'˜There were folk laughing': O'Connor opens up on 2012 Cup final bust-up

Garry O'Connor has revealed that some of the Hibs players were laughing in the dressing room after the club's humiliating Scottish Cup final defeat to rivals Hearts.

A dejected Garry O'Connor during the 2012 final. Picture: SNS

The Easter Road side were hammered 5-1 by their rivals in the first meeting between the pair in the showpiece fixture since 1896, with O’Connor throwing his runners-up medal in the bin in disgust after the full-time whistle.

If the striker - at Hibs for a second spell - was angry enough at seeing Hearts lift the trophy, things got even more heated in the dressing room after the game.

Speaking to Simon Ferry on Open Goal, O’Connor recalled being furious at the manner in which some of the loanee players, signed under then-manager Pat Fenlon, were treating such a painful loss.

“He said: You’ve got Sparky [Leigh Griffiths] who’s a Hibs fan, Ian Murray who’s a Hibs fan, me a Hibs fan. You’ve got Stacky [Graham Stack] who’s been at the club for years. Ivan, loves the club. So coming in the dressing room, everyone has just went bananas.

“There’s folk in the changing room laughing after the game. Boys who’ve come in on loan are laughing, and I’ve absolutely flipped out. Stacky’s went mental, Ian’s went mental.

“There was a massive bust-up. It’s the passion, the pride, we thought we had a chance in that game, and to get beat 5-1. Fair play to Hearts, they pumped us. But the tactics were all wrong. You can train with one shape all week and change it on the Saturday. It’s just not going to work.”