Hibernian
2005–06 season
ChairmanRod Petrie
ManagerTony Mowbray
SPL4th
Scottish CupSemi
CIS CupQuarter
UEFA CupR1
Top goalscorerLeague: Riordan, 16
All: Riordan, 20
Highest home attendance17180[1]
Lowest home attendance10427[1]
Average home league attendance13818[1] (up 1279)

Season 2005–06 was a season of missed opportunities for Hibernian. The team started strongly in the league, winning 10 of their first 14 games, but this form dipped after Christmas. The Scottish Cup seemed to be opening up for Hibs after they defeated Rangers 3–0 at Ibrox in the fourth round, but they then lost 4–0 in an Edinburgh derby semi–final against Hearts. Hibs lost 3–0 in the quarter–final of the Scottish League Cup at Dunfermline, and were well beaten by Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in the UEFA Cup.

Pre-season

Hibs went on a three match tour of Ireland in early July, beating St Patrick's Athletic and drawing with Cork City and Shamrock Rovers. This was followed by a series of friendly matches against Scottish Football League clubs. Unusually, two of these matches were played on the same day as Hibs split their squad between matches at Ayr United and Queen of the South. Hibs then played a match against Rot-Weiss Essen to mark the 50th anniversary of the first European Cup competition before completing their pre-season schedule with a 1–0 win against Hartlepool United.

Results

3 July 2005 Friendly match Cork City 3–3 Hibernian Turners Cross, Cork
O'Callaghan
O'Callaghan pen.'
Behan 		Morrow
Fletcher
Morrow
13 July 2005 Friendly match Stirling Albion 0–2 Hibernian Forthbank Stadium, Stirling
Morrow
Konte 		Attendance: 1,450
Referee: Ian Frickleton
16 July 2005 Friendly match Ayr United 1–1 Hibernian Somerset Park, Ayr
Hyslop O'Connor Attendance: 1,028

League season

Hibs began the season inauspiciously, drawing 1–1 at home to Dunfermline, although a draw represented something of a recovery having been a goal and a man down at half time. The second match was an Edinburgh derby at Tynecastle, where Hibs felt the full brunt of a powerful new Hearts side under the management of George Burley. Hibs lost 4–0 as Hearts went on to start the season with eight consecutive league wins.

Hibs ended Hearts' unbeaten start to the season on 29 October 2005.

Hibs themselves then went on a run of form, winning four league games in a row. The obvious highlight of this run was a 3–0 win at Ibrox, which was Hibs' first win there since 1995. Ivan Sproule, who had been thinking of returning to his native Northern Ireland,[2] scored all the goals as a second-half substitute for Garry O'Connor. Sproule became the first visiting player to score a hat-trick at Ibrox since Allan Johnston did it for Hearts in 1996,[3] and the first Hibs player to achieve the feat in more than 100 years.[4]

Although Hibs then lost home matches to Celtic and Inverness immediately after their European ties, they then went on another run of victories, this time five in succession. The highlight of this run was the 2–0 Edinburgh derby win against Hearts, which ended their unbeaten start to the season.[5] Despite a home defeat by Falkirk where Hibs had led 2–0, a convincing 2–1 win against Rangers led to media speculation that Hibs could challenge for the league title, which Tony Mowbray played down.[6]

