ADO Den Haag 2 V Hibs 1 - FT

[bingo70]

It's good for those things. It's pretty pish if you're looking to get the shape right and decent performance levels given the first game of the season is in a week's time.

Is it one more game we've got before we play the first leg?

[hibs0666]

Another lesson in ball retention on this trip. We can only live in hope that it will be alright next Thursday night.

[RickyS]

Nonetheless, I never enjoy losing.

me neither, i seem to remember Mixu getting a hard time when we lost most if not all of our pre-season games and we were fed the "its all about fitness" and "being ready for the first game"

[Spike Mandela]

I'm actually not to bothered. It's a pre-season game. It's all about getting the tactics and the line up right for the start of the season. Also a good chance to give people that don't usually get games a chance :agree:

Yeah but it's 1 week till our first competitive game and a crucial one at that:grr:

[HIBERNIAN-0762]

Nonetheless, I never enjoy losing.


Agreed 100%

[hibs0666]

Is it one more game we've got before we play the first leg?

One more. From watching that game we could certainly do with the tie being a few weeks later than it is.

[PeeJay]

We were pretty awful - one or two nice touches and opportunities, but overall they were the better organised team. Typical British team - unable to pass and control the ball over lenghty stretches, first touch awful. Not a lot to be confident about - maybe we're trying to lull our European League opponents/spies into a false sense of security? :wink:

[HIBERNIAN-0762]

Full time :boo hoo:

[hibs0666]

Not a lot to be confident about - maybe were trying to lull our European League opponents/spies into a false sense of security? :wink:

If it's having the same effect on them as it is me then it's working a treat. :wink:

[Spike Mandela]

Would settle for a 2-1 defeat in the away leg next week right enough.:cool2:

[RickyS]

If it's having the same effect on them as it is me then it's working a treat. :wink:
:faf:

[Bobo]

Good first minute with another well executed free kick by Riordan and follow up by Hart but afterwards we didn’t have enough possession of the ball and were on the back foot for most of the game. Needless to say we didn’t really create that much at all.

Poor defending cost both goals as well as a few other dodgy moments at the back. Both full back areas are, IMO, very weak with too many uncontested crosses flashing across our goalmouth. We definitely need the addition of an experienced centre half and left back, as priority, or will defensively be found wanting again this season.

When on the ball our passing and movement is pretty good but playing one man up front gifts too much possession back to the opposition with the ball coming back too quickly causing the midfield to work really hard to try and keep the ball up top.

I’m not a fan of 4-5-1 (4-4-1-1) and hate watching Hibs play it as I prefer to see us take the game to teams rather than try to soak up pressure and stifle opponents. It also leads to too much football being played in and around the edge of our own penalty area which is always dodgy even with a good defence.

The introduction of De Graff, Wotherspoon and Miller saw a slight change in shape with Thicot taking over at right back but you could still drive a bus through the left back channel, especially for their 2nd goal.

It looks like Yogi’s going to use this formation in our European ties so look for us conceding a lot of possession, sadly it’s not going to be pretty to watch, tactically not adventurous enough for me.

[PeeJay]

Good first minute with another well executed free kick by Riordan and follow up by Hart but afterwards we didn’t have enough possession of the ball and were on the back foot for most of the game. Needless to say we didn’t really create that much at all.

Poor defending cost both goals as well as a few other dodgy moments at the back. Both full back areas are, IMO, very weak with too many uncontested crosses flashing across our goalmouth. We definitely need the addition of an experienced centre half and left back, as priority, or will defensively be found wanting again this season.

When on the ball our passing and movement is pretty good but playing one man up front gifts too much possession back to the opposition with the ball coming back too quickly causing the midfield to work really hard to try and keep the ball up top.

I’m not a fan of 4-5-1 (4-4-1-1) and hate watching Hibs play it as I prefer to see us take the game to teams rather than try to soak up pressure and stifle opponents. It also leads to too much football being played in and around the edge of our own penalty area which is always dodgy even with a good defence.

The introduction of De Graff, Wotherspoon and Miller saw a slight change in shape with Thicot taking over at right back but you could still drive a bus through the left back channel, especially for their 2nd goal.

It looks like Yogi’s going to use this formation in our European ties so look for us conceding a lot of possession, sadly it’s not going to be pretty to watch, tactically not adventurous enough for me.

