DISREGARD the fact that Dundee United and Motherwell were both inactive on Saturday. Hibernian are in third place on merit, and it will be tough for either of those teams to dislodge them now.
Any number of causes could be cited for their improve
ment from the lowly position they were in just a couple of months ago, but two words suffice to sum it up: Mixu Paatelainen. The Finn is still in his early years as a manager, but his lack of experience has been counterbalanced by the fact that he was already thinking like a coach some time before he retired as a player.
He certainly did not take long to work out what should be done with Hibs when he took over as manager in January. They had the style but too often lacked the end product, so had to be willing to play a more varied game instead of building up slowly from the back and almost always keeping the ball on the deck.
Both of Saturday's goals exemplified the alteration. The first came from a long ball by Rob Jones which Colin Nish knocked down to Filipe Morais, who profited from a lucky break off his shins and ran on to finish calmly. The second arose when Steven Fletcher latched on to a long ball from Merouane Zemmama, beat his man, and from the left of goal scored with a low shot which went in off the far post.
Under John Collins, Jones and Zemmama would have been more likely to play short passes to team-mates' feet rather than hoisting up speculative efforts. Now, the team know that a sudden change of pace can be invaluable.
It would be wrong to go overboard about Paatelainen's virtues. He will face more trying seasons than this one, in which so many clubs have appeared married to mediocrity. All the same, the one test he has sat thus far has been passed with flying colours.
Hibs were below their best here, as was also the case against Motherwell in midweek. Both matches, however, were won thanks to their greater cutting edge, with Fletcher and Colin Nish again proving to be a fruitful combination.
Fletcher received some harsh treatment in the first half, notably from Grant Murray. But the young striker is more able to withstand such attentions now than he was a year ago, and Kilmarnock could not shackle him either legally or otherwise.
The Hibs defence, on the other hand, found it all too easy to contain their opponents. Kilmarnock did enjoy a period of pressure from the start of the second half, and Yves Makalambay had to look sharp to save a Craig Bryson header, but Alan Combe was by far the busier of the two goalkeepers and kept his team in the game at 1-0 when he made good saves from Zemmama and Fletcher in quick succession midway through the second half.
Once Hibs scored their second, however, there was no way back for Kilmarnock, who never looked like having more than one goal in them. Indeed, the nearest the game came to having a third goal was in the closing ten minutes when Dean Shiels, on for Morais, shot wide when in good position.
Both Jim Jefferies and Combe said later that this was the best Kilmarnock had played away from home for some time. Perhaps those of us who have only seen the team rarely this season should defer to the greater knowledge of the manager and goalkeeper, but honestly, if this was them at their best, how bad must they have been in other games?
The biggest plus point for the Ayrshire side was the showing in midfield of Mehdi Taouil. The Moroccan is only signed up until the summer, however, and Hibs among other clubs could show an interest. "We played in the Moroccan Olympic team in Athens," Zemmama recalled. "I hope he works hard and gets a good club. I spoke with (former Hibs manager] John Collins about him before he signed for Kilmarnock, but John was looking for a defensive midfielder then. I hope next season he is with us."
The full article contains 709 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