Results

13 August 2005 SPL Hibernian 3–0 Livingston Easter Road, Edinburgh
Murphy 40'
Shiels 42'
O'Connor 53'		 Attendance: 11,341
Referee: G Turner
20 August 2005 SPL Falkirk 0–2 Hibernian Falkirk Stadium, Falkirk
Brown 36'
Riordan 63' (pen.)		 Attendance: 6,268
Referee: Brian Winter
27 August 2005 SPL Rangers 0–3 Hibernian Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow
Sproule 67', 86', 90' Attendance: 49,754
Referee: Iain Brines
10 September 2005 SPL Hibernian 2–1 Dundee United Easter Road, Edinburgh
O'Connor 18' (pen.)
Sproule 70'		 Brebner 14' Attendance: 12,062
Referee: Kenny Clark
18 September 2005 SPL Hibernian 0–1 Celtic Easter Road, Edinburgh
Petrov 5' Attendance: 15,649
Referee: Craig Thomson
24 September 2005 SPL Motherwell 1–3 Hibernian Fir Park, Motherwell
Foran 83' (pen.) Beuzelin 20'
Stewart 68'
Riordan 80'		 Attendance: 6,461
Referee: Dougie McDonald
2 October 2005 SPL Hibernian 1–2 Inverness CT Easter Road, Edinburgh
Fletcher 82' Proctor 49'
Wyness 65'		 Attendance: 11,683
Referee: Brian Winter
15 October 2005 SPL Hibernian 4–2 Kilmarnock Easter Road, Edinburgh
Caldwell 53'
Beuzelin 61', 80'
Riordan 81'		 Ford 7'
Fowler 40'		 Attendance: 11,731
Referee: Alan Freeland
22 October 2005 SPL Aberdeen 0–1 Hibernian Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen
Riordan 55' Attendance: 13,375
Referee: Mike McCurry
26 October 2005 SPL Dunfermline Athletic 1–2 Hibernian East End Park, Dunfermline
Mason 87' O'Connor 48', 83' Attendance: 6,853
Referee: Craig Mackay
5 November 2005 SPL Livingston 1–2 Hibernian Almondvale, Livingston
Strong 42' Shiels 83'
O'Connor 86'		 Attendance: 8,390
Referee: Dougie McDonald
19 November 2005 SPL Hibernian 2–3 Falkirk Easter Road, Edinburgh
Riordan 1', 33' Duffy 48', 73'
Gow 55'		 Attendance: 13,092
Referee: Steve Conroy
27 November 2005 SPL Hibernian 2–1 Rangers Easter Road, Edinburgh
Riordan 18'
O'Connor 25'		 Ferguson 59' Attendance: 16,958
Referee: Stuart Dougal
3 December 2005 SPL Dundee United 1–0 Hibernian Tannadice Park, Dundee
Samuel 61' Attendance: 7,976
Referee: Brian Winter
10 December 2005 SPL Celtic 3–2 Hibernian Celtic Park, Glasgow
Hartson 40', 65'
Maloney 57'		 Beuzelin 47'
Fletcher 53'		 Attendance: 59,895
Referee: Kenny Clark
17 December 2005 SPL Hibernian 2–1 Motherwell Easter Road, Edinburgh
Fletcher 3'
Riordan 90'		 McDonald 17' Attendance: 11,926
Referee: Charlie Richmond
26 December 2005 SPL Inverness CT 2–0 Hibernian Caley Stadium, Inverness
Wilson 8'
Dargo 11'		 Attendance: 7,017
Referee: Alan Freeland
2 January 2006 SPL Kilmarnock 2–2 Hibernian Rugby Park, Kilmarnock
Naismith 30'
Wales 90'		 Hogg 60'
O'Connor 85'		 Attendance: 9,224
Referee: Brian Winter
14 January 2006 SPL Hibernian 1–2 Aberdeen Easter Road, Edinburgh
Whittaker 90' Crawford 4'
Mackie 14'		 Attendance: 14,572
Referee: Dougie McDonald
21 January 2006 SPL Hibernian 3–1 Dunfermline Athletic Easter Road, Edinburgh
Riordan 17', 71'
Fletcher 89'		 Donnelly 35' Attendance: 13,316
Referee: Stuart Dougal
28 January 2006 SPL Heart of Midlothian 4–1 Hibernian Tynecastle, Edinburgh
Hartley 27', 44' (pen.)
Skacel 41'
Elliot 50'		 O'Connor 58' Attendance: 17,371
Referee: Mike McCurry
8 February 2006 SPL Hibernian 7–0 Livingston Easter Road, Edinburgh
Killen 19'
Riordan 33' (pen.), 64'
O'Connor 48'
Mackay 70' (o.g.)
Fletcher 89', 90'		 Attendance: 12,170
Referee: Charlie Richmond
11 February 2006 SPL Falkirk 0–0 Hibernian Falkirk Stadium, Falkirk
Attendance: 5,937
Referee: Craig Mackay
18 February 2006 SPL Rangers 2–0 Hibernian Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow
Boyd 40'
Ferguson 74'		 Attendance: 49,720
Referee: Iain Brines
4 March 2006 SPL Hibernian 3–1 Dundee United Easter Road, Edinburgh
Riordan 6'
Archibald 25' (o.g.)
Killen 33'		 Goodwillie 89' Attendance: 16,266
Referee: Brian Winter
12 March 2006 SPL Hibernian 1–2 Celtic Easter Road, Edinburgh
Riordan 24' Maloney 36' (pen.)
McManus 60'		 Attendance: 16,985
Referee: Alan Freeland
18 March 2006 SPL Motherwell 2–2 Hibernian Fir Park, Motherwell
O'Donnell 40'
Craigan 90'		 Killen 48'
Glass 78'		 Attendance: 6,724
Referee: Mike McCurry
25 March 2006 SPL Hibernian 0–2 Inverness CT Easter Road, Edinburgh
Dods 58'
Wilson 79' (pen.)		 Attendance: 12,745
Referee: Mike Ritchie
5 April 2006 SPL Hibernian 2–1 Kilmarnock Easter Road, Edinburgh
Riordan 80'
Dalglish 87'		 Wales 19' Attendance: 10,427
Referee: Calum Murray
8 April 2006 SPL Aberdeen 1–0 Hibernian Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen
Severin 21' Attendance: 14,110
Referee: Iain Brines
16 April 2006 SPL Celtic 1–1 Hibernian Celtic Park, Glasgow
Zurawski 76' Fletcher 35' Attendance: 60,047
Referee: Kevin Toner
29 April 2006 SPL Aberdeen 4–0 Hibernian Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen
Crawford 4'
Lovell 30', 54'
Foster 65'		 Attendance: 10,490
Referee: Brian Winter
2 May 2006 SPL Hibernian 1–2 Rangers Easter Road, Edinburgh
Hemdani 72' (o.g.) Boyd 36', 74' Attendance: 14,933
Referee: Mike McCurry
7 May 2006 SPL Kilmarnock 3–1 Hibernian Rugby Park, Kilmarnock
Naismith 48' (pen.)
Greer 72'
Nish 75'		 Fletcher 5' Attendance: 5,732
Referee: Alan Freeland

