Official Site: KEATINGS HAT-TRICK HELPS HIBERNIAN XI TO WIN OVER COLDSTREAM

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More... (http://www.hibernianfc.co.uk/news/6646)

[Phil MaGlass]

Just me, but I never see the good in playing games like this. No real competition.

[Billy Whizz]

Just me, but I never see the good in playing games like this. No real competition.

It's about giving players who haven't had too much game time, a run