2002–03 Hibernian F.C. season

Season 2002–03 was a disappointment for Hibernian, as the team finished in the bottom half of the Scottish Premier League in Bobby Williamson's first full season in charge. The team were also knocked out of the two domestic cup competitions at an early stage. In a preview for the next season, BBC Sport commented that the biggest problem "was a fragile defence that developed a nasty habit of conceding late goals".[2]

Hibernian
2002–03 season
ManagerBobby Williamson
SPL7th
Scottish CupR4
CIS CupR3
Top goalscorerLeague: McManus, 11
All: McManus, 11
Highest home attendance13686[1]
Lowest home attendance7518[1]
Average home league attendance9937[1] (down 1666)

League season

Hibs got off to a very poor start to the league season, collecting only three points from a possible 18.[3] This included heavy defeats by Hearts and Dunfermline.[3] Former Hibs player Ulrik Laursen commented in the match programme for his new club, Celtic, that he believed former Hibs manager Alex McLeish (now at Rangers) was to blame for this decline in fortunes, due to his decision to release popular players such as Mixu Paatelainen and Stuart Lovell.[4] Hibs lost the game 1–0 at Celtic Park and remained bottom of the early league table,[4] but fortunes immediately improved, as Hibs won their next five league games in succession.

This revival meant that they were in a good league position going into the third Edinburgh derby of the season, on 2 January, where victory would mean that Hibs would leapfrog Hearts into third place.[5] Hibs twice took a two-goal lead, but conceded two goals (both scored by Graham Weir) late in stoppage time to gift Hearts a 4–4 draw.[5] Hibs then lost their next five league games and drifted down the league, eventually finishing in 7th place.