Final table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation[lower-alpha 1]
2 Heart of Midlothian 38 22 8 8 71 31 +40 74 Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round
3 Rangers 38 21 10 7 67 37 +30 73 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
4 Hibernian 38 17 5 16 61 56 +5 56 Qualification for the UEFA Intertoto Cup second round[lower-alpha 2]
5 Kilmarnock 38 15 10 13 63 64 −1 55
6 Aberdeen 38 13 15 10 46 40 +6 54
Source: Scottish Professional Football League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
Notes:
  1. ↑ Teams played each other three times (33 matches), before the league split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six) for the last five matches.
  2. ↑ Hibernian qualified for the 2006 UEFA Intertoto Cup by being the highest place applicant for the competition.

UEFA Cup

Having finished third in the Scottish Premier League table in the previous season, Hibs qualified directly into the first round proper of the UEFA Cup. They were drawn against Ukrainian Premier League side Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, with Hibs due to play at home first. The match at Easter Road was a goalless draw, although Hibs hit the woodwork twice.[7] Dnipro took the lead early in the return match thanks to a deflected goal, but Derek Riordan equalised midway through the first half.[8] Hibs conceded two goals before half-time, however, and Dnipro added two more late goals on the counter-attack.[8] This eliminated Hibs at the first hurdle, as they had been in their previous entry in 2001.

Results

15 September 2005 UEFA Cup Hibernian 0–0 Dnipro Easter Road, Edinburgh
Attendance: 16,861
Referee: Knud Erik Fisker
29 September 2005 UEFA Cup Dnipro 5–1 Hibernian Meteor, Dnipropetrovsk
Nazarenko 1'
Shershun 26'
Shelayev 39' (pen.)
Melaschenko 87', 90'		 Riordan 24' Referee: Fritz Stuchlik

Scottish League Cup

As one of the European qualifiers from the previous season, Hibs were given a bye to the last 16 of the competition. In that round they defeated Ayr United 2–1 at Somerset Park. In the quarter-final, Hibs were drawn to play Dunfermline Athletic at East End Park. Dunfermline were struggling in the SPL and had recently lost at home to Hibs in the league, but they turned this form on its head to comfortably beat Hibs 3–0 in the League Cup, ending Hibs' involvement in the competition.

