This is how it feels (Hamilton 19th August)

[Jonnyboy]

If I could sum up in one word how I felt about this 3-1 loss to Hamilton, it would be disappointed. After gutsy and often classy periods of play during our wins over Partick Thistle and The Rangers, today witnessed a Hibs side that toiled from start to finish and paid the penalty against a side well versed in how to play the game in the top division. Let’s be honest, we were never at the races and allowed Hamilton the freedom of Easter Road as we huffed and puffed, securing an undeserved consolation goal right at the death.

I was surprised when I heard the line-up. Had I been Neil Lennon I’d have started with the same eleven that took the field at Ibrox but for whatever reason, he dropped Slivka to the bench and brought in Danny Swanson. It could be that he felt Danny might be more creative, having been involved in all three goals against Partick but that hope came to nothing as Danny, along with his fellow midfielders had a massive off day. I can’t remember the last time I watched a Hibs midfield be so completely dominated for ninety minutes.

Most folk tipped us to win but this visiting side was working to a different script. Right from the off they were in our faces and we struggled to cope with it. They won the vast majority of second ball and when we did actually have possession we were both hesitant and wasteful. Being an established Premiership side, Hamilton knew all the little tricks to gain advantage. A tug of the shirt here and a wee late tackle there gained them plenty of possession and they made fine use of it.

After a pretty poor first half, I hoped the gaffer would have a few choice words to say in encouraging his players to significantly up the tempo and make better use of the ball in possession but from the moment that Daz made his rash challenge in the box, when the Hamilton player was actually going away from goal, I thought the writing was on the wall. Rocky made a decent attempt at saving it but the pace of the shot beat him.

Let’s face it; we are not going to steamroller opponents every week, despite our squad looking very strong on paper. When virtually your entire team fails to perform, there’s only ever going to be one outcome.

The players:-

Rocky – two excellent saves in the first half; no chance with any of the goals and bizarrely, having conceded three times, I voted him my Hibs man of the match.

Efe - No pipe and slippers today. He was caught out of position numerous times and needs to realise that while the nice wee flicks and nutmegs are great when they come off, it’s suicidal to try them every time.

Daz – seemed to have a lot of trouble reading the flight of the ball in the wind and was more than a little bit rash when conceding the penalty. Went straight down the tunnel after having been substituted so I hope he doesn’t have an injury.

Paul – An uncharacteristic error for their second goal and strangely looked better going forward than he did when defending.

Whitty – Not too bad in the first half but poor in the second when Hamilton got a lot of joy down their left hand side.

Lewis – Up until Hamilton scored their second goal I’d have said the wee man was the exception to the rule in that he was well up for the game but sadly he fell into the same habits as his team mates.

Dylan – Was majestic at Ibrox last week but pretty much anonymous today.

Super John – I’ve never seen John McGinn play so badly in a Hibs shirt. There are always some aspects of his game to rave about, but not today. At least the match sponsors got to meet him.

Danny – Nothing went right for the wee fella today but it was not for his lack of effort in trying to make things work.

Stokesy – Somebody needs to whisper in ear as the teams come out at the start of the game “It’s The Rangers we’re playing today.”

Simon – Didn’t have his best 90 minutes. Put in a lot of effort but had little or no support from Stokesy and the midfield.

Barker – Took a wee while to get up to pace but had one excellent run and cross that offered a glimpse of his capabilities.

Slivka – Big fella has it and for my money should have started the game. At least when he came on we had someone playing in our midfield.

Big Dave – Took a sore one in a head clash but was involved in our late consolation goal.

Ref – Steven McLean is like the vast majority of Scottish referees, he’s forgotten that football is a contact sport.

The fans – Thankfully, not too much booing at the end but to turn out in such numbers is one positive to take from the day.

Hamilton – Taught us a lesson today; let’s hope we learn from it.

[Tornadoes70]

Perfectly sums up the performances today. Spot on. Very disappointing but here's hoping games like today are the exception and rare in number.

