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Hibs Look To Finish The Job

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Hibs head into the Premiership play-off second leg knowing anything other than a two goal victory margin for visitors Hamilton will see them retain their top flight status.

A double from Jason Cummings was enough to secure a 2-0 victory for the Hibees in Wednesday’s first leg at New Douglas Park and Hibs will be hoping a near capacity crowd can cheer them to success on their own turf.

Prior to Wednesday, Terry Butcher’s men had slumped from 1 disastrous result to another but his squad picked themselves off the floor to record only their second win in some 20 matches – a run that had lasted the best part of four months.

Accies know they have it all to do in the return match but have been making confident noises about overturning the deficit at Easter Road.

Certainly the next goal in the match will be crucial but the free scoring Lanarkshire outfit looked devoid of ideas in the final third during the week and they know they’ll have to up the ante to come away with any kind of result.

Vital Quotes:

Paul Heffernan : “There has been a big difference in the mood of the squad over the last couple of days after finally getting a win. The longer the bad run went on, the more people talked about it. We just wanted to end it as soon as possible so it was a good feeling.

“However, we know it`s far from over, it`s only half-time in the tie so there is plenty of work still to be done.”

Terry Butcher : “We`ve sent them [the fans] away a lot of times this season unhappy.

“We haven`t given them a lot to cheer about, so hopefully their voices will be fresh. It would be great for the fans, the players and the club if we could get one last rousing victory tomorrow and send everyone away happy for the summer.

“That`s what we`ve been striving for ever since we lost to Kilmarnock two weeks ago.

“We`ve worked very hard to get half the job done and we want to finish off the other half tomorrow. Hopefully, at the end of it we can come out on top and end the season on a good note.”

Hibernian Team News:

Hibs have Kevin Thomson back to full fitness but boss Terry Butcher may resist the temptation to make any changes to a winning line up.

Player to watch: Jason Cummings

The 18 year old notched his first senior goals on Wednesday and will be full of confidence heading into the second leg.

Hamilton Team News:

Hamilton are practically injury free but boss Alex Neill may choose to alter his first X1 by introducing both himself and Jason Scotland into the mix as he looks to add some experience to his side.

Player to watch: Mikael Antoine Curier

The former Hibs striker is a big out ball for the Accies and he’ll have to be marshalled in a similar manner as he was during the first leg.

Match Facts & Stats

Hibs 2-0 victory over Hamilton on Wednesday was the Accies first home defeat since a 4-3 loss to Cowdenbeath in January.

For those thinking Sunday’s game is a foregone conclusion it’s worth noting Hibs have registered only two wins at Easter Road in 2014.

Match Prediction:

Hibs should be able to press home their advantage in front of an expected 19,000 crowd – 2-0 again for the Hibees.

Next Fixtures:

This is the final game of the season for both clubs.

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