Hibs Ready for Falkirk Challenge

With their first win out of the way Hibernian are looking for a follow-up this weekend when Tony Mowbray takes the side to the new Falkirk Stadium for the first time.  Every one of the 2,000 available tickets for visiting fans has been sold for what is promising to be a cracker of a game, the newly promoted Falkirk side bristling with former Hibs players who will be out to do a number on their former employers.

Falkirk of course have been led back into the Scottish PremierLeague by former Hibs skipper John Hughes ‘Yogi’, an interested spectator recently at the Edinburgh Derby when no doubt he will hope he picked up a few pointers on how he should lay out his stall this weekend.  While one former Hibs skipper manages the Bairns, another will be on the park with John O’Neil a vital part of the Falkirk side as is Russell Latapy, who remains a legendary figure among the Hibs support to this day.

For Tony Mowbray it will, as ever, not be about how Falkirk play, but more about how his own players impose themselves on the home side.  It will all be a very new experience for everyone at Easter Road at a new stadium, and there will be an added incentive for Falkirk, should they need one, in that they lost their only SPL game at the stadium so far in going down 2-0 to Inverness Caledonian Thistle a couple of weeks ago.  The Hibs squad did not get back together again until this afternoon with Dean Shiels and Sam Morrow in action for Northern Ireland in midweek, while of course Steven Whittaker, Kevin Thomson, Scott Brown, Garry O’Connor and Derek Riordan where all in action for Scotland in Austria.

The stage then is set for a game that will provide a great deal of interest for both sets of supporters, Hibernian have no suspensions or injuries reported other than that to skipper Gary Caldwell.

Hibernian Football Club is delighted to confirm details of the Club Store expansion, which will see the official store double in size, creating a new flagship superstore.

Contractors Souness and Boyne will be on site from Monday 22nd August, with business as usual for those supporters wishing to buy direct from the Club Store. Entrance from Monday onwards will be via the Famous Five (Behind the Goals) reception entrance.

With the minimum level of disruption predicted, the Club Store expansion will see the frontage moved outwards so increasing the floor size by almost 100%.  This bigger flagship club super store will be ready for opening early winter.

The development of the Club Store is another foundation in the "Stay at Easter Road" Business Plan. The funding for this is being provided by the Bank of Scotland after presentation of the business case for an expanded shop.

During the majority of the construction work the Club Store will be open for "Business as Usual" with the normal opening times of Monday till Saturday 9am-5pm.  However, supporters are advised that the store will close for a short period of time during the later course of the expansion process to allow the new store re-fit to take place.  Updates throughout the Store expansion will be published on the website and newsletter over the forthcoming weeks. 

Supporters will be pleased to learn that the hugely popular black away kit is now in transit from the Far East and is expected to arrive late next week. This is the first of three new orders, the second expected to arrive mid September and the third expected mid October.

Remember there is also a new online shop at www.hibernianfc.co.uk.

Four hundred tickets for the up and coming Rangers match on Saturday 27th August (3pm) went on public sale at 9.00am this morning from the ticket office.

Bank of Scotland Scottish PremierLeague
Saturday 27th August, 3pm KO
Rangers v Hibernian
Ibrox Park

Adults - £22
(Tickets are now on general sale)

Supporters are advised that the Ticket Office will be closed on Monday 22nd August for team training and to allow for a complete system review.  Normal opening hours will resume Tuesday 23rd August 9am till 5pm.

“Hibees on Holiday” winner Hibs Kid Jack Miller and his dad were invited along to Easter Road Stadium earlier this week to meet Hibs gaffer Tony Mowbray and to be presented with a signed Hibernian shirt for scooping the competition top prize.

Hibernian supporters from all over the world entered the competition, however it was Jack’s recent visit to Brazil with his family which captured Tony’s attention while judging the competition earlier this month.

