1986–87 Hibernian F.C. season

Hibernian
1986–87 season
ManagerJohn Blackley (to November)
Alex Miller (from November)[1]
Scottish Premier Division9th
Scottish CupR4
Scottish League CupR4
Highest home attendance22,298 (v Heart of Midlothian, 6 January)
Lowest home attendance3590 (v Hamilton Academical, 25 April)
Average home league attendance9,140[2] (up 5)

During the 1986–87 season, the Scottish football club Hibernian F.C. was placed 9th in the Scottish Premier Division. The team reached the fourth round of both the Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Cup.

Overview

During the 1986 close season, Hibs sold Gordon Durie to Chelsea for £400,000, and brought in Billy Kirkwood, Stuart Beedie, Willie Irvine, Mark Caughey and George McCluskey.[3] They played pre-season friendlies against Chelsea, as part of the deal for Durie, and Sevilla.[3] Before the season started, Hibs manager John Blackley hoped to qualify for European competition and to have extended runs in the cup competitions.[3]

In the opening-day victory over Rangers at Easter Road, after a Graeme Souness tackle on George McCluskey in the centre circle, for which he was sent off, the SFA retrospectively gave 21 players yellow cards for the on-pitch fighting that followed the tackle. Only Hibs' goalkeeper Alan Rough was spared, because he remained in his penalty area, although McCluskey and Mark Fulton successfully appealed against their cautions.[4]

Despite the win against Rangers, Hibs fell well short of Blackley's pre-season hopes.[3] Blackley resigned in November and was subsequently replaced by Alex Miller, who at least prevented the club from falling into the relegation zone.[3] A return game against Sevilla was played in December.[3]

Scottish Premier Division

Main article: 1986–87 Scottish Premier Division
Match Day Date Opponent H/A Score Hibernian Scorer(s) Attendance
1 9 August Rangers H 2–1 Beedie, Cowan 21,674
2 13 August Aberdeen A 0–4 12,918
3 16 August Dundee A 0–3 7,216
4 23 August Motherwell H 0–0 6,276
5 30 August Heart of Midlothian H 1–3 McBride 20,714
6 6 September Falkirk A 1–1 McBride 4,956
7 13 September St Mirren H 0–1 4,567
8 20 September Celtic A 1–5 Beedie 6,453
9 27 September Dundee United H 1–1 McBride 5,407
10 4 October Hamilton Academical A 4–1 May (2), McCluskey, McBride 3,478
11 8 October Clydebank H 3–2 Irvine (2), Kirkwood 5,030
12 11 October Rangers A 0–3 38,145
13 18 October Aberdeen H 1–1 Chisholm 8,758
14 25 October Motherwell A 1–4 Chisholm 4,007
15 29 October Dundee H 0–3 4,221
16 1 November Heart of Midlothian A 1–1 McBride 22,178
17 8 November Falkirk H 1–0 McCluskey 5,574
18 15 November St Mirren A 1–3 Kane 3,279
19 19 November Celtic H 0–1 15,397
20 22 November Dundee United A 0–1 6,862
21 29 November Hamilton Academical H 1–3 Collins 4,659
22 3 December Clydebank A 0–0 1,356
23 6 December Rangers H 0–0 17,639
24 13 December Aberdeen A 0–1 11,003
25 20 December Motherwell H 0–1 4,714
26 27 December Dundee A 0–2 6,238
27 3 January Falkirk A 3–1 Bell, McCluskey (pen), Collins 7,007
28 6 January Heart of Midlothian H 2–2 Weir, McCluskey 22,298
29 10 January St Mirren H 1–0 Mitchell 8,234
30 21 January Celtic A 0–1 19,583
31 24 January Dundee United A 0–2 7,398
32 7 February Hamilton Academical A 1–0 Cowan 3,903
33 14 February Clydebank H 4–1 May, Weir, Cowan, McBride 5,236
34 28 February Rangers A 1–1 May 36,931
35 7 March Aberdeen H 1–1 McCluskey 6,394
36 21 March Dundee H 2–2 Rae, McCluskey 4,305
37 24 March Motherwell A 1–2 Rae 2,934
38 28 March Falkirk H 2–0 McCluskey, Cowan 4,039
39 4 April Heart of Midlothian A 1–2 O.G. 19,731
40 11 April Celtic H 1–4 McCluskey 14,432
41 18 April St Mirren A 1–1 Weir 3,456
42 25 April Hamilton Academical H 1–1 McCluskey 3,590
43 2 May Dundee United A 1–2 Bell 9,301
44 9 May Clydebank A 2–1 May, Weir 1,172

Final League table

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
7 St Mirren 44 12 12 20 36 51 −15 36 Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round
8 Motherwell 44 11 12 21 43 64 −21 34
9 Hibernian 44 10 13 21 44 70 −26 33
10 Falkirk 44 8 10 26 31 70 −39 26
11 Clydebank (R) 44 6 12 26 35 93 −58 24 Relegation to the 1987–88 Scottish First Division
Source: Statto
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(R) Relegated

Scottish League Cup

Main article: 1986–87 Scottish League Cup
Round Date Opponent H/A Score Hibernian Scorer(s) Attendance
R2 20 August East Stirlingshire H 1–0 Kane
R3 27 August Hamilton Academical A 1–0 Beedie
R4 3 September Dundee United H 0–2

Scottish Cup

Main article: 1986–87 Scottish Cup
Round Date Opponent H/A Score Hibernian Scorer(s) Attendance
R3 31 January Dunfermline Athletic H 2–0 Kane, Weir 16,500
R4 21 February Clydebank A 0–1 6,500

See also

References

  1. ^ "Manager History for Hibernian". Soccerbase. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  2. ^ "Average Home League Game Attendances". fitbastats.com. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d e f McPartlin, Patrick (3 December 2020). "Hibs and Sevilla: The forgotten feisty friendlies of the 1980s". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  4. ^ "Si Ferry Meets... Ally McCoist" – Open Goal, YouTube, published on 16 April 2018