Patrick McPartlin: What it was like watching Hibs behind closed doors

Our Hibs reporter’s take on an unusual, yet enjoyable, experience

Hibs attack the Kilmarnock goal in front of a largely empty Easter Road Main Stand

It was a strange feeling, walking up Easter Road at 1pm on a matchday. Ordinarily the pubs dotted on street corners would be hoaching, with Hibs fans spilling out onto the street in the summer sun.

I turned left into Albion Road with the Famous Five Stand suddenly appearing before me. No programme-sellers, no over-confident visiting fans, no youngsters being taken to their first football game.

There was little sign of any Scottish Premiership action being played at the stadium - just a single steward pointing me towards one of the few open doors at the back of the main stand.

Once inside I had my temperature checked and I was asked dozens of questions relating to coronavirus and my own health before taking a skoosh of hand gel and being handed a media pass.

Then it was a climb up the stairs past shuttered pie stalls and the locked hospitality suites, following the floor stickers to the press area.

It was still eerily quiet as I climbed the steps to the back of the stand adjusting my facemask. I’ve been attending football games for nearly thirty years and in that time, four-plus months is the longest period I’ve spent without going to at least one match. Even this strange representation of football is better than nothing.

A handful of Hibs players were out inspecting the pitch, watched on by a few hundred cardboard cut-outs in the East Stand.

The Kilmarnock team arrived and were ushered straight into the temporary changing facilities in the South Stand. The odd announcement crackled over the tannoy but there were no birthday messages, or information about upcoming games. As both teams came out for their warm-ups, barked instructions from the coaches could be heard clearly, even from my lofty vantage point in the press box.

There was no swell of noise when the players came out for the start of the match, no late arrivals jostling their way to their seats, and no shouts of “Get it up eh PARK!” once the game had kicked off.

I’ve been to sparsely-attended Reserve Cup games at Easter Road but this was different. In terms of numbers, there were at least 30-35 players and backroom staff for each team as well as a healthy smattering of reporters, media teams for both clubs, ambulance staff and a handful of stewards.

But it was nothing compared to the 16,600 who watched Hibs’ opening game of last season against St Mirren, or the 17,500 at the 3-0 win against Motherwell in August 2018.

The piped-in background noise only kicked in around three or four minutes into the match; the virtual crowd going bananas as Kilmarnock prepared to take a throw-in midway inside their own half.

When Martin Boyle scored the opener after five minutes there was virtual silence save for clapping from the Hibs bench and his team-mates. As the players reached the centre-circle, the crowd noise crescendoed to wild cheering before segueing into a throaty rendition of “Glory, Glory to the Hibees”.

Players made mistakes; they passed to opponents or ran the ball out of play. But there were no anguished groans from the terraces, no howls of derision.

Nor were there any insults hurled at match official John Beaton, who will have enjoyed what was possibly his first game as a top-flight referee without having his parentage questioned by an irate fan.

Could Hibs have had a penalty in the second half for handball if there had been a large home crowd screaming for it?

Possibly. Under the new rules it looked every inch a spot-kick but it’s debatable what sort of view the match officials had of the incident.

Overall the game felt much like a regular, pre-coronavirus match but there really is no replacing the fans.

All the piped-in crowd noise in the world isn’t going to replicate the choice couplets often heard at Scottish matches.

Credit to Hibs for embracing the idea of virtual supporters (whether cardboard or audio) but the game really is lacking without actual fans in the ground. No atmosphere, no typically-Scottish insults dished out to whichever member of the opposition has been earmarked for abuse.

Fewer than 12 months ago, there was loud jeering as Paul Heckingbottom subbed off Scott Allan after an hour to bring on Daryl Horgan. When Jack Ross made the same personnel change at the same time interval against Kilmarnock, there was – obviously – little reaction.

So, was the game enjoyable? In a word, yes. It’s been so long without football in Scotland that the return to action has been gratefully received by players, fans, and media alike.

It will be interesting to see how a lack of fans affects Hibs during away games, especially at venues traditionally well-attended by travelling supporters such as Almondvale or the Simple Digital Arena.

The authorities understandably don’t want to rush people back to games given the ongoing pandemic and risk of a second spike in infection rate.

September 14 has been pencilled in as a possible start date for fans returning to matches but even then, it is likely to be a small number to allow for social distancing. But it will be better than nothing.

On a personal level, it’s a relief to have the Scottish game back, even if it is a sanitised version of what we're used to – in more ways than one.