Jack and his dad attended an event staged at Easter Road in partnership with 'Scotland Against Drugs' this week to highlight the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle and the dangers of drugs. Attended by up to 100 summer soccer school attendees, children were given the chance to meet the manager and star players David Murphy and Guillaume Beuzelin.

Enjoy contemporary match day hospitality in Hibernian's hugely popular 'Gallery Restaurant' situated on the first floor of the West Stand.

Savor the atmosphere as you see all the match day preparations unfold and dine amongst some great European memorabilia – a perfect day out with friends, family or even business colleagues.

For our fixture v’s Dundee United - Saturday 10th September 2005, the following package is now available: Three Course meal, Cash bar facility pre and post match, Executive seat in West Upper tier, Half time snacks, Match programme and teamsheet, Licensed betting facility.

All this for just £75 per person and Season Ticket Holders offer for this match is £50 per person. For further information on this matchday package please contact our Hospitality Team on Tel: 0131 656 7073.

Life-long Hibs supporter Dave Anderson, and his girlfriend, Liz Gale, were dramatically rescued from the sea by a Croatian Coastguard boat earlier this week - Hibee Mail has learned via a mutual friend of the family.

Dave (22) a expatriate Scot now living near Bromley in Kent, was out on a days diving expedition with Liz and the crew off the coast near the island of Korcula when disaster struck. Although the weather and sea was described as okay, the dive boat was swamped by a freak wave and started to sink. After entering the water Dave spotted his beloved Hibs shirt floating in the sea about 30 metres away but when within a finger tip’s reach, it slipped below the waves under the pull of the sinking boat. It now lies at the bottom of the Adriatic.

After 45 minutes in the water the whole party was rescued by the Croatian Coastguard and the couple were able to continue their holiday, on dry land. Liz described the incident as "a bit scary" but said that Dave was grieving most for his lost Hibs shirt.

Should any Hibs supporters be in the area and find the shirt on a beach they are asked to return it to him as he’s grieving over its loss. Email emorrison@hibernianfc.co.uk.  If not, a surprise maybe in store for Dave…to be continued…

Good news this week for online Hibernian supporters wishing to upgrade their existing internet connection and receive all the latest Hibernian news, reviews, commentary and action.

Hibernian Broadband, a new service powered by Viatel now offers Hibernian supporters the chance to upgrade their existing Internet connection service to Broadband  - sign up today!

Hibernian Broadband also offers exclusive e-mail accounts for subscribers with up to 4 mail accounts in the form yourname@hibsmail.co.uk, the mail accounts can be accessed either through a mail client such as Outlook Express or from any web browser using our own ‘Webmail’ system.

For more details on Hibernian Broadband including how to sign up for the new service, visit http://www.hibernianbroadband.co.uk now.

The date that every Hibernian supporter will be looking for this month – 26th August.  This is the day when the draw for the 1st round of the UEFA Cup is made and Hibernian will know who they must face on 15th September and 29th September.

Next weekend Tony Mowbray and the Hibs squad could be preparing to face the likes of CSKA Moscow current tournament holders, or Italian giants AS Roma, Dutch side Feyenoord or even Spanish side Espanyol, all exciting prospects.  However, the challenge could be closer to home with English outfits Bolton Wanderers and Middlesbrough in the hat.

Hibs first entry into Europe was by invitation 50 years ago this year, and it was an invitation that most in the game accepted was very much a recognition of the pioneering spirit adopted by the club.  Since then of course the Club have qualified many times through their league or cup exploits at home, this season’s qualification coming as a result of Hibernian finishing third in the SPL last season. Although there have been times when just making it to the Scottish cup final was enough to qualify.

Pictured is Garry O’Connor and Steven Whittaker modeling Hibernian’s Carling sponsored shirts. Already the Club’s official Beer Sponsor, Carling is also Hibernian’s European Sponsor for the 2005/06 UEFA Cup campaign.

Hibee-mail: Issue 110
18th August 2005

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