Results

21 September 2005 Scottish League Cup Ayr United 1–2 Hibernian Somerset Park, Ayr
Wardlaw 86' Riordan 37', 41' Attendance: 2,598
Referee: Steve Conroy

Scottish Cup

Hibs had a straightforward win in the last 32 of the Scottish Cup at home to Arbroath. In the last 16 they were given the daunting task of facing Rangers at Ibrox, although Hibs had won 3–0 at Ibrox earlier in the season thanks to Ivan Sproule's hat-trick. Their preparations for the game were not helped when Rangers made an offer to sign Derek Riordan, Hibs' top scorer, in the week before the match. Hibs rejected Rangers' offer, but accepted offers from foreign clubs that Riordan himself turned down. This transfer activity led Tony Mowbray to decide to leave Riordan on the bench for the match at Ibrox, just as he had done before the previous match at that ground that season. Riordan ended up making a cameo appearance, setting up the third goal for Chris Killen in a second 3–0 win for Hibs at Ibrox, and their third victory in all over Rangers that season. Garry O'Connor and Sproule had scored Hibs' first two goals early in the second half, with Simon Brown gaining some credit for producing an excellent save from Bob Malcolm during the first half.

With Celtic having already been eliminated in a shock defeat by Clyde in the last 32, the Scottish Cup had been opened up for a first winner from outside the Old Firm since Hearts in 1998. The first Scottish Cup Final without an Old Firm club present since 1997 was also guaranteed by those two results. In the quarter-final, Hibs were drawn to play SPL club Falkirk away. Hibs progressed through to the semi-final after a 5–1 victory at the Falkirk Stadium. Hibs were joined in the semi-finals by Edinburgh derby rivals Hearts and Scottish Football League clubs Dundee and Gretna. Gretna beat Dundee 3–0 in the first semi-final, leaving Hibs and Hearts to contest the right to face a Second Division side in a Cup Final where they would be heavy favourite.

The problem for Hibs was that they had been seriously weakened by the time of that semi-final. Derek Riordan had not been sold in the January window, but was suspended for the semi-final after collecting a second yellow card of the competition against Falkirk.[9] Garry O'Connor had been sold to Lokomotiv Moscow straight after the quarter-final win. Chris Killen had failed a late fitness test[9] and Paul Dalglish was cup-tied to Livingston. Midfielders Scott Brown and Michael Stewart were also unavailable due to injury.

These selection problems, particularly in attack, meant that Mowbray drafted in Moroccan youngster Abdessalam Benjelloun for his debut, and also started with youngster Steven Fletcher in attack.[9] He also juggled the other areas of the team by moving Gary Caldwell into midfield and bringing Chris Hogg into defence.[9] The makeshift Hibs side lost the match 4–0 and had Sproule and Gary Smith sent off. Former Hibs player Paul Hartley scored a hat-trick, leaving Mowbray to wonder whether Hibs would have won if the absent players had been available.[10]

Results

7 January 2006 Scottish Cup Hibernian 6–0 Arbroath Easter Road, Edinburgh
Brown 40', 78'
Sproule 45'
Stewart 63'
O'Connor 74'
Fletcher 85'		 Attendance: 10,523
Referee: William Collum
4 February 2006 Scottish Cup Rangers 0–3 Hibernian Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow
O'Connor 50'
Sproule 59'
Killen 78'		 Attendance: 40,722
Referee: Stuart Dougal
25 February 2006 Scottish Cup Falkirk 1–5 Hibernian Falkirk Stadium, Falkirk
McBreen 70' Riordan 9'
O'Connor 64'
Sproule 74'
Caldwell 77'
Fletcher 88'		 Attendance: 6,259
Referee: Kenny Clark

Transfers

Hibs did not make many major changes from the squad that had finished third in the SPL in the previous season. Captain Ian Murray moved to Rangers under freedom of contract, while Hibs signed Michael Stewart, who had been on loan at Hearts. Tony Mowbray also signed Zbigniew Małkowski to play in goal, as Simon Brown had made some errors towards the end of the previous season.