Results

3 August 2002 SPL Hibernian 1–2 Aberdeen Easter Road, Edinburgh
Luna 31' Mackie 64'
Clark 90'
Attendance: 13,340
Referee: Toner
11 August 2002 SPL Heart of Midlothian 5–1 Hibernian Tynecastle, Edinburgh
Kirk 18'
de Vries 40', 66', 90', 90'
Murray 51' Attendance: 15,245
Referee: McCurry
18 August 2002 SPL Hibernian 2–4 Rangers Easter Road, Edinburgh
Townsley 35'
O'Connor 89'
de Boer 6'
Ferguson 45' (pen.)
Løvenkrands 65', 87'
Attendance: 11,633
Referee: Dallas
24 August 2002 SPL Dundee 2–1 Hibernian Dens Park, Dundee
Caballero 79'
Lovell 90'
O'Connor 10' Attendance: 6,411
Referee: Young
31 August 2002 SPL Motherwell 0–2 Hibernian Fir Park, Motherwell
Townsley 15', 72' Attendance: 5,888
Referee: Clark
11 September 2002 SPL Hibernian 1–4 Dunfermline Athletic Easter Road, Edinburgh
Paatelainen 42' Walker 11'
Brewster 24', 57'
Crawford 32'
Attendance: 9,837
Referee: Dougal
14 September 2002 SPL Celtic 1–0 Hibernian Celtic Park, Glasgow
Hartson 31' Attendance: 56,703
Referee: McDonald
21 September 2002 SPL Hibernian 2–0 Kilmarnock Easter Road, Edinburgh
Murray 8'
McManus 11'
Attendance: 8,680
Referee: Rowbotham
28 September 2002 SPL Hibernian 1–0 Livingston Easter Road, Edinburgh
Murray 45' Attendance: 9,541
Referee: Freeland
5 October 2002 SPL Hibernian 2–1 Dundee United Easter Road, Edinburgh
O'Connor 29'
Murray 51'
Thompson 76' Attendance: 9,175
Referee: Underhill
19 October 2002 SPL Partick Thistle 0–3 Hibernian Firhill Stadium, Glasgow
O'Connor 44', 88'
Paatelainen 81'
Attendance: 5,946
Referee: Rowbotham
27 October 2002 SPL Aberdeen 0–1 Hibernian Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen
Brebner 70' Attendance: 12,321
Referee: Clark
3 November 2002 SPL Hibernian 1–2 Heart of Midlothian Easter Road, Edinburgh
Paatelainen 36' McKenna 86'
Stamp 90'
Attendance: 15,560
Referee: Young
10 November 2002 SPL Rangers 2–1 Hibernian Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow
Mols 11'
Arveladze 35'
McManus 45' Attendance: 48,798
Referee: McCurry
16 November 2002 SPL Hibernian 2–1 Dundee Easter Road, Edinburgh
Paatelainen 12', 49' (pen.) Novo 90' Attendance: 8,870
Referee: Dallas
23 November 2002 SPL Hibernian 3–1 Motherwell Easter Road, Edinburgh
Paatelainen 59'
McManus 64'
O'Neil 90' (pen.)
Ferguson 47' Attendance: 8,859
Referee: McDonald
4 December 2002 SPL Hibernian 0–1 Celtic Easter Road, Edinburgh
Petrov 76' Attendance: 12,042
Referee: McCurry
7 December 2002 SPL Dundee United 1–1 Hibernian Tannadice Park, Dundee
Wilson 3' Murray 7' Attendance: 5,673
Referee: McDonald
14 December 2002 SPL Livingston 1–2 Hibernian Almondvale, Livingston
Brinquin 90' Murray 55'
James 66'
Attendance: 6,501
Referee: Brines
21 December 2002 SPL Kilmarnock 2–1 Hibernian Rugby Park, Kilmarnock
McSwegan 63'
Fulton 88'
Luna 83' Attendance: 5,814
Referee: Dallas
26 December 2002 SPL Hibernian 1–1 Partick Thistle Easter Road, Edinburgh
O'Neil 89' (pen.) Burns 78' Attendance: 10,317
Referee: Thomson
29 December 2002 SPL Hibernian 2–0 Aberdeen Easter Road, Edinburgh
Paatelainen 70'
McManus 85'
Attendance: 11,604
Referee: Rowbotham
2 January 2003 SPL Heart of Midlothian 4–4 Hibernian Tynecastle, Edinburgh
Pressley 30' (pen.)
de Vries 62'
Weir 90', 90'
Townsley 11'
McManus 17'
James 89'
Brebner 90'
Attendance: 17,732
Referee: Dougal
29 January 2003 SPL Hibernian 0–2 Rangers Easter Road, Edinburgh
Ferguson 58'
Caniggia 85'
Attendance: 13,686
Referee: Clark
8 February 2003 SPL Motherwell 2–1 Hibernian Fir Park, Motherwell
Clarkson 31'
Fagan 41'
O'Connor 71' Attendance: 4,999
Referee: Richmond
15 February 2003 SPL Hibernian 1–3 Dunfermline Athletic Easter Road, Edinburgh
O'Connor 67' Mason 20'
Crawford 39', 55'
Attendance: 9,175
Referee: McCurry
25 February 2003 SPL Dundee 3–0 Hibernian Dens Park, Dundee
Rae 9'
Milne 86'
Murray 90' (o.g.)
Attendance: 8,414
Referee: Freeland
2 March 2003 SPL Celtic 3–2 Hibernian Celtic Park, Glasgow
Hartson 1', 23'
Mjallby 90'
McManus 37', 60' Attendance: 57,512
Referee: Young
9 March 2003 SPL Hibernian 1–1 Dundee United Easter Road, Edinburgh
McManus 3' McIntyre 69' Attendance: 7,518
Referee: Somers
15 March 2003 SPL Partick Thistle 0–1 Hibernian Firhill Stadium, Glasgow
McManus 15' Attendance: 4,551
Referee: Mitchell
5 April 2003 SPL Kilmarnock 6–2 Hibernian Rugby Park, Kilmarnock
McDonald 11'
McSwegan 24', 42', 47', 62'
Boyd 90' (pen.)
Murray 18'
Jack 83'
Attendance: 5,558
Referee: J Underhill
12 April 2003 SPL Hibernian 2–2 Livingston Easter Road, Edinburgh
Orman 44'
Riordan 53'
Wilson 87'
O'Brien 89'
Attendance: 8,150
Referee: Rowbotham
26 April 2003 SPL Dundee United 1–2 Hibernian Tannadice Park, Dundee
McCracken 32' McManus 58' (pen.)
Murray 90'
Attendance: 6,758
Referee: McCurry
3 May 2003 SPL Hibernian 3–1 Aberdeen Easter Road, Edinburgh
Jack 42'
Riordan 61', 72'
Tiernan 88' Attendance: 7,904
Referee: Richmond
10 May 2003 SPL Hibernian 1–0 Motherwell Easter Road, Edinburgh
Brebner 66' (pen.) Attendance: 7,809
Referee: Young
17 May 2003 SPL Livingston 1–2 Hibernian Almondvale, Livingston
Pasquinelli 87' Brown 38', 69' Attendance: 5,423
Referee: Fyfe
24 May 2003 SPL Hibernian 2–3 Partick Thistle Easter Road, Edinburgh
Jack 8'
Brown 34'
Britton 29'
Rowson 52'
Burns 86'
Attendance: 9,286
Referee: Underhill

Final table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation[lower-alpha 1]
5 Dunfermline Athletic 38 13 7 18 54 71 17 46
6 Dundee 38 10 14 14 50 60 10 44 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[lower-alpha 2]
7 Hibernian 38 15 6 17 56 64 8 51
8 Aberdeen 38 13 10 15 41 54 13 49
9 Livingston 38 9 8 21 48 62 14 35
Source: Scottish Professional Football League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
Notes:
  1. Teams played each other three times (33 matches), before the league split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six) for the last five matches.
  2. As Rangers, the 2002–03 Scottish Cup winners, qualified for the UEFA Champions League via their league position, the place in the UEFA Cup was passed onto Dundee, the cup runners-up

