VAR controversy as Hibs secure crucial victory over Dundee United – 3 things we learned

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Hibs beat Dundee United 3-1 at Tannadice as they took a massive step forward in their bid to secure 3rd spot in the Premiership come May.

Dundee United got off to the perfect start after less than six minutes as Ross Graham’s deflected volley off the unfortunate Jack Iredale flew past Hibs stopper Jordan Smith.

Rocky Bushiri’s headed clearance fell nicely for Graham, who was lucky to see his shot nick off Iredale. But what mattered most was the ball being in the back of the net and it gave the United fans something to cheer about early on.

Mykola Kukharevych – who replaced Kieron Bowie in the Hibs starting XI – then forced Jack Walton into his first save of the match with a header, but there was no direction with the effort.

But the Ukrainian striker would find the net with his next headed opportunity as he escaped his marker at a corner to convert into the bottom corner.

Nicky Cadden’s delivery was inch perfect and Kukharevych’s movement was clever as he positioned himself for the goal.

The Premiership’s top scorer Sam Dalby, just before half-time, could have got United back in front but his header flew well over the bar – it was a decent opportunity for the Wrexham man.

Hibs were more threatening as an attacking force in the first-half. However, the Arabs started the second period well and had the visitors plenty to think about defensively.

United thought they made that pressure count as they took a 2-1 lead through that man Dalby. But after a ridiculously long VAR check, it was ruled out for handball by the striker.

VAR initially checked for an offside, before taking a look at whether Dalby had converted the ball into the net via his arm.

United looked more likely to get the winner than the Hibees, but it was the visitors who would snatch the goal that won them the game.

Substitute Kieron Bowie was slipped through on goal perfectly by Nectar Triantis and the young striker was deadly with his finish as the smashed past Walton into the roof of the net.

Wild scenes ensued in the Hibs end behind the goal – and there was just about time for another goal as Junior Hoilett got in on the act with the final kick of the game.

Craig Sibbald’s mistake in midfield was pounced upon and Hoilett was played through on goal before finishing with aplomb, much in the same spirit as Bowie’s goal.

Here are Not The Old Firm’s three talking points from Dundee United 1-2 Hibs.

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Hibs secure crucial victory as Dundee United lose more momentum

It wasn’t the prettiest of encounters but there was enough action inside Tannadice to keep the home and away fans entertained for 99 minutes.

These two are evenly-matched and that shows in the Premiership table with just three points separating the sides before the game tonight.

Aberdeen’s defeat against Celtic on Tuesday opened the door for United or Hibs to take advantage and either go ahead of the Dons, in United’s case, or close the gap on them, which concerned Hibs.

In the end, it was the men from Leith who battled to three points and moved to within just one point of Aberdeen.

For United, they move down to 5th on goal difference. They are still level on points with Hibs on 40 apiece but it’s a damaging home loss for Jim Goodwin’s men who have lost all momentum in the chase for 3rd spot.

David Gray’s Mykola Kukharevych decision vindicated

When Hibs fans saw their team’s line-up for the Dundee United challenge, one sentiment was repeated in the replies – ‘why is Mykola Kukharevych starting?’

The big Ukrainian striker played his first Premiership minutes against Celtic at the weekend since December because of an injury.

He only got the final 26 minutes so it wasn’t expected he was going to start this game against United, with Kieron Bowie probably ahead in the pecking order.

But Gray decided to leave the former Fulham youngster on the bench and trusted Kukharevych to lead the line alongside Martin Boyle.

It was Kukharevych’s goal that got Hibs back into the contest with a perfect back post header and he provided a focal point in the box for deliveries on either side.

VAR frustration at Tannadice

Dundee United fans will come away from this game not complaining about their team’s efforts, but more on the performance of the officials and VAR.

Their biggest bugbear will centre around the disallowed Sam Dalby goal. It took a stupid amount of time for the VAR to finally chalk the goal off, but there’s still huge controversy over the final decision.

The ball appeared to hit Dalby’s head as he struck into the net. But VAR felt it hit his arm and it was ruled out, despite the camera angle behind the goal not being able to conclusively prove an offence.

Moreover, VAR were actually checking for an offside before even determining whether Dalby handled or not.

It was then revealed on DUTV that the reason the check took so long was because VAR were not able to draw the lines for the offside and align them with the last Hibs defender.

The required camera angle was not available to the VAR team, similar to what happened when Hibs beat Celtic at the weekend.

It’s safe to say United boss Jim Goodwin will be fuming over the decision, as well as a few other calls made by the referee during the game.