[hibee_girl]

Good assessment, can't disagree with any of it.

[Billy Whizz]

Agree with all of your match report
Though we were pedestrian in everything we did today, and got what we deservd
Well done Hamilton, thought Ali Crawford was very good today, involved in everything going forward

[Jonnyboy]

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Agree with all of your match report
Though we were pedestrian in everything we did today, and got what we deservd
Well done Hamilton, thought Ali Crawford was very good today, involved in everything going forward

As was the lad MacKinnon who reminded me a bit of Scott Brown in the way he plays the game

[Billy Whizz]

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As was the lad MacKinnon who reminded me a bit of Scott Brown in the way he plays the game

He did, was he no 18, same number as Scott!

[Saint Hibee]

Wasn't there a rumour we were going to sign Crawford during the off season? He's always caught the eye as a quality player.

[Jonnyboy]

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He did, was he no 18, same number as Scott!

Totally bossed/bullied SJM and Dylan

[Danderhall Hibs]

Agree with most of that particularly "man of the match".

I thought Whittaker was poor, the whole defence were. Midfield weren't in it and Stokes is as good as a man down when he's not in the mood.

You've gone light on Stevenson as well - that was the worst he's played for a good couple of years.

[Billy Whizz]

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Totally bossed/bullied SJM and Dylan

And it's not often McGinn gets bossed

[Billy Whizz]

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Agree with most of that particularly "man of the match".

I thought Whittaker was poor, the whole defence were. Midfield weren't in it and Stokes is as good as a man down when he's not in the mood.

You've gone light on Stevenson as well - that was the worst he's played for a good couple of years.

For large parts of the 1st half, Whittaker was playing out side right, would have been better with a forward playing in that role

Stokes really lacked sharpness today, probably the lack of a proper pre season showing up
We definitely missed the directness of Boyle, to get us the park quickly

[pedroorange1875]

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If I could sum up in one word how I felt about this 3-1 loss to Hamilton, it would be disappointed. After gutsy and often classy periods of play during our wins over Partick Thistle and The Rangers, today witnessed a Hibs side that toiled from start to finish and paid the penalty against a side well versed in how to play the game in the top division. Let’s be honest, we were never at the races and allowed Hamilton the freedom of Easter Road as we huffed and puffed, securing an undeserved consolation goal right at the death.

I was surprised when I heard the line-up. Had I been Neil Lennon I’d have started with the same eleven that took the field at Ibrox but for whatever reason, he dropped Slivka to the bench and brought in Danny Swanson. It could be that he felt Danny might be more creative, having been involved in all three goals against Partick but that hope came to nothing as Danny, along with his fellow midfielders had a massive off day. I can’t remember the last time I watched a Hibs midfield be so completely dominated for ninety minutes.

Most folk tipped us to win but this visiting side was working to a different script. Right from the off they were in our faces and we struggled to cope with it. They won the vast majority of second ball and when we did actually have possession we were both hesitant and wasteful. Being an established Premiership side, Hamilton knew all the little tricks to gain advantage. A tug of the shirt here and a wee late tackle there gained them plenty of possession and they made fine use of it.

After a pretty poor first half, I hoped the gaffer would have a few choice words to say in encouraging his players to significantly up the tempo and make better use of the ball in possession but from the moment that Daz made his rash challenge in the box, when the Hamilton player was actually going away from goal, I thought the writing was on the wall. Rocky made a decent attempt at saving it but the pace of the shot beat him.

Let’s face it; we are not going to steamroller opponents every week, despite our squad looking very strong on paper. When virtually your entire team fails to perform, there’s only ever going to be one outcome.

The players:-

Rocky – two excellent saves in the first half; no chance with any of the goals and bizarrely, having conceded three times, I voted him my Hibs man of the match.

Efe - No pipe and slippers today. He was caught out of position numerous times and needs to realise that while the nice wee flicks and nutmegs are great when they come off, it’s suicidal to try them every time.

