Hibs, on multiple levels, represented a test of Aberdeen’s resurgence – in purely practical terms, it was the first time they had been asked to rebound from a league defeat. Partial credit.
Historically, though, this has been the type of fixture whose outcome has been grimly inevitable in recent years.
Confounded Premiership managers teetering on the edge of dismissal have generally found meetings with Aberdeen a timely opportunity to claw back ground and live to see another payslip: Lee Johnson’s tenure-extending satchelling of Jim Goodwin at Easter Road a memorable case in point.
It is a word which has fallen out of use in modern times, but were there ever a reason to describe someone as ruthful then it would be an Aberdeen side facing floundering opposition. The unexpectedly forceful start to this season gave hope Jimmy Thelin had banished whatever ruth existed within Pittodrie, replacing it with a feckful squad giving the support cause to be uncharacteristically gruntled.
Alas, such a chronic complaint clearly requires a longer course of treatment. Much of the Dons’ good work this season has been based upon cool calculation and hot pace; not so much on the hard-nosed nastiness required to grab downtrodden opponents by the throat and shake the last drops of confidence from them.
After such a shocking capitulation in their previous match and last-throw changes by their desperate coach, what Hibs needed above all was a chance to take a breath and grow into the game.
They were given that space in a tepid first half, and then twice more after Aberdeen failed to ram home what should have been demoralising late leads. The game’s final goal in particular, while providing an unforgettable storyline, was inexcusable.
A lesson harshly learned. However refined the script, sometimes circumstances dictate a divergence from it.
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