Inverness brush Hibs aside


Inverness swept Hibs aside as they kept their great run going and leapfrogged the capital club to move into second place in the SPL on their own.

Goals from Ross Draper, Richie Forans' face and Billy, he scores when he wants, McKay saw Inverness deservedly run away with the points.

Terry Butcher's side virtually picks itself at the moment and it was no surprise that they were unchanged from the dramatic cup tie at Dingwall the previous week.

Hibernian manager Pat Fenlon introduced speedy winger Ivan Sproule to the starting eleven and Leigh Griffiths made a swift recovery from his ankle knock after being stretchered off against Hearts the previous week.

The first half was a bit of a dour tussle with both sides being a bit sloppy when in possession and Hibs had their best spell of the game.  However, it was Inverness that took the lead when Ross Draper was left unmarked in the box and he powered a header low past a diving Williams from ten yards.  The cross was delivered deep by Graeme Shinnie on the left from a free kick after brother Andy had been impeded.

Reguero was forced into a spectacular save when Griffiths, for the only time in the game broke free.  It was Tony himself who started the move, a poor clearance was quickly sent towards the Inverness goal and Griffiths latched onto it after Meekings missed the ball, but when he thumped a twenty yarder towards the top of the goal, Reguero redeemed himself by acrobatically tipping the ball over.

Inverness were soon back on the ascendency and Ben Williams had to look lively to keep out efforts from Tudur-Jones and Draper, both from long range.  Jones is fast getting a reputation for long range strikes after recent thunderous drives from distance have troubled keepers.

Crawford Allan was continually stopping the flow of the game in the first half and aided by his linesmen, managed to spoil the spectacle, but the second half would open out much slicker as Inverness moved through the gears, with Hibs in reverse.

Half Time 1-0

Inverness started the second half as they had finished the first, on the front foot.  Aaron Doran had woken up and was now driving at the Hibs rearguard at pace, causing them all sorts of problems and he flashed a drive wide when put through on goal.

A second goal was threatening as Inverness forced a series of corners and penned Hibs back into their own half for long periods.  Jones fired another long range effort, but it was straight at the grateful Williams who plucked it out of the air.

Plenty of effort from Inverness, but the end product was eluding them for now.  It was becoming one way traffic now as Hibs were struggling to clear their lines from the eager Inverness grafters.  Doran burst through a couple of times, skinning the defenders at will but we had to wait until the 76th minute before the game was over as a contest.

The vastly imroved version two of David Raven overlapped once more and his magnificent cross from the byeline was knocked into the net by Richie Forans' face.  That's becoming a habit now, but it was an excellent build up and a courageous finish by Foran, who put his head where it hurts to bundle the ball home.  It certainly hurt Hibs.

A third goal would be the icing on the cake and it was now a case of how many?  With three minutes left goal machine Billy McKay answered the question as he nodded home Doran's cross to leave Hibs shattered and Inverness rampant.  The pair of them had exchanged passes from one end of the pitch to the other when Billy rose majestically to finish off a superb move.

We still had time to surge forward a few more times and could have scored even more but the final whistle came to the Hibees recue and a thoroughly deserved 3-0 win was completed.

Full Time 3-0

Did we deserve this?  You bet we did.  A disruptive first half was quickly forgotten as we took the game to Hibs after the break and 3-0 flattered them.  Plenty of talking points for afters, and going solo at second in the league is a great feeling, the only downside is once again the miserly crowd attending home matches to watch as attractive a side as there is in the SPL right now.

tm4tj MotM:- Not an easy choice this week as there were plenty of contenders for this accolade.  A clean sheet for Reguero who had little to do apart from that one Griffiths shot puts him out of the running.  Tudur-Jones, like Draper, Meekings and Warren just get better and better every week.  Aaron Doran sprung into life after the break and gets close, Richie Foran for his tireless grafting and goal, Billy McKay who is like a Duracell bunny on speed and Andy Shinnie for his close control, keeping many a lost cause alive, yes it's a tough call.  Once more, the man to get my vote is the new and improved David Raven who has gone from zero to hero in the space of a couple of months.  Great defending, pace on the break and another assist, aye, it's another good week for Dave the Rave.
 

8th Dec 2012	Scottish Premier League	Tulloch Caledonian Stadium
Inverness C.T.	3 - Draper (13), Foran (76), McKay (87)
	TEAM: Reguero, Raven, Warren, Meekings, G.Shinnie, Doran, Draper, Tudur Jones, A.Shinnie, Foran (Sutherland 90), McKay
	SUBS: Esson, Morrison, Laing, Polworth, Pepper, Cooper
	Booked: none
	Sent Off: none
Hibernian	0 -
	TEAM: Williams, Maybury, Hanlon, McGivern, Stevenson, Claros, Taiwo, Wotherspoon (Kuqi 83), Cairney (Doyle 68), Sproule, Griffiths
	SUBS: Murdoch, Smith, Handling, Caldwell, Horribine
	Booked: none
	Sent Off: none
Referee	Crawford Allan
Attendance	3422