Good post!:top marks

[bingo70]

me neither, i seem to remember Mixu getting a hard time when we lost most if not all of our pre-season games and we were fed the "its all about fitness" and "being ready for the first game"

That was different, IIRC we didn't win a game or even socre a goal during that pre-season and we weren't playing against top division dutch teams, it was against the likes of Cowdenbeath.

Although it is nice to win games and good for confidence when playing teams like this it is more important to build up fitness IMO.


One more. From watching that game we could certainly do with the tie being a few weeks later than it is.

Said this the other day but one of our previous managers, can't remember who it was, mentioned that quite often during pre-season there'll be a full training session before the game so i'm not going to worry too much if it was a poor performance, playing against european opposition that are big on ball retention will have been a good work out for the players so i'm happy.

[hibs0666]

Said this the other day but one of our previous managers, can't remember who it was, mentioned that quite often during pre-season there'll be a full training session before the game so i'm not going to worry too much if it was a poor performance, playing against european opposition that are big on ball retention will have been a good work out for the players so i'm happy.

I guess it would be the same for the opposition, and they certainly coped a lot better with their full training session than our mob.

[trev the hat]

Lets hope he fields a strong settled team on sat for at least 65 min barring injuries as that defence certainly cant be his line up come thurs.
Didnt like seeing Miller moaning at young Stephens after 2nd goal as Miller had only just came on.

Give this back four at least an hour on sat.- Hart Stephens Hogg Murray
Dont think Hanlon likes playin alongside Hogg for some reason..

Also if Murray was to play in front of the back four ( prob his best/favoured position ) Hanlon colud play LB

[bingo70]

I guess it would be the same for the opposition, and they certainly coped a lot better with their full training session than our mob.

Not necessarily, they don't have a game to prepare for next week so a game in the evening might be fine for where they're at in there pre-season schedule.

[Danderhall Hibs]

Dont think Hanlon likes playin alongside Hogg for some reason..
Also if Murray was to play in front of the back four ( prob his best/favoured position ) Hanlon colud play LB

I'd play Hanlon at CH and bin Hogg then. Hanlon's not a patch on Murray at LB IMO.

[bingo70]

Lets hope he fields a strong settled team on sat for at least 65 min barring injuries as that defence certainly cant be his line up come thurs.
Didnt like seeing Miller moaning at young Stephens after 2nd goal as Miller had only just came on.

Give this back four at least an hour on sat.- Hart Stephens Hogg Murray
Dont think Hanlon likes playin alongside Hogg for some reason..

Also if Murray was to play in front of the back four ( prob his best/favoured position ) Hanlon colud play LB

Not going to happen, IMO he's not got the mobility or ability on the ball to play there and the last time he was played in midfield he was pish.

[TheBall'sRound]

Good first minute with another well executed free kick by Riordan and follow up by Hart but afterwards we didn’t have enough possession of the ball and were on the back foot for most of the game. Needless to say we didn’t really create that much at all.

Poor defending cost both goals as well as a few other dodgy moments at the back. Both full back areas are, IMO, very weak with too many uncontested crosses flashing across our goalmouth. We definitely need the addition of an experienced centre half and left back, as priority, or will defensively be found wanting again this season.

When on the ball our passing and movement is pretty good but playing one man up front gifts too much possession back to the opposition with the ball coming back too quickly causing the midfield to work really hard to try and keep the ball up top.

I’m not a fan of 4-5-1 (4-4-1-1) and hate watching Hibs play it as I prefer to see us take the game to teams rather than try to soak up pressure and stifle opponents. It also leads to too much football being played in and around the edge of our own penalty area which is always dodgy even with a good defence.

The introduction of De Graff, Wotherspoon and Miller saw a slight change in shape with Thicot taking over at right back but you could still drive a bus through the left back channel, especially for their 2nd goal.

It looks like Yogi’s going to use this formation in our European ties so look for us conceding a lot of possession, sadly it’s not going to be pretty to watch, tactically not adventurous enough for me.

This could be a comment from practically any game in the past 8 months...

[mjhibby]

The whole point of these games is to get everybody ready for the game next thursday.If we really wanted to just win this game then im sure yogi would have put his strongest team out against them but all the guys hwo wont be playing next week need a run out or two in case they are needed.By my reckoning of those who started the game only 4 are likely to play next thursday so while it is nice to win yogi is having to prepare for a euro tie and as such has set out to get guys fit and ready to play in those two games.Unfortunately they are still games which we will look to get the guys ready for the well league opener as well.Had we not been playing the euro ties im sure yogi would have done preseason totally differently.
Remember we are playing against decent opposition unlike other teams so lets judge it as such and cheer the guys on come next thursday.Not too bothered about the score as its fitness that matters right now.

