Hibs had the opportunity to put some real daylight between themselves and Rangers, and few would have bet against Hibs to do exactly that. I've lost count of the number of people who have approached me, texted me, or emailed me to say "See your bloody team!" having seen their coupons burst by Hibs failure to grasp that opportunity.
It is worth starting by giving Rangers credit for the win. As easy as it would be to criticise Hibs for an abject first half performance, and it would be easy to question Alan Stubbs' tactics which failed to address Lee Wallace's marauding runs down Hibs' right hand side. To do so would be a dis-service to Rangers. They deserved the win, although it is also worth noting that the result was given a very helpful nudge in their direction by referee Willie Collum, who must have been the only person inside Easter Road to miss Wallace's foul on Paul Hanlon in the build up to Rangers' second goal.
Stuart McCall set up with a 352 formation, and in doing so stifled the attacking threat of Lewis Stevenson and David Gray. Without the width provided by Gray and Stevenson, the midfield trio of Fyvie, McGeouch, and Allan had very little influence over the game in their first half. Starved of service, the front pairing of Malonga and Dja Djedje were completely anonymous.
Rangers took the lead towards the end of the first half, enjoying the break of the ball in the box after a sweeping counter-attack. There hadn't been much between the sides until that point, but on balance of play Rangers were probably worth their half time lead.
David Gray had to be replaced at half time due to injury, which meant Keith Watson taking up the right-back position for the second half. If Alan Stubbs had considered countering Rangers' 352 by going toe-to-toe with the formation, the enforced change probably denied him the option of doing so, as Gray would likely have played as a right wing back with Watson, Hanlon, and Fontaine forming a back three.
As it was, Hibs started to take a grip of the game and were looking much closer to the side that put four goals past Rangers back in December. Dja Djedje squandered a great chance to draw level when he found himself through on goal with only Bell to beat, however instead of taking a shot, he elected to try and slide the ball to Malonga for a tap-in, however the pass was intercepted and the chance was lost.
The pivotal moment in the match came late in the second half, Kenny Miller clipped the ball into the Hibs penalty box. Paul Hanlon cleared, and was wiped out by Wallace. It was as clear and blatant a foul as you will see all season. That is unless you are Willie Collum, who decided to waive play-on as the Hibs defence hesitated, waiting for a whistle that never came.
Kenny Miller, to his credit, did what you're taught from school-level football. He played to the whistle and collected the ball before sliding it past Oxley to seal the win for Rangers. Hibs' players were justifiably incredulous at the turn of events, and Paul Hanlon was booked in the aftermath of the incident.
It was an immensely baffling decision by Collum, TV replays show he had a clear and unobstructed view of the 'foul' and chose to waive play on. When observing Collum's approach to awarding free-kicks throughout the game, the decision was at best inconsistent. Rangers' tactics of spoiling the play, giving away free-kicks, and time-wasting was accommodated readily by Collum. It took until the 70th minute for Collum to produce a yellow card to the visitors. The BBC stats show that for Rangers' 17 fouls, Collum dished out two yellow cards - one of which was given to Kenny Miller for his celebration following the winning goal.
For comparison, Hibs picked up three bookings for ten fouls (and one of the bookings was for Hanlon's complaints for the second goal).
That's not to say that the referee was to blame for Hibs' defeat. To do so would do a disservice to Rangers, and would also mask Hibs' shortcomings in the match.
Hibs haven't been found wanting in a big match for some time, this was their first defeat since December, so it would be unfair to be overly critical. It was always going to be a massive and unlikely task to win all the games through to the end of the season. It is unfortunate that the defeat came in this tie, against this opposition.,
Second place remains in Hibs' own hands, however. A superior goal difference means that as things stand, even if Rangers were to draw level on points with Hibs by winning their remaining game in hand, Hibs will hold on to second place.
Alan Stubbs said that this result will make Hibs stronger, and he has to ensure that he does. Hibs cannot afford any more slip-ups through to the end of the season. They must be relentless, they must be clinical and focussed. Of the two sides, it appears as though Hibs have the more favourable run-in to the season's end, though they also have the welcome distraction of a Scottish Cup semi-final against Falkirk,
I would hope that this defeat will provide the jolt that halts any thoughts of complacency in the coming games. Rangers' stuttering results and numerous dramas over the last couple of months, coupled with Hibs' resurgence which saw the Edinburgh side not only claw back the points deficit between themselves and Rangers, but create a gap themselves for Rangers to claw back, probably lent itself to Hibs expecting to win on Sunday and going on to clinch second place at a canter.
I would expect the worst of Rangers' woes to be over for the season. McCall has shown himself to be a more than capable manager at Motherwell, and if his side can reproduce the levels that they showed on Sunday then they will be taking the race for second place right to the wire.
Crucially, Rangers will now harbour less fear should they meet Hibs in a play-off. Had Hibs embarrassed them for a fourth time this season, there would have been serious doubt in the Rangers' players' minds that they were able to get the better of Hibs. Now, they know that they can.
For Stubbs, he has to pick the side up and take a good look at what went wrong. He can't afford to pin the blame on the referee, as much of a role in the final result as Collum had. Stubbs has to look at how he can adapt his tactics for the next meeting of the sides to not only counter Rangers' strengths, but to get his match winners to influence the game in a way that they struggled to do on Sunday.
Hibs still remain on the brink of a great season, given the circumstances. With Hearts winning the league with months to spare, Hibs can spare their supporters some summertime grief by ensuring that they will be meeting Hearts in the top flight next season. If (and, given Hibs' Scottish Cup record, and the challenging semi-final that awaits them it is a big 'if'), Hibs can also deliver - finally- the Scottish Cup back to Leith along with promotion, then the majority of the support would see that as trumping Hearts' impressive Championship win.
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