we answered that tonight.
“Tonight was the perfect response to Saturday. We did give away two sloppy goals defensively but tonight’s result more than makes up for that.
“Tonight was a great three points because a lot of people were asking questions of us tonight. Can we go here and keep the momentum going? I don’t think it was ever going to be a game where we were allowed to play and dictate what we wanted to do but I thought we had a good side to us tonight which we will need throughout the season.”
Hibs won thanks to a first half penalty from Jason Cummings however the decision infuriated the Falkirk players and fans. Stubbs admitted that the penalty was soft but he highlighted an incident seconds beforehand which could also have resulted in a spot kick.
He continued: “I was surprised that the referee gave the penalty. John (McGinn) has put the ball down the side of the lad (Blair Alston) and he has run into him. The boy stood his ground and he wasn’t going to get it. I’m delighted we got the penalty as you look at the incident beforehand when the lad (Luke Leahy) pushes David Gray, that could easily have been a penalty.Overall in the game, I think the referee was consistent for both teams. I don’t think that it’s any players preferred surface. Early on the ball wasn’t sticking up front like it should have done and we were a bit loose with our first touch and we weren’t in a position to pick up the loose passes s and things were breaking down. As the half went on we got a little bit better. The goal helped us and with a little bit more care with the final pass we could have capitalised on the opportunities we were presented with.”
Jason Cummings calmly sent the keeper the wrong way and rolled the ball into the bottom corner, his second penalty goal in two games, earning praise from his boss. He continued: “Jason (Cummings) certainly knows what he wants to do. He is a very confident young lad and that shows with has composure. He stayed focused and put the penalty away which gave us the foundation to go on and win the game.”
Hibs face Raith Rovers on Saturday and whoever wins will be second in the table but Stubbs insists that he will treat the game like any other. He said: “I honestly don’t look at the table because if we keep picking up three points then that’s the most important thing because we are where we should be.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
