Season 2006–07 was a mixed season for Hibernian; their league form suffered from extended cup runs, and they eventually finished sixth. The reward for their cup form was a first trophy in 16 years, thrashing
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...
5–1 in the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
to lift the
CIS Cup
The Commonwealth of Independent States Cup () is a defunct annual regional association football tournament, recognized by FIFA.
The tournament was initially established for football clubs of the former Soviet Union republics in 1993 (a year late ...
. Hibs were knocked out of the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,replay by
Dunfermline
Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries.
The earliest ...
.
The season was also notable for the departure of manager
Tony Mowbray
Anthony Mark Mowbray (born 22 November 1963) is an English football manager and former footballer who was most recently the manager of EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion. Mowbray played for Middlesbrough, Celtic and Ipswich Town as a d ...
, the appointment of John Collins as his replacement and a players' revolt that quickly followed the CIS Cup triumph.
Pre-season
The competitive football started early in 2006–07 for Hibs due to their qualification for the
Intertoto Cup
The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from (football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was discon ...
. They were given a bye to the second round, where they comfortably beat their first opponents
Dinaburg
Daugavpils (see also other names) is a state city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city derives its name. The parts of the city to the north of the river belong to the historical Latvian region ...
(
Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
) 8–0 on aggregate. Hibs were eliminated from European competition on the
away goals rule
The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...
by Danish team OB in the third and final Intertoto Cup round.
Hibs only played one
friendly match
An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...
in the 2006 pre-season, a 3–2 win at
Easter Road
Easter Road is a football stadium located in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland, which is the home ground of Scottish Premiership club Hibernian (Hibs). The stadium currently has an all-seated capacity of , which makes it the fifth-largest ...
against
Premier League
The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
side
Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system.
Their home ground is ...
.
Results
League season
Hibs got off to a slow start in the new league season, taking eleven points from the first nine matches. The highlight of the early part of the league season was a 2–1 win over
Rangers
A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...
on 17 September, but this was then followed with two disappointing losses against
Falkirk
Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...
and St Mirren, both by 1–0.
On 7 September 2006, the management team of
Tony Mowbray
Anthony Mark Mowbray (born 22 November 1963) is an English football manager and former footballer who was most recently the manager of EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion. Mowbray played for Middlesbrough, Celtic and Ipswich Town as a d ...
and
Mark Venus
Mark Venus (born 6 April 1967) is an English association football, football coach and former player who was the assistant manager of club West Bromwich Albion F.C., West Bromwich Albion. As a player, he spent the majority of his career with Wol ...
signed new 12-month rolling contracts that were due to come into force in July 2007. A month later, however, Mowbray left the club to become manager of
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...
. Venus took charge of the team for their next game, an
Edinburgh derby
The Edinburgh derby is an informal title given to any association football, football match played between Football in Scotland, Scottish clubs Heart of Midlothian F.C., Heart of Midlothian (Hearts) and Hibernian F.C., Hibernian (Hibs), the two o ...
, but followed Mowbray to West Bromwich in the following week. John Park and Mark Proctor took charge of two games on a caretaker basis, before John Collins was appointed as manager, with
Tommy Craig
Thomas Brooks Craig (born 21 November 1950) is a Scottish former football player and coach. Craig had an 18-year playing career as a midfielder, playing over 100 league games for English clubs Sheffield Wednesday and Newcastle United. Towards t ...
as his assistant. Mark Proctor became the
reserve team
In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...
coach before taking the manager's job at Livingston, while John Park returned to his "behind the scenes" role before taking a similar post at
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
.
Before Collins took over as manager, Hibs had gone through a particularly inconsistent start to the league campaign. They were capable of beating Rangers and causing problems for every team in the league, but were also capable of losing to "lesser" sides, including St Mirren and
Falkirk
Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...
. In the period immediately after Collins took over, Hibs' league form improved somewhat, meaning that they clinched a place in the "top six" of the SPL with three games to spare.
After that, however, Hibs didn't win another game until they beat a shadow
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
side on the final day. During this winless run, reports emerged in the media of a dispute between Collins and many of the Hibs players. The players strongly criticised the manager for constantly chopping and changing the team and formation. Reports claimed that almost all of the first team players went to chairman Rod Petrie hoping to get Collins replaced. The period of unrest was apparently quelled when club captain Rob Jones made a statement on behalf of the squad apologising "to the management, supporters and board of the club for any distress or embarrassment that has been caused".
Tony Mowbray
Anthony Mark Mowbray (born 22 November 1963) is an English football manager and former footballer who was most recently the manager of EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion. Mowbray played for Middlesbrough, Celtic and Ipswich Town as a d ...
due to two straightforward wins over lower division opposition (4–0 v
Peterhead
Peterhead (; , ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is the council area's largest settlement, with a population of 19,060 at the 2022 Census for Scotland, 2022 Census. It is the largest fishing port in the United Kingdom for total landi ...
and 6–0 v Gretna). Following John Collins' appointment as manager, the team defeated Hearts 1–0 in the quarter-final and
St Johnstone
St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland. The team competes in the , the second division of Scottish football. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun (or Saint Johnstoun)—an old name o ...
3–1 after
extra time
Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...
in the semi-final at Tynecastle.
On 18 March 2007, Hibs beat
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...
5–1 at
Hampden Park
Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...
to win the League Cup for the third time in their history. This was the first major trophy that Hibs had won in 16 years; the previous trophy win being the 1991–92 League Cup competition.
Results
Scottish Cup
Hibs started their
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Aberdeen
Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
, where they drew 2–2. In the replay, Hibs produced one of their best performances of the season to win 4–1 despite conceding the first goal of the game.
In the next round Hibs comfortably beat Gretna, who they had already hammered in the
Scottish League Cup
The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...
