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  1. #1
    Old Codger Hibstorian Jonnyboy's Avatar
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    This is how it feels (Ross County 23 Sept 2017)

    It’s rarely pleasurable having to travel on the A9 but surprisingly the journey to Dingwall, both there and back, was a bit of a breeze and I’ve no doubt returning with three points and a clean sheet helped ease the ‘pain.’ The sun was shining and it was warm, so that made sitting outside at the coffee shop pavement seating all the better. It kinda reminded me of foreign trips to follow Hibs when you could sit out and watch the Hibs fans arriving in numbers and trekking up to the stadium.

    Coming off the back of Tuesday night’s win over Livi, I was keen to see what line up would start the game and it was no surprise that Ross Laidlaw and Lewis Stevenson kept their starting places while Dylan McGeouch was on from the start too. Simon Murray also started with Slivka and Swanson dropping to the bench. Of course Laidlaw was given the nod as he’ll have to start next week at Parkhead with Ofir Marciano excused so that he can observe the Jewish Holy Day, Yom Kippur.

    In front of Ross was a back four of Steven Whittaker, who’d played nearly 80 minutes against Livi after David Gray had gone off injured, Efe Ambrose, Paul Hanlon and Lewis Stevenson and it would be interesting to see how they performed following a couple of lapses against Livi that had cost us goals. In the middle were Martin Boyle, Marvin Bartley, John McGinn and Dylan McGeouch with Antony Stokes and Simon Murray up front. It was, to my mind, an attacking line up and attack is exactly what Hibs did from the first whistle. Some of their play was a joy to watch with Boyle in particular causing the County defence problems. After Scott Fox had made a couple of decent saves he was beaten in the 13th minute when Paul Hanlon drove home a right foot effort from about eight yards following a John McGinn corner. Hibs dominated in the next spell but were unable to double their lead due to poor finishing and some excellent goalkeeping.

    As County began to grow more into the game they enjoyed a period of possession but Ross Laidlaw had little or nothing to do. It seemed to me that County’s tactic was to launch the ball into the Hibs box and hope for a fluffed clearance or a mistake by the keeper. They got neither and Hibs deservedly went in at the break a goal ahead. One thing I did notice in that first half was that County seemed to be trying to find a flaw in Steven Whittaker’s play. Time after time a long ball was launched in his direction and though he didn’t deal with them all he stuck to his task, ably assisted at times by Martin Boyle.

    If Laidlaw was largely redundant in the first half he more than earned his wages in the second with two point blank saves. The first saw Gardyne through on goal but when he got his shot away, Laidlaw made and instinctive save in pushing the ball onto the post and away to safety. The next effort came from Schalk with this save even better than the last. In truth the keeper had no right to save it but he did and it was crucial because at the other end Hibs had passed up a few good chances to double their lead. Both Murray and Stokes had fine efforts saved by Fox while a Steven Whittaker pile driver took a nick off a defender and flew just beyond Fox’s far post. A late free kick from Stokes beat the keeper but hit the outside of the post and when the whistle sounded it’s fair to say the best team won.

    The players

    Ross Laidlaw – Kept his concentration well throughout and dealt with every ball into his area bar one. Two crucial saves in the second half and I hope he reproduces this form next week.

    Whitty – Had a bit of a torrid time as he was targeted throughout by County. Substitute Keilor-Dunn made sure Whitty needed to keep his wits about him in the second half. As an aside, the young lad looks a real prospect.

    Efe – Last time out I was critical of Efe for not winning enough headers but today he won his fair share and had a solid game against Billy McKay

    Paul Hanlon – Scored the decisive goal, defended well and crucially near the end when, on two occasions, he cleared a ball inside the six yard box.

    Lewis – The wee man was rock solid again and on two occasions in the first half made danger clearing headers when up against a guy who was a good few inches taller.

    Boyler – I thought Martin was outstanding in the first half, faded for a while after the break and then finished strongly. If I had a criticism it would be that he needs to trust his ability in getting a shot away more quickly.

    SJM – It pains me to say it but I felt that was John’s poorest performance for Hibs in a very long time. He did take a first half knock, which may have restricted him but the lung bursting runs etc. were missing. To his credit though, he never hides.

    Marv – Largely redundant in terms of being the midfield spoiler, mainly because the ball was sailing over his head most of the time as that was County’s tactic. I thought he was really unlucky to get booked after being fouled by Draper and getting up to shout in the County man’s face.

    Dylan – I was thrilled when I saw that Dylan was starting but am of the view that when asked to play wide left, as he was today, he isn’t anywhere near as influential as he can be.

    Simon Murray – Once again the laddie worked his socks off and I thought I could see the beginnings of a strike partnership with Stokes. Simon’s still learning but he’s sticking to his task well.

    Stokesy – Another good performance and was unlucky twice with well struck free kicks. Sometimes accused of not working hard enough he couldn’t be accused of that today.

