Athens the real test
for Hibernian
It's the only subject in town -
well, half of it anyway - NEIL TURNBULL
AS
WARM-UP GAMES GO, Sunday's rout of Dunfermline
can be looked at in a number of ways. If we were looking for a stern test
and a real hard run out for the team then this contest never got close to
sufficing. However, if we were looking for a confidence building exercise
without any great strain and a run-out for a large number of players then
this match was just perfect. And to be honest, the latter is probably
closer to what Alex McLeish would have wanted.
It
was great to see the strikers scoring goals after a few games where we
have been relying on the strikes coming from other areas of the team. I
thought Brewster and McManus were terrific and Luna scoring a brace was a
real bonus, giving us another scoring option on the bench. To be honest,
we could have scored a few more goals, such was the gulf between the two
teams, but who's complaining.
If I
had one reservation about the Hibs performance, it would be this: we need
to get De La Cruz more involved. He had some great touches and looked
every inch a class act but was I the only one who thought he looked a bit
lost at times? He is clearly not used to playing in midfield and McLeish
plus half the team seemed to be trying to tell him where to move and what
to do, with the result that he looked bemused half the time. I can't
argue for a minute with retaining 'stormin' Orman in the wing back
role (he must be the steal of the century at 100k by the way) but Ulises
just didn't look comfortable at times. Don't misunderstand me, de la
Cruz still looked a great player on Sunday but I believe he will be even
better when he gets used to this position and gets more involved.
Hibs fifth against the Pars - man of the match was tough choice (sns)
The
hardest thing to do on Sunday was pick a man of the match - personally I
could make a case for any of Smith, Orman, Jack, O'Neil, McManus or
Brewster. If I had to choose, I would go for Brewster because he led the
line so well, was instrumental in breaking down Dunfermline's resistance
and bagged two goals into the bargain.
And
so we come to the match on Thursday night against AEK in Athens and once
again, I have to mention Brewster first and foremost. What you are looking
for in European matches are the players with the experience and knowledge
to stand tall and lead by example. Brewster, after five years in Greece,
has to be number one candidate for Hibs in this respect. Others that
spring to mind are Sauzee, Fenwick and de la Cruz, international players
who are all used to playing high-pressure matches in volatile
environments. That gives us players throughout the team who should not be
phased when they run out in Athens.
We
are, however, an inexperienced European team - there can be absolutely
no doubt about that. It will be really interesting to see which players
rise to the occasion and which, if any, go in to their shells. Hibernian
have two great advantages for European football - we have a backroom
staff that does their homework very thoroughly and we have a patient,
passing style of football which should be well suited to this stage. By
the end of Thursday night we will have a good indication of how close we
are to being a football team that can perform at this level.
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