, by 3–1. Hibs were then drawn away to Queen of the South, where they won 2–1 thanks to a
free kick
A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play.
Association football
In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offe ...
Dunfermline Athletic
Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently compete in the after winning the 2022–23 Scottish League One title. Dunfermline play at ...
on 15 April was overshadowed by the player revolt which had immediately preceded it. The match was drawn 0–0 and the tie was replayed on 24 April. Hibs lost the replay 1–0 to a late '' Panenka''
penalty
Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to:
Sports
* Foul (sports)
** Penalty (golf)
** Penalty (gridiron football)
** Penalty (ice hockey)
** Penalty (rugby)
** Penalty (rugby union)
** Penalty kick (assoc ...
Tony Mowbray
Anthony Mark Mowbray (born 22 November 1963) is an English football manager and former footballer who was most recently the manager of EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion. Mowbray played for Middlesbrough, Celtic and Ipswich Town as a d ...
Gary Caldwell
Gary Caldwell (born 12 April 1982) is a Scottish former professional footballer and coach who is the manager of Exeter City. Caldwell played for Newcastle United, Darlington, Coventry City, Derby County, Hibernian, Celtic, Wigan Athletic an ...
.
Derek Riordan
Derek George Riordan (born 16 January 1983) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was capped three times by the Scotland national team.
Riordan started his career with Hibernian in 2001 and had a brief sp ...
had also left the club, but Merouane Zemmama was brought in to provide more creativity.
Top goalscorer
Chris Killen
Christopher John Killen (born 8 October 1981) is a former New Zealand international footballer. Killen grew up in Wellington and played club football for Miramar Rangers. After a trial with Manchester City, he joined City's youth academy. His ...
had a prolific season for the ''Hibees'', but it was cut short by an Achilles injury suffered while playing Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup. With Killen out for the rest of the season, John Collins signed
Thomas Sowunmi
Thomas Sowunmi (born 25 July 1978) is a Hungarian retired association football, footballer.
Sowunmi was born in Nigeria to a Hungarians, Hungarian mother and a Nigerian Yoruba people, Yoruba father and spent the first nine years of his life in ...
, a 28-year-old
Hungarian international
The Hungarian International in badminton is an international open held in Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to ...
striker, on a six-month contract as cover. Former Hibs striker
Tam McManus
Thomas Kelly "Tam" McManus (born 28 February 1981) is a Scottish former footballer.
McManus started his career with Hibernian, making over 100 league appearances for the Edinburgh club. During his time there, McManus represented the Scotla ...
, released by
Falkirk
Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...
in the January transfer window, was offered a trial period but did not earn a full contract and later signed for
Dunfermline Athletic
Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently compete in the after winning the 2022–23 Scottish League One title. Dunfermline play at ...
.
The most high-profile transfer activity during the season involved
Kevin Thomson
Kevin Thomson (born 14 October 1984) is a Scottish professional Association football, football coach and former player.
Thomson played as a midfielder for Hibernian F.C., Hibernian (three spells), Rangers F.C., Rangers, Middlesbrough F.C., Mid ...
and
Scott Brown Scott Brown may refer to:
Sportsmen
*Scott Brown (American football), American college football coach of Kentucky State
*Scott Brown (baseball) (born 1956), former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds
*Scott Brown (footballer, born ...
. Speculation persisted that both would be sold during the January transfer window, despite Collins' insistence otherwise. Thomson eventually departed to Rangers, for a reported fee of £2M, on the transfer window's final day. Brown was eventually sold to Celtic at the end of the season for a record transfer fee between Scottish clubs of £4.4 million.
Players in
Players out
Loans in
Loans out
Young players
Some younger players in the Hibs squad developed significantly during the season, particularly Abdessalam Benjelloun. 'Benji' gained a reputation as a 'supersub', scoring important goals in the Scottish Cup ties against Aberdeen and Gretna, the CIS Cup Semi Final against St Johnstone, and two goals in the CIS Cup Final victory. Steven Fletcher also scored two goals in the CIS Cup Final and one goal in the CIS Cup Semi Final.
Several youngsters were given their first opportunities in the Hibs first team by John Collins. These included 20-year-old
goalkeeper
In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...
Andrew McNeil
Andrew McNeil (born 19 January 1987 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish retired football goalkeeper who is the goalkeeping coach at Hong Kong Premier League club R&F (Hong Kong).
McNeil was previously with Hibernian, for whom he played in the 2007 ...
, 19-year-old
right back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Defenders fall into four main categ ...
left back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Defenders fall into four main categ ...
/
midfielder
In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...
Lewis Stevenson. Midfielder Sean Lynch made his debut aged 20 against Gretna and then followed that up by keeping his place in the starting line up against
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
at
Parkhead
Parkhead () is a district in the East End of Glasgow. Its name comes from a small weaving hamlet (place), hamlet at the meeting place of the Great Eastern Road (now the Gallowgate and Tollcross Road) and Westmuir Street. Glasgow's Eastern Necro ...
Pittodrie
Pittodrie Stadium, commonly referred to as Pittodrie, from which the surrounding residential area has taken its name, is an all-seater stadium in Aberdeen, Scotland. Used primarily for football, it has been the home ground of the Scottish Profess ...
) also featured. Some of these opportunities were because Collins has had to balance a relatively small squad with a heavy workload due to the two extended cup runs, but most of the young players performed creditably.
Player stats
During the 2007–08 season, Hibs used 32 different players in competitive games. The table below shows the number of appearances and goals scored by each player.
Soccerbase
''Racing Post'' is a British daily horse racing, greyhound racing, and sports betting publisher published in print and digital formats. It is printed in tabloid format from Monday to Sunday. , it has an average daily circulation of 60,629 cop ...