[trev the hat]

Not going to happen, IMO he's not got the mobility or ability on the ball to play there and the last time he was played in midfield he was pish.

Doesnt need to play there all season but in Europe it could be beneficial.
And IMO this would work well abroad.

[hibs0666]

Not necessarily, they don't have a game to prepare for next week so a game in the evening might be fine for where they're at in there pre-season schedule.

Very much doubt that the opposition will have treated today's game in any way differently to us.

[bingo70]

Doesnt need to play there all season but in Europe it could be beneficial.
And IMO this would work well abroad.

Disagree, if it wouldn't suit him playing there for SPL games i don't see why it would work him playing there in europe?

I think we need to move on from people thinking he can still play there, that was a long long time ago since he last played in midfield, and lets face it, he obviously got moved to left back for a reason, so i don't want to be relying on him as being the saviour for our midfield.

I don't actaully agree that there's any problems with our left back position, leave him there for now with Booth challenging him for his place this season and try and bring in a proper midfielder to fix our midfield problem.

[bingo70]

Very much doubt that the opposition will have treated today's game in any way differently to us.

Guesswork i suppose, i don't know the first thing about them or how there pre-season preperation is coming along, the point still stands though that IMO you can't tell anything from that tonight.

Someone else has said that only 4 of our starting 11 tonight are likely to start next week, any idea how many of there strongest 11 started tonight?

[trev the hat]

Disagree, if it wouldn't suit him playing there for SPL games i don't see why it would work him playing there in europe?

I think we need to move on from people thinking he can still play there, that was a long long time ago since he last played in midfield, and lets face it, he obviously got moved to left back for a reason, so i don't want to be relying on him as being the saviour for our midfield.

I don't actaully agree that there's any problems with our left back position, leave him there for now with Booth challenging him for his place this season and try and bring in a proper midfielder to fix our midfield problem.

As good as Murray is he is def not a LB although he adapts well. He was targeted by all 3 teams finishing above us last season as slow.
I am one of IM biggest fans and i think its the defence that needs protecting not our midfield and no one would sit as a solid defensive mid as him. He has Miller and De Graff/Mcbride infront of him for ball retention as thats not his game. Our two CH is where the problem lies and as we dont have any Sauzees to grace us we can protect the experience and youth that we have at CH at the moment.

[HibbiesandtheBaddies]

Hope Cliff Pike is back to do the interviews and commentary when the season starts......

[bingo70]

As good as Murray is he is def not a LB although he adapts well. He was targeted by all 3 teams finishing above us last season as slow.
I am one of IM biggest fans and i think its the defence that needs protecting not our midfield and no one would sit as a solid defensive mid as him. He has Miller and De Graff/Mcbride infront of him for ball retention as thats not his game. Our two CH is where the problem lies and as we dont have any Sauzees to grace us we can protect the experience and youth that we have at CH at the moment.

Guess we'll just need to agree to disagree then, IMO Murray is a solid enough player, he's no bobby carlos but he'll do there for another season at least, i agree that the defence needs to toughen up though so if Booth comes in and shows he can hack it i'd be happy enough moving Murray into centre defence, but i definately don't want to be relying on him in midfield and i definately don't want to be wasting a wage on another left back when we've got other clear priorities.

[trev the hat]

Guess we'll just need to agree to disagree then, IMO Murray is a solid enough player, he's no bobby carlos but he'll do there for another season at least, i agree that the defence needs to toughen up though so if Booth comes in and shows he can hack it i'd be happy enough moving Murray into centre defence, but i definately don't want to be relying on him in midfield and i definately don't want to be wasting a wage on another left back when we've got other clear priorities.

No prob. Always a good debate.
I hope I,m feeling a bit more optomistic after sat. Just have bad thoughts of our two CH and think they need supporting.

[fife hfc]

As good as Murray is he is def not a LB although he adapts well. He was targeted by all 3 teams finishing above us last season as slow.
I am one of IM biggest fans and i think its the defence that needs protecting not our midfield and no one would sit as a solid defensive mid as him. He has Miller and De Graff/Mcbride infront of him for ball retention as thats not his game. Our two CH is where the problem lies and as we dont have any Sauzees to grace us we can protect the experience and youth that we have at CH at the moment.