Daz – seemed to have a lot of trouble reading the flight of the ball in the wind and was more than a little bit rash when conceding the penalty. Went straight down the tunnel after having been substituted so I hope he doesn’t have an injury.

Paul – An uncharacteristic error for their second goal and strangely looked better going forward than he did when defending.

Whitty – Not too bad in the first half but poor in the second when Hamilton got a lot of joy down their left hand side.

Lewis – Up until Hamilton scored their second goal I’d have said the wee man was the exception to the rule in that he was well up for the game but sadly he fell into the same habits as his team mates.

Dylan – Was majestic at Ibrox last week but pretty much anonymous today.

Super John – I’ve never seen John McGinn play so badly in a Hibs shirt. There are always some aspects of his game to rave about, but not today. At least the match sponsors got to meet him.

Danny – Nothing went right for the wee fella today but it was not for his lack of effort in trying to make things work.

Stokesy – Somebody needs to whisper in ear as the teams come out at the start of the game “It’s The Rangers we’re playing today.”

Simon – Didn’t have his best 90 minutes. Put in a lot of effort but had little or no support from Stokesy and the midfield.

Barker – Took a wee while to get up to pace but had one excellent run and cross that offered a glimpse of his capabilities.

Slivka – Big fella has it and for my money should have started the game. At least when he came on we had someone playing in our midfield.

Big Dave – Took a sore one in a head clash but was involved in our late consolation goal.

Ref – Steven McLean is like the vast majority of Scottish referees, he’s forgotten that football is a contact sport.

The fans – Thankfully, not too much booing at the end but to turn out in such numbers is one positive to take from the day.

Hamilton – Taught us a lesson today; let’s hope we learn from it.

Not too sure about that, Premiership Paul Hanlon still doesn't know how to deal with a direct diagonal high ball either over his head or near him and still cant deal with a strong tall front man, three years and the memory maybe faded, definitely not uncharacteristic . Paul Hanlon for me has big question marks at this level

[Fergos]

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Agree with all of your match report
Though we were pedestrian in everything we did today, and got what we deservd
Well done Hamilton, thought Ali Crawford was very good today, involved in everything going forward

Aye, very surprised nobody, including our good selves have been in for Crawford...decent playmaker.

GGTTH

[Billy Whizz]

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Aye, very surprised nobody, including our good selves have been in for Crawford...decent playmaker.

GGTTH

It's not so much the playmaker role, we've got plenty of these
But it's the speed that he breaks forward, that I really like

[NORTHERNHIBBY]

JB's summary is more or less how I saw it. I get the feeling that the whole team sometimes doesn't fancy it when it gets tough and they all chuck it on masse.

[BSEJVT]

Excellent summary as usual JB

I don't like us playing 3 5 2

I think Lewis gets hung out to dry in that formation as his final ball isn't anywhere near good enough IMO

There wasn't a single positive thing I could take from that match other than there seemed to be less seagulls than usual

[Smartie]

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Not too sure about that, Premiership Paul Hanlon still doesn't know how to deal with a direct diagonal high ball either over his head or near him and still cant deal with a strong tall front man, three years and the memory maybe faded, definitely not uncharacteristic . Paul Hanlon for me has big question marks at this level

Paul Hanlon's injury was probably the single biggest factor (well, maybe other than the Butcher factor) in seeing us drop out of the top division in the first place.

Hanlon, Stevenson and Cummings were the only players from the relegated side that I'd have wanted to keep.

Hanlon is a proven, consistent performer at this level and has consistently done well in games against Rangers, Hearts and Dundee United in the Championship and against Premier League opposition in the cups over the past 3 years.

He's not perfect, and the question marks you raise regarding his achilles heels are valid.

But other than some ridiculous, uncharacteristic mistakes, I actually thought he had a good game today. he certainly had a decent first half.