During the winter, Hibs brought in Chris Killen, Oumar Kondé and Paul Dalglish in an attempt to strengthen a squad that was being stretched by injuries. The only major transfer during the season was the sale of Garry O'Connor to Lokomotiv Moscow at the start of March 2006. This transfer went ahead outside of the normal British transfer windows because the Russian Premier League transfer window was still open.[11] O'Connor's transfer started a trend of Hibs selling players, as Kevin Thomson, Scott Brown, Steven Whittaker and David Murphy all moved for fees in excess of £1.5M over the course of the next two years.

Player stats

During the 2005–06 season, Hibs used 31 different players in competitive games. The table below shows the number of appearances and goals scored by each player.[12]

No. Pos Nat Player TotalSPLScottish CupLeague CupUEFA Cup
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
GK England ENG Simon Brown 11070301000
GK Poland POL Zibi Malkowski 360320101020
DF Scotland SCO Gary Caldwell 412341411020
DF England ENG Chris Hogg 301231302020
DF Switzerland SUI Oumar Kondé 130110200000
DF England ENG David Murphy 371301401020
DF Netherlands NED Humphrey Rudge 8060002000
DF Scotland SCO Jay Shields 7070000000
DF Scotland SCO Gary Smith 240200201010
DF Scotland SCO Steven Whittaker 401341400020
MF France FRA Guillaume Beuzelin 255215002020
MF Scotland SCO Scott Brown 243201221010
MF Scotland SCO Stephen Glass 341281401010
MF Scotland SCO Sean Lynch 2020000000
MF Scotland SCO Jamie McCluskey 6030300000
MF England ENG Kevin McDonald 3020001000
MF England ENG Antonio Murray 1010000000
MF Northern Ireland NIR Dean Shiels 202162002020
MF Northern Ireland NIR Ivan Sproule 407324432020
MF Scotland SCO Lewis Stevenson 1000001000
MF Scotland SCO Michael Stewart 302251310020
MF Scotland SCO Kevin Thomson 370310301020
FW Morocco MAR Abdessalam Benjelloun 6151100000
FW Scotland SCO Ross Campbell 1010000000
FW Scotland SCO Paul Dalglish 142111000031
FW Scotland SCO Steven Fletcher 4110348422010
FW New Zealand NZL Chris Killen 8473110000
FW Mali MLI Amadou Konte 150130101000
FW Northern Ireland NIR Sam Morrow 12080102010
FW Scotland SCO Garry O'Connor 32142611331020
FW Scotland SCO Derek Riordan 42203616312211

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Average Home League Game Attendances". fitbastats.com. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  2. ↑ Hibs delight at Sproule's U-turn, BBC Sport, 30 August 2005.
  3. ↑ Football: YOU'RE IVAN A LAUGH; Gers slump to fourth after Sproule hits stunning hat-trick.(Sport), Sunday Mail, 28 August 2005.
  4. ↑ Hardie, David. As Hibs get ready to take on Rangers, Sproule looks back on his favourite Ibrox moment – and it's not the one you might think.., Edinburgh Evening News, 2 February 2008.
  5. ↑ Leslie, Colin. Hibernian 2–0 Hearts: Derby day countdown: Capital's SPL Classics Part IV, The Scotsman, 17 October 2008.
  6. ↑ Mowbray denies title credentials, BBC Sport, 27 November 2005.
  7. ↑ Hibernian 0–0 Dnipro, BBC Sport, 15 September 2005.
  8. 1 2 Dnipro 5–1 Hibernian (agg 5–1), BBC Sport, 29 September 2005.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Hibernian 0–4 Hearts, BBC Sport, 2 April 2006.
  10. ↑ Mowbray vows to come back better, BBC Sport, 2 April 2006.
  11. ↑ Gordon, Phil. Lokomotiv express desire to capture O'Connor, The Times, 28 February 2006.
  12. ↑ "Hibernian 2005/2006 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 24 November 2008.
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