    The Lithuanians – double substitution with five minutes left saw McGeouch and Murray replaced. They didn’t have time to show much and I felt it was ironic that the high balls played into the County box for the first 85 minutes suddenly dried up, just when we had someone there with the stature to attack them!

    Man of the match - a few contenders with Laidlaw, Lewis and Paul close to it but on reflection I'm giving it to Stokesy

    The Ref – Andrew Dallas made some baffling calls, affecting both sides and annoying both sets of supporters. I’ve no doubt his Dad would be proud of him.

    The fans – Brilliant support once again. Sporadically noisy and missing the drummer but like me, they’d all be pleased with the result.
    This is how it feels


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  3. #2
    @hibs.net private member greenlex's Avatar
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    Decent report as usual JC.
    im baffled as to what is said at half time these last few games. We seem to be lethargic for most of the second halves. Might be something in the tea.

  4. #3
    Coaching Staff hibsbollah's Avatar
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    Thanks as usual Jonny, I feel like I was there.
    Bartley surely has had more unjustified bookings in his short Hibs career than any player I can think of.
    Personally i love driving the A9 but apart from that it all made sense
    Last edited by hibsbollah; 23-09-2017 at 09:34 PM.

  5. #4
    @hibs.net private member
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    Agree with virtually all of this.
    Thought the ref was on another planet - when a player (Whittaker or was it Hanlon) wins a free kick and gesticulates to the ref with a what the heck was that for, you have to question his decision making. Also, when a player clearly has had a head knock......get him off the field!

    Boyle for me, lacked confidence - he took a hard one from the big dutch defender near the start and seemed unwilling to skin him thereafter.
    Stokes was a class above.
    Murray ran himself into the ground and was almost wishing a goal for him. Reminded me a bit of Chris Dagnall, who in the few games I saw did everything except score.

    Should've could've been more, but it was a clean sheet and a win and a glorious sunny day in Dingwall.

  6. #5
    First Team Breakthrough
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jonnyboy View Post
    This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
    It’s rarely pleasurable having to travel on the A9 but surprisingly the journey to Dingwall, both there and back, was a bit of a breeze and I’ve no doubt returning with three points and a clean sheet helped ease the ‘pain.’ The sun was shining and it was warm, so that made sitting outside at the coffee shop pavement seating all the better. It kinda reminded me of foreign trips to follow Hibs when you could sit out and watch the Hibs fans arriving in numbers and trekking up to the stadium.

    Coming off the back of Tuesday night’s win over Livi, I was keen to see what line up would start the game and it was no surprise that Ross Laidlaw and Lewis Stevenson kept their starting places while Dylan McGeouch was on from the start too. Simon Murray also started with Slivka and Swanson dropping to the bench. Of course Laidlaw was given the nod as he’ll have to start next week at Parkhead with Ofir Marciano excused so that he can observe the Jewish Holy Day, Yom Kippur.

    In front of Ross was a back four of Steven Whittaker, who’d played nearly 80 minutes against Livi after David Gray had gone off injured, Efe Ambrose, Paul Hanlon and Lewis Stevenson and it would be interesting to see how they performed following a couple of lapses against Livi that had cost us goals. In the middle were Martin Boyle, Marvin Bartley, John McGinn and Dylan McGeouch with Antony Stokes and Simon Murray up front. It was, to my mind, an attacking line up and attack is exactly what Hibs did from the first whistle. Some of their play was a joy to watch with Boyle in particular causing the County defence problems. After Scott Fox had made a couple of decent saves he was beaten in the 13th minute when Paul Hanlon drove home a right foot effort from about eight yards following a John McGinn corner. Hibs dominated in the next spell but were unable to double their lead due to poor finishing and some excellent goalkeeping.

    As County began to grow more into the game they enjoyed a period of possession but Ross Laidlaw had little or nothing to do. It seemed to me that County’s tactic was to launch the ball into the Hibs box and hope for a fluffed clearance or a mistake by the keeper. They got neither and Hibs deservedly went in at the break a goal ahead. One thing I did notice in that first half was that County seemed to be trying to find a flaw in Steven Whittaker’s play. Time after time a long ball was launched in his direction and though he didn’t deal with them all he stuck to his task, ably assisted at times by Martin Boyle.

    If Laidlaw was largely redundant in the first half he more than earned his wages in the second with two point blank saves. The first saw Gardyne through on goal but when he got his shot away, Laidlaw made and instinctive save in pushing the ball onto the post and away to safety. The next effort came from Schalk with this save even better than the last. In truth the keeper had no right to save it but he did and it was crucial because at the other end Hibs had passed up a few good chances to double their lead. Both Murray and Stokes had fine efforts saved by Fox while a Steven Whittaker pile driver took a nick off a defender and flew just beyond Fox’s far post. A late free kick from Stokes beat the keeper but hit the outside of the post and when the whistle sounded it’s fair to say the best team won.

