Season 2009/10 Review: John Hislop

At the start of the season, I would have been happy to be top six, or anywhere above Hearts. With Yogi in charge and a couple of new signings, I was confident that we would at least improve on the previous year under Mixu, but I never for one minute believed that we would be within touching distance of a Champions League place. Yet, well into February, we were only a couple of points behind Celtic, when as usual, the bubble burst and a dreadful set of results saw us drop to fifth.

With two games left, we were only three points in front of Hearts and one behind Motherwell.

According to my calculator, a victory at Fir Park should have been enough to almost guarantee a Europa League place, but if the unthinkable happened and we lost and Hearts won, well that didn’t bear thinking about.

Still, I needn’t have worried as the Hibs took a comfortable lead, and with 25 minutes left we were 6-2 up, singing ‘Cheerio Cheerio Cheerio’ to the Well fans.

Three quick goals and a missed penalty later, we were clinging on for grim death, when some guy on loan from Everton scored the goal of the season to equalise.

Following the Hibs should prepare you for moments like this, but I was still in a state of shock next day. In fact that was probably the reason that a Tory got elected in Scotland, because even now, I have no idea who I voted for, and I suspect most Hibbys were the same.

Even the news that Hearts had drawn against Dundee United and therefore guaranteed us fifth place couldn’t break the gloom.

Whilst it wasn’t quite as bad as the day we went 4-2 up at Tynecastle in injury time and still only drew, it was bad enough.

Eventually, when I had a think about it, I realised that if Rangers beat Motherwell, we only needed a point against the Arabs to take fourth spot and qualify for Europe, so it was up the M90 on Sunday.

Early doors, you could see the United weren’t as up for a midfield battle as us, and their forwards didn’t fancy competing for too many 50-50s with big Sol Bamba, so when Nishy put us in the lead, I dared to dream.

When the news came through that Rangers were 2-0 then 3-1 up I started to relax, and when big Colin scored his fifth goal in two games, I knew that was that.

Nishy has come in for some stick for slagging the Hibs fans for their lack of knowledge, but I am right behind him. I even heard some moaning about how we took our foot off the accelerator in the second half of the seven nil game. There’s just no satisfying some people.

As the game drew to a close, and the fans were singing songs about Bertie Mee and Bill Shankly, somebody shouted that Well had scored two injury time goals at Ibrox. Surely even the Hibs couldn’t throw it away now, and referee Charlie Richmond was politely urged to blow his whistle, which he eventually did.

Phew !!!!

So, my season’s highlights and low points came within four days of each other.

Now where’s that passport?