Hibs: The eerie parallels between the 1974/75 season and current campaign

More than a few similarities between 1974/75 campaign and current season

Des Bremner and Hearts' Donald Ford battle for the ball at Easter Road

Lighting lit up parts of Leith on Tuesday night as Hibs left Tannadice with the three points, equalling their best start to a Scottish top-flight campaign since the mid-Seventies.

Christian Doidge’s instinctive 67th minute goal ensured three straight wins from the first three matches of the campaign, with all eyes now on Motherwell’s visit on Saturday evening. If the Capital club can record a victory over the Steelmen, they will continue a winning run last seen under Eddie Turnbull in 1974.

Hibs had enjoyed an upturn in fortunes since the legendary Easter Road forward had taken the reins and fashioned his “Turnbull’s Tornadoes” squad, finishing joint-third, third, and second between 1971/72 and 1973/74.

The 1974/75 campaign got off to a strong start as well. With the team 2-1 down away to Aberdeen and into the final five minutes of the game, Joe Harper scored a free-kick to level the scoreline before setting up Alex Cropley for his second and Hibs’ third right at the death.

The next match was a 2-1 Edinburgh derby win against Hearts at Easter Road. Incredibly, Cropley and Harper both missed penalties, although Donald Ford did score from the spot for the visitors’ goal. Arthur Duncan and an own goal from Hearts full-back Dave Clunie gave Hibs a narrow win that should have been far more convincing.

The third game was more emphatic; a 5-1 win against Partick Thistle at Firhill courtesy of a brace from Harper and goals from John Brownlie, Alan Gordon, and substitute Iain Munro and four days later the Easter Road side beat Rosenborg 3-2 in Trondheim in a UEFA Cup clash

A 3-0 home win against Dundee United thanks to a Cropley double and a Gordon strike kept the run going, but a 1-0 loss at home to St Johnstone in late September brought the team crashing back down to earth.

Hibs would finish second in the final standings, splitting the Old Firm as Celtic chased their tenth title in a row. Under former Easter Road boss Jock Stein the Hoops won the Scottish Cup, the League Cup (beating Hibs 6-3 in the final), and the Drybrough Cup, but fell short in the title race as Rangers finished seven points clear of Hibs

Speaking to The Scotsman in 2018, Joe Harper – who scored three times in the opening four games – said: “I liked to think I was the son Eddie Turnbull never had. I loved him as my manager at Aberdeen the first time and thought we could repeat what we’d done there, maybe go further with Hibs.

"I went there because of Eddie but Hibs were a super side with classy players like Pat Stanton, Alex Cropley, John Blackley, John Brownlie and Alex Edwards – and I wanted to play with Alan Gordon and Jimmy O’Rourke and not replace them.

"We were three guys who could each score 25 goals a season. Unfortunately that’s not how it worked out.”

Easter Road goalkeeper Jim McArthur, looking back on the 74/75 campaign, summed it up in another interview: “Nearly, but not quite.”

And yet the parallels are eerie – Celtic are chasing a tenth title in a row, managed by a former Hibs boss; Rangers are aiming to prevent that, and Hibs – led by a son of Falkirk and captained by an Edinburgher – have won their opening three games of the season.

The last time Celtic and Rangers were kept apart in the Scottish Premiership table, it was by Aberdeen – who won their first four matches – in the 2017/18 campaign.

It is still early days of course; the season still has a way to go and the coronavirus pandemic could yet wreak havoc with the Scottish game.

But Hibs have enjoyed their best start to a top-flight league campaign for nearly 50 years, taking maximum points so far and with a good chance of making it 12 points from 12 by 7pm on Saturday night.

As the thunder clouds cleared this morning, making way for sunshine on Leith… could lightning strike twice this season?