    The players

    Ross Laidlaw – Kept his concentration well throughout and dealt with every ball into his area bar one. Two crucial saves in the second half and I hope he reproduces this form next week.

    Whitty – Had a bit of a torrid time as he was targeted throughout by County. Substitute Keilor-Dunn made sure Whitty needed to keep his wits about him in the second half. As an aside, the young lad looks a real prospect.

    Efe – Last time out I was critical of Efe for not winning enough headers but today he won his fair share and had a solid game against Billy McKay

    Paul Hanlon – Scored the decisive goal, defended well and crucially near the end when, on two occasions, he cleared a ball inside the six yard box.

    Lewis – The wee man was rock solid again and on two occasions in the first half made danger clearing headers when up against a guy who was a good few inches taller.

    Boyler – I thought Martin was outstanding in the first half, faded for a while after the break and then finished strongly. If I had a criticism it would be that he needs to trust his ability in getting a shot away more quickly.

    SJM – It pains me to say it but I felt that was John’s poorest performance for Hibs in a very long time. He did take a first half knock, which may have restricted him but the lung bursting runs etc. were missing. To his credit though, he never hides.

    Marv – Largely redundant in terms of being the midfield spoiler, mainly because the ball was sailing over his head most of the time as that was County’s tactic. I thought he was really unlucky to get booked after being fouled by Draper and getting up to shout in the County man’s face.

    Dylan – I was thrilled when I saw that Dylan was starting but am of the view that when asked to play wide left, as he was today, he isn’t anywhere near as influential as he can be.

    Simon Murray – Once again the laddie worked his socks off and I thought I could see the beginnings of a strike partnership with Stokes. Simon’s still learning but he’s sticking to his task well.

    Stokesy – Another good performance and was unlucky twice with well struck free kicks. Sometimes accused of not working hard enough he couldn’t be accused of that today.

    The Lithuanians – double substitution with five minutes left saw McGeouch and Murray replaced. They didn’t have time to show much and I felt it was ironic that the high balls played into the County box for the first 85 minutes suddenly dried up, just when we had someone there with the stature to attack them!

    Man of the match - a few contenders with Laidlaw, Lewis and Paul close to it but on reflection I'm giving it to Stokesy

    The Ref – Andrew Dallas made some baffling calls, affecting both sides and annoying both sets of supporters. I’ve no doubt his Dad would be proud of him.

    The fans – Brilliant support once again. Sporadically noisy and missing the drummer but like me, they’d all be pleased with the result.
    Great report John, thanks very much, great to get honest feedback

  7. #6
    @hibs.net private member Carheenlea's Avatar
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    You were sat just a couple of seats in front of me John, so I'm sure you also thought Stoksies free kick was going in from our view - great strike and great movement of the ball from distance. Can't argue with your assessment other than your displeasure of the A9, the scenery is slightly more pleasing on the eye than trips to Motherwell and Hamilton, and most of our away excursions to be fair!
    Last edited by Carheenlea; 23-09-2017 at 10:51 PM.

  8. #7
    Thanks for this - this is my 'go-to' place for Hibs write-ups.
    I appreciate your hard work.

  9. #8
    @hibs.net private member Billy Whizz's Avatar
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    Agree with all of this Jonnyboy. We should have won this far more comfortably though, I was getting frustrated with the amount of excellent chances we missed, and then we needed Ross to bail us out. Your report would have been a bit different if they had equalised.

    Getting a bit frustrated with McGinn, not sure what it is, but he’s definitely under par, and his shooting is woeful. Maybe being more closely marked by other teams now?

    Hopefully the win kick starts our winning league form

  10. #9
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    Once again enjoyed reading your take on the match day experience allied with a well constructed concise report on the game and individual player performances. Great stuff.

    GGTTH

  11. #10
    Old Codger Hibstorian Jonnyboy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Carheenlea View Post
    This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
    You were sat just a couple of seats in front of me John, so I'm sure you also thought Stoksies free kick was going in from our view - great strike and great movement of the ball from distance. Can't argue with your assessment other than your displeasure of the A9, the scenery is slightly more pleasing on the eye than trips to Motherwell and Hamilton, and most of our away excursions to be fair!
    You should have said hello

    Don't get me wrong re the A9 it offers up magnificent scenery as you say. It's the road itself that grinds you down! At one point my brother was doing 90 and was overtaken by the Four in Hand minibus ... crazy
    This is how it feels

  12. #11
    Private Members Prediction League Winner Hibrandenburg's Avatar
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    Thanks JB. Especially appreciated this time because I've not had much access to the media this WE.

  13. #12
    Testimonial Due SeanWilson's Avatar
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    Love reading these, cheers 👍

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