Easter Road was the third stadium I had visited in three days and probably the one I was looking forward to the most. Ever since the new East Stand was erected I have really liked Easter Road as it feels a more complete stadium. Much like Tynecastle across the other side of Edinburgh the old small stands looked out of place and not fit for purpose. The times I have seen Hibs this season have been good fun. They play some good football and always seem to have entertaining games. Motherwell, their opponents, have been rocked by the departure of Louis Moult who destroyed Aberdeen the last time I saw the Steelmen at Fir Park. It was set up for a good game and that’s what I kind of got.
The Boozer
After having a wee look around the stadium I decided to head to the Mash Tun on Easter Road itself. I couldn’t be 100% sure but I think it’s the closest pub to the ground and on match day it was hoaching. It was full of Hibees and the odd Motherwell fan which was good to see rival fans mixing. As soon as I walked in I was hit by the lovely garlic smell coming from the kitchen and if that didn’t say “order some food now” then I don’t know what did. Instead of going for something heavy I just ordered a bowl of chips to keep me ticking over. To go with that I had a pint of San Miguel (£4.40). After ordering at the bar I turned 180 degrees to watch the massive flat screen TV which was showing the transfer deadline day on Sky Sports News. The Mash Tun was a cracking pub for a pre-match pint. I would highly recommend it.
The Stadium
Having been to Easter Road a number of times with the Dons over the years I had never sat in any other place other than the South Stand, which is behind one of the goals. I can still remember the first time I went to Easter Road when the new East Stand was built, it was similar to the feeling I had a couple of weeks ago when I went to Tynecastle to see their new Main Stand. It looks a hundred times better and since then Easter Road has become one of the better grounds around Scotland for atmosphere. I sat in the East Stand which runs the full length of the pitch, it is single tiered holds 6,500 fans and is pretty steep – just what I like. Maybe too steep especially for one steward who must of had vertigo and had to come down the steps on her arse. Opposite the East Stand is the imaginatively named West Stand which opened in 2001. It is two tiered and again runs the full length of the pitch. To my left was the even more imaginatively named South Stand which again is two tiered. Away fans are housed here, well the ones that can be arsed to turn up. I came across from Glasgow which is a 50 minute train journey yet it looked as if about 200 Motherwell fans had decided to take the trip across. Really poor. Opposite the South Stand is the North Stand, no I’m kidding it’s named the Famous Five Stand. The Famous Five (Gordon Smith, Bobby Johnstone, Laurie Reilly, Eddie Turnball and Willie Ormond) were five pretty decent forwards who played for Hibs back in the 1950s. It is great Hibs recognise the things they did for the club, maybe in the future we might see the East Stand being renamed the Alan Stubbs Stand. For those of you who don’t know your Scottish football history Alan Stubbs was the manager who led the Hibees to Scottish Cup glory in 2016, the first time the Edinburgh club had won the old trophy in 114 years.
The Match
Hibs came out the blocks at 100mph with every player right up for it. The first real chance for the home side came after possibly the worst free-kick I have ever seen. Motherwell won a free kick about 22 yards out and instead of shooting tried to play a smart short pass however it went straight to a Hibs player. He played it to Brandon Barker who broke at lightening speed and cut it back to Florian Kamberi whose shot was cleared off the line by Cedric Kipre. Hibs didn’t have to wait much longer as on the 28th minute new signing Kamberi hammered home a volley from just inside the 18 yard box. At this point I should mention Martin Boyle who was superb in the first period. He was all over the park taking players on and really taking the game to Well. The rest of the first half petered out with only a couple of half chances for both sides. 1-0 at the break.
The second period started off in a similar fashion to the first with Hibs coming out the blocks at 100mph. Say what you like about Neil Lennon but he can fairly get his players up for a game. Hibernian doubled their lead with a great goal by Barker. John McGinn played a through ball to Martin Boyle who raced into the box and cut it back to Barker who rifled the ball into the roof of the net from around 12 yards out. A brilliant goal and Hibs were well worthy of their lead. I am sure many Hibs fans would agree that their defence isn’t the best and when Efe Ambrose went to centre half and ex-Hearts full back Faycal Rherras went into the right of the four they feared the worst. Motherwell got back into the game after a long ball was hoofed up the park which the Hibs defence didn’t deal with and allowed Curtis Main to squeeze the ball past Ofir Marciano. It set up a very tense finish for the home crowd which shouldn’t have been the case. Hibs play some really good football at times but seem to be let down by their defence. They managed to hold on and secure a vital three points which takes them seven points clear of Hearts in fifth and just five off Rangers in third.
The Mug
When I entered the Hibs Superstore I thought it would be the Mecca for mugs, how wrong I was. The massive store has everything you could think of with a Hibs badge plastered on it, from dogs leads to babies bibs it had everything. Mugs though, not a Hibs strong point. Yes they had three different styles but for a self confessed mug expert like myself I was disappointed by the design of all three. Nevertheless I bought one and here it is.
The End…kinda
Although Hibs limped over the line in the game I was impressed with their directness. I have seen the Leith side a couple of times this season and always felt they missed that final ball. They still struggle however some of their play was brilliant and I can see why people like to watch them. I’d say they are pretty much guaranteed a 4th place finish now. Hearts are too far behind and Aberdeen and Rangers are too far in front. Fourth wouldn’t be a bad finish for them. Motherwell really struggle without Louis Moult and I can see why their manager Stephen Robinson was looking to get another forward in before the deadline. Ciftci was signed from Celtic on loan but I can’t see him getting anywhere near the heights Moult got to. If Well managed to sneak into the top six I think that would be a very good season for them, however Killie and St Johnstone are breathing down their necks.
Fact: Easter Road holds the record attendance for a Scottish football match outside Glasgow. 65,850 people attended the Edinburgh derby against Hearts on January 2 1950.
Price: £22
Attendance: 15,459
The Forty Two 
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