Fire causes clash to be abandoned
Pat Fenlon was denied the chance of a debut win as Hibernian manager after his team's match against Motherwell was abandoned at half-time because of an electrical fire.
Hibs were leading 1-0 thanks to a 16th-minute strike from Garry O'Connor when fans were asked to vacate the stadium after the teams failed to reappear for the second half.
Several fire engines appeared behind the South Stand, housing the away supporters, during the first half and numerous stewards and police gathered behind the structure amid coded messages over the public address system.
One of the floodlights in the South Stand went out after a 10-minute delay in the teams reappearing, and moments later it was announced the Clydesdale Bank Premier League match had been abandoned.
The police match commander, Chief Inspector Brian Connel, explained the circumstances behind the decision.
He said: "Shortly before half-time, we saw smoke on the CCTV system. This was coming from the south-east corner of the South Stand.
"The investigation of that identified that there was smoke and also the smell of burning and I had no option but to call in Fire & Rescue.
"They identified the seat of the fire was in the electrical framework for the lighting column. Initially it was clear there had been an electrical fire.
"They managed to isolate part of that frame however I could not be given assurance there was not the danger of further fire or the fact they would need to isolate the light, whereby the floodlight would have been off anyway.
"The match officials delayed the start of the second half as long as they could but, not getting the assurance it was going to be safe, we had to abandon the match."
Motherwell - Hibernian: Match Report - view commentary, squad, and statictics of the game as it happened.
Source: DSG
