Football Days

Easter Road - Hibernian FC

Hibernian 1-0 Aberdeen

03/02/13 - Scottish Cup 5th Round

Att: 11,877

Truth be told, I always expected my first trip to Scotland to involve a trip to Celtic Park, but seeing as I was in the north west of England and had the weekend off work it made perfect sense (in my mind anyway!) to continue north of the border on the Sunday to take in the Scottish Cup 5th round tie between Hibernian and Aberdeen at Easter Road.

I had stayed in Preston overnight following Aston Villa's draw at Everton and it was quite a late start with the train to Edinburgh not leaving until 11:05. With a few beers and a copy of the Non-League Paper I was soon on my way north, with quite a few Dons fans boarding the train as well, meaning I had some people to follow to the ground once we arrived. The journey went well and took just over two hours, with the train going past The Giant Axe - Home of Lancaster City, Tynecastle and Murrayfield before arriving at Edinburgh Waverley station. From there I followed the red shirts down to Easter Road, with the walk only taking around fifteen minutes and being quite straight forward.

Easter Road has been home to Hibernian since 1893 but has been completely redeveloped since the mid nineties and is one of the best stadiums in Scotland. From the outside it looks like an imposing venue with four tall stands creating quite a sight. It's surrounded by houses and has several pubs nearby, which made it feel very atmospheric before an important cup tie that both clubs would be desperate to win.

Hibs are one of the oldest clubs in British football, having been formed in 1875 by Irish immigrants in the Cowgate area of the city. Their name comes from Hibernia, the Roman word for Ireland and they played their first match on Christmas Day of that year, losing 1-0 against their Edinburgh rivals Hearts. It didn't take long for the club to establish itself as a force within the Scottish game and in 1887 they lifted their first trophy - The Scottish Cup - After beating Dumbarton 2-1 in the final. They went on to face English FA Cup holders Preston North End in a match billed as the "Association Football Championship of the World Decider" which Hibs won 2-1.

It was after the second world war that Hibs enjoyed their most successful period, lead by the famous five - Gordon Smith, Bobby Johnstone, Lawrie Reilly, Eddie Turnbull and Willie Ormond - Who scored over 100 goals each for the club and are regarded as some of the greatest players ever seen in Scotland as Hibs were crowned champions of Scotland in 1948, 1951 and 1952. In 1955 Hibs were invited to play in the first European Cup competition, becoming the first British side to do so after Chelsea rejected the invite. Hibs enjoyed success, reaching the semi-final where they were beaten 3-0 on aggregate by French club Stade Reims, who went on to lose to Real Madrid in the final.

In recent times Hibs have found trophies hard to come by, with the League Cup win in 2007 being the club's last piece of silverware. Last season they reached the Scottish Cup final, only to lose 5-1 against Hearts, meaning they've lost a remarkable nine finals since they last won the cup in 1902. They gained some sort of revenge for that defeat in this season's competition when they beat Hearts 1-0 at Easter Road to set up this 5th Round tie against Aberdeen - Another club with a proud tradition in Scottish football, who haven't had their hands on the Scottish Cup since 1990.

Having looked around the outside of the stadium I decided to go in, taking my seat in the Famous Five upper, via the concourse to purchase a steak and gravy pie and a Bovril. I can safely say that this pie was the best thing I've eaten inside a football ground for a very long time, it was quite fantastic. Inside the stadium is as impressive as the outside, featuring four separate stands which all fit together well to create a well balanced look and the steepness of the stands, particularly the East Stand which was rebuilt in 2010, gives it an enclosed, atmospheric feeling. With a capacity of just over 20,000 it's the third biggest stadium in the SPL, behind Celtic and Abderdeen.

The Famous Five Stand is a mirror image of the South Stand behind the other goal, which were both built in 1995 and feature two tiers and can house around 4,000 supporters. To my right was the West Stand, built in 2001, which is of similar height to the two end stands and also features two tiers, as well as the press box, the tunnel and the dugouts. Opposite that is the East Stand which is a large, steep, one tiered stand and replaced the old atmospheric East Terrace in 2010. It was developed with one tier to maintain the atmosphere of the old stand and it has certainly worked.

There was a healthy crowd at Easter Road for the match, boosted by a superb travelling support from Aberdeen who almost filled both tiers of the South Stand at the far end. Balloons, streamers and flags greeted the arrival of the players as both sets of fans created an excellent atmosphere at the start of the cup tie that was being broadcast live on the telly, just seven days after the Sky cameras had been at Pittodrie as Aberdeen and Hibs played out a turgid 0-0 draw in the SPL.

It was a scrappy start to the match with the howling winds and balloon-covered pitch not making things easy for the players. As the half progressed neither team managed to carve out any clear cut opportunities and it looked as if it would be a repeat of the league meeting a week previously. It was goalless at the break, with not a great deal to report on.

Hibs made a bright start to the second half and there was some goal mouth action soon after the restart as Wolves loanee Leigh Griffiths produced the game's first shot on target. Hibs went close to taking the lead again as a free kick was almost diverted into the net by an Aberdeen defender, but the ball was cleared off the line. Moments later Gary Deegan picked up the ball just inside The Dons' half and ignored calls from those around me telling him to pass, as he unleashed a shot from 25 yards that dipped, swerved, hit the underside of the bar and nestled in the corner of the net. It was a superb goal and lit up what had been a pretty dull affair and from there Hibs continued to press, with Griffiths going close to doubling the home side's lead.

With twenty minutes remaining Aberdeen responded when a fine effort from Russell Anderson produced a good save from Hibs' keeper Ben Williams. Aberdeen were denied by Williams again moments later when he clawed away a close range header and following a period of sustained pressure from the visitors it looked as if they'd get themselves level with eight minutes remaining when they were awarded a penalty after a foul by James McPake in the box. Scott Vernon stepped up in front of over 3,500 travelling fans, but Ben Williams kept out his effort and Hibs hung on to progress to the last eight, where they will face a trip to Kilmarnock.

After the match I stayed in Leith for a few pints before heading back to the city centre where I found something to eat and eventually boarded a late night bus back to London, which got back to the south of England in the early hours of Monday morning.

While the match wasn't the most exciting affair it was still an enjoyable day out at a fantastic stadium and I'm glad that I came. I'd like to explore Scottish football a bit more with plenty of interesting looking stadiums still standing north of the border, although Easter Road has set the bar pretty high and it will take some beating.