EVEN the best-planned parties can fall flat. The eponymous hero of Russell Latapy Day was on the pitch to receive the ovation of the crowd before the match, and was inducted into the Falkirk Hall of Fame in the evening. Throughout the central 90 minutes of the afternoon, however, he was nothing more than a witness to an encounter which could have done with an injection of the kind of creativity in which he specialises.
Not that this was one of those stereotypically Scottish affairs in which brawn prevails over brain. Far from it: both teams played a similar style of passing game, and the influence of the 40-year-old midfielder, who doubles up as reserve-team coach,
was evident in the way in which Falkirk's young players went about their business.
But if trying to keep the ball on the deck and pass to feet was all it took to become as good as Russell Latapy, the country would be teeming with clones of him by now. It is his wit and vision which make the Trinidadian different: his ability to create a little bit of space for himself which then allows him to make the killer pass.
In his absence, Falkirk's play rarely rose above the ineffectual. On several occasions they would go through a sequence of five or six passes which looked good but ended up by not getting beyond a single Hibernian defender.
Hibs' problem was that they were unable to string such moves together, and instead gave the ball away almost as often as they managed to present it to a team-mate. Derek Riordan gave teasing glimpses of his talent, but it was only after he went off and was replaced by Colin Nish that Hibs became more effective.
That substitution by Mixu Paatelainen came immediately after Falkirk had opened the scoring through Darren Barr. Burton O'Brien's long, raking cross from the left wing to the back post evaded Yves Makalambay, who looked badly positioned and indecisive, and Barr nodded in from a couple of yards out.
Had Falkirk gone behind with 20 or so minutes to play instead of taking the lead, Latapy would surely have been brought off the bench in a bid to salvage something from the game. As it was, the game after that goal was largely about a defensive effort by the home team, and Latapy, for all his talent, is not a major contributor to defence.
John Hughes, the Falkirk manager, said he could not have allowed himself to be influenced by sentiment into throwing the veteran on for a few minutes, and in the circumstances it was hard to disagree. Had this been Latapy's last match before leaving the club or retiring, the crowd would have demanded a cameo appearance, but he is going nowhere yet, and there will be other afternoons between now and the end of the season – and possibly beyond – in which he will have a chance to show off his extravagant talents.
Falkirk had pressed more as well as passing better in the first half, although the few scoring chances were split more or less equally between the teams. Hughes's side continued to look sharper for much of the second half, but in the end they were fortunate to take a point out of the game, as Hibs, inspired by Nish's equaliser, produced their best spell of the match in the last ten minutes.
The big striker's goal came from a corner by another substitute, Alan O'Brien. Rob Jones rose above Scott Flinders to head back across goal, and Nish was there at the near post to head home from a few feet out.
Nish nearly got his second a minute later but was just off target from an O'Brien cross, and although Michael Higdon and Kevin McBride had chances in the dying moments, the match ended with Hibs on top and looking the likelier to score.
After a poor spell, they have now gone unbeaten in the last three games. But if they want to extend it to four when Celtic visit Easter Road on Sunday, they will need to find the inspirational touch that was missing from their play here.
The full article contains 714 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