I don't agree with that. teams targeted wotherspoon and murray because they had no protection in front of them and teams knew they could overload on them to good effect. It was the system we played that exposed our full back not their inability to defend. Murray was one of our most consistent performers from left back up until the final few weeks of the season and if we give our full backs more protection then Murray will again be one of our top performers.

[bingo70]

No prob. Always a good debate.
I hope I,m feeling a bit more optomistic after sat. Just have bad thoughts of our two CH and think they need supporting.

Agree with that and i think the biggest priority this summer along with the right back should have been a defensive midfielder, Mcbride was ok but he's not reliable enough plus i'd rather have someone in there with a bit pace.

How did Stephens do today?

[trev the hat]

Agree with that and i think the biggest priority this summer along with the right back should have been a defensive midfielder, Mcbride was ok but he's not reliable enough plus i'd rather have someone in there with a bit pace.

How did Stephens do today?


I onlt saw 2nd half and i think he was subbed not long after 2nd goal.
From what i saw tho would have no qualms pitching him from the start.Also maybe Yogi could play Stephens and Hanlon together on sat and give the young guys a bit of a confidence boost. Hanlon has much better pace than Hogg although Stephens would need to command in the air.
A big ask of those youthful shoulders but not beyond them.

[euro Hibby]

difficult to comment since I did not see the game but judging from the critics here we are pretty much where we were last year. This should not be a surprise. The nice new stand is not going to help the standard on the field but the new pitch should help us. Playing staff is pretty much the same, 2 experienced in and one young defender. Big Sol gone awol and I don't really think we can expect much much better until a couple of months int the season which puts Europa cup very much at risk. We do miss Zemmana and we do need a new rising star if we want to do something this year. I still think we were lucky last year. A good early run of form with a good dose of luck and then the mighty fall and a bit of fortune again saw us get our chance in the Europa....... early doors to say the least but I wonder if Scottish footballers are good learners ?

[sunshine1875]

Guesswork i suppose, i don't know the first thing about them or how there pre-season preperation is coming along, the point still stands though that IMO you can't tell anything from that tonight.

Someone else has said that only 4 of our starting 11 tonight are likely to start next week, any idea how many of there strongest 11 started tonight?

I don't know if they had their strongest team out, but a look at how they used their substitutes tells you they were taking the game seriously. Only one sub came on against our six (assuming the Scotsman's report is correct),

ADO Den Haag: Coutinho, Ammi, Derijck, Bosschaart, Toornstra, Buijs, Immers, van den Bergh (Visser 76), Verhoek, Supusepa, Kubik. Subs: Boks, Kum, Powel, Ignacio, Gielisse.

Hibernian: Brown; Hart (Wotherspoon 56), Stephens (Hogg 65), Hanlon, Stevenson (Murray 65); Thicot; McBride, Currie (De Graaf 56); Galbraith (Miller 56), Stokes, Riordan (Nish 65).

[Phil MaGlass]

I'm actually not to bothered. It's a pre-season game. It's all about getting the tactics and the line up right for the start of the season. Also a good chance to give people that don't usually get games a chance :agree:

With our european games about to KO we should be playing a more solid settled team, as for getting the right line up and tactics, i think we are very far from it.We were pretty mince last nite, even in a friendly we should be beating teams like The Hague,our defence was a shambles and the midfield was non existant,at one point I actually tjhought Deeks had been moved into defence.We created nothing last nite apart from the goal.

[PaulSmith]

With our european games about to KO we should be playing a more solid settled team, as for getting the right line up and tactics, i think we are very far from it.We were pretty mince last nite, even in a friendly we should be beating teams like The Hague,our defence was a shambles and the midfield was non existant,at one point I actually tjhought Deeks had been moved into defence.We created nothing last nite apart from the goal.

Brown; Hart (Wotherspoon 56), Stephens (Hogg 65), Hanlon, Stevenson (Murray 65); Thicot; McBride, Currie (De Graaf 56); Galbraith (Miller 56), Stokes, Riordan (Nish 65).

There's 5 players who won't start in the Europa League tie. It's a friendly the week before a huge game for the club, like it or not players will not be going 100% in these games and management team will be more concerned with not getting injuries.