[Smartie]

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JB's summary is more or less how I saw it. I get the feeling that the whole team sometimes doesn't fancy it when it gets tough and they all chuck it on masse.

I think that's when leadership comes into it.

McGregor had lost the plot, Stokes looked like he didn't want to be there, McGinn was being bossed, Ambrose was away with the fairies, Whittaker's head was down, McGeouch was struggling to get involved, likewise the previously very effective Murray - they were struggling for someone to lead the way today. Slivka probably did the most to lead by example when he went on.

I'd point out that this all happened whilst our club captain was sat on the bench, but I've seen this type of performance before when he's been on the park.

Strange, as on paper we're not exactly short of leaders and strong characters.

[Mr White]

Sad to read the first defeat of these fine reports JB but still very much appreciated by all I'm sure and especially those of us who can't attend every week

[neil7908]

I think it was noticeable how little space they gave us. A lot of teams are happy to sit off until the opposition get near the half way line but Hamilton were right on us at every turn. McGeough and McGinn kept dropping back to try and pick up the ball but 1) they ended up being tracked back anyway and had no space to manoeuvre and 2) that left a huge gap in the middle of the pitch. We need to learn very quickly how to deal with that.

I also think we saw how important Boyle is for us (pace, width and directness).

Surprisingly I also don't think we'd have lost some of those goals today if Bartley was on the pitch. He was not really needed in a lot of games last season but I think we need to be aware we're facing teams this year who will be much more dangerous on the counter attack.

We can call this a bad day at the office or whatever but 6 goals conceded in 3 games, and losing the first goal in all of those, is a concern.

I'm still very optimistic about this season but have to admit that not just the result but the manner in which we were beaten has me feeling a bit down 2nite.

[cabbageandribs1875]

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If I could sum up in one word how I felt about this 3-1 loss to Hamilton, it would be disappointed. After gutsy and often classy periods of play during our wins over Partick Thistle and The Rangers, today witnessed a Hibs side that toiled from start to finish and paid the penalty against a side well versed in how to play the game in the top division. Let’s be honest, we were never at the races and allowed Hamilton the freedom of Easter Road as we huffed and puffed, securing an undeserved consolation goal right at the death.

i see what you did there








did you ?

[Jonnyboy]

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i see what you did there








did you ?

Nope

[ekhibee]

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I think it was noticeable how little space they gave us. A lot of teams are happy to sit off until the opposition get near the half way line but Hamilton were right on us at every turn. McGeough and McGinn kept dropping back to try and pick up the ball but 1) they ended up being tracked back anyway and had no space to manoeuvre and 2) that left a huge gap in the middle of the pitch. We need to learn very quickly how to deal with that.

I also think we saw how important Boyle is for us (pace, width and directness).

Surprisingly I also don't think we'd have lost some of those goals today if Bartley was on the pitch. He was not really needed in a lot of games last season but I think we need to be aware we're facing teams this year who will be much more dangerous on the counter attack.

We can call this a bad day at the office or whatever but 6 goals conceded in 3 games, and losing the first goal in all of those, is a concern.

I'm still very optimistic about this season but have to admit that not just the result but the manner in which we were beaten has me feeling a bit down 2nite.

Certainly agree with a lot of what you say, particularly re. Boyle. Boyle down the right and Barker down the left would IMO make us pretty lethal attackwise, but for some reason today Barker spent most of the time in the centre of the pitch.

[eastcoasthibby]

We lost it early doors in the midfield they had 3 in there who were well organised and competed for everything ..McKinnon (18)sat in a bit deeper and pulled the strings letting.Crawford and.the other guy move about and get forward freely .. we had 2 in there with Swanson not giving.us any real shape in the central area ...and that went on the whole game ! Having a big squad is fine but like most teams in this league they go with their best team every week ...as its a percentage game of getting as points as possible ..we.need to learn from these teams and walk before we run !! Not make unneccassry.changes and get a.consistnecy in our game