Scottish League Cup

As one of the SPL clubs who had not automatically qualified for European competition, Hibs entered at the last 32 stage (second round) of the competition, in which they defeated Alloa Athletic 2–0. Hibs were then drawn against Rangers, managed by former Hibs boss Alex McLeish, at home in the last 16.[6] The match proved to be a "miserable night" for Hibs, as the tie was lost 3–2 despite taking an early lead.[6] The lead was quickly turned into a deficit by an own goal and a defensive error by Derek Townsley.[6] Despite Garry O'Connor's goal levelling the score midway through the second half, Rangers scored what proved to be the winning goal soon afterwards.[6] Gary Smith was sent off late on, reducing Hibs to ten men.[6] To top things off, midfielder Alen Orman had what appeared to be an epileptic seizure during the first half and had to be substituted.[6]

Results

24 October 2002 Scottish League Cup Hibernian 2–3 Rangers Easter Road, Edinburgh
Murray 6'
O'Connor 72'
Townsley 22' (o.g.)
Caniggia 25'
Løvenkrands 78'
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Dallas

Scottish Cup

Results

25 January 2003 Scottish Cup Dundee United 2–3 Hibernian Tannadice Park, Dundee
O'Donnell 70'
Hamilton 79' (pen.)
Brebner 10', 28', 87' Attendance: 8,986
Referee: Brown

Transfers

During this period, Hibs were experiencing severe financial problems, due to a "collapse in television revenues".[7] Hibs chairman Ken Lewandowski stated that the club's debt burden at the financial year end would be approximately £17M, and that the club could only continue to operate due to the support offered by majority shareholder Tom Farmer.[7] At the end of the season, the club explored the possibility of selling Easter Road and sharing a new ground with Edinburgh derby rivals Hearts.[8] During the summer of 2002, Hibs somewhat addressed these financial deficits by selling Ulises de la Cruz and Ulrik Laursen. De la Cruz was sold just one season after Hibs had bought him for a club record fee.[9]

Player stats

During the 2002–03 season, Hibs used 30 different players in competitive games. The table below shows the number of appearances and goals scored by each player.[10]

No. Pos Nat Player TotalSPLScottish CupLeague Cup
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
GK Sweden SWE Daniel Andersson 30300000
GK England ENG Tony Caig 60600000
GK Ireland EIR Nick Colgan 3503003020
DF Scotland SCO Allan Dempsie 20200000
DF Scotland SCO Mark Dempsie 30300000
DF France FRA Mathias Kouo-Doumbé 1501302000
DF Canada CAN Paul Fenwick 3603103020
DF England ENG Craig James 2522222010
DF Hungary HUN Janos Matyus 1501400010
DF Scotland SCO Gary Smith 3703203020
DF Scotland SCO Steven Whittaker 60600000
DF France FRA Yannick Zambernardi 3102801020
MF France FRA Frederic Arpinon 90801000
MF Scotland SCO Grant Brebner 3773233321
MF Germany GER Mathias Jack 2131932000
MF Scotland SCO Ian Murray 40103683111
MF Scotland SCO Kevin Nicol 10100000
MF Scotland SCO John O'Neil 2422123000
MF Austria AUT Alen Orman 2812511020
MF Scotland SCO Alan Reid 70700000
MF Scotland SCO Darran Thomson 20200000
MF England ENG Derek Townsley 3042543020
MF Finland FIN Jarkko Wiss 2702401020
FW Scotland SCO Scott Brown 43430000
FW France FRA Frederic Daquin 20200000
FW Spain ESP Paco Luna 2021820020
FW Scotland SCO Tam McManus 391135113010
FW Scotland SCO Garry O'Connor 2892373022
FW Finland FIN Mixu Paatelainen 2972473020
FW Scotland SCO Derek Riordan 1131030010

See also

References

  1. "Average Home League Game Attendances". fitbastats.com. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  2. "Room for improvement at Hibs". BBC Sport. BBC. 4 August 2003.
  3. Brewster destroys Hibs, The Daily Telegraph, 12 September 2002.
  4. Laursen blames McLeish over Hibs, The Daily Telegraph, 16 September 2002.
  5. High drama in Edinburgh derby, BBC Sport, 2 January 2003.
  6. Hibernian 2 Rangers 3, Sporting Life.
  7. Kwik-Fit keeps Hibs afloat, BBC Sport, 25 June 2003.
  8. Capital groundshare plan, BBC Sport, 16 June 2003.
  9. De la Cruz for Villa, The Guardian, 26 July 2002.
  10. "Hibernian 2002/2003 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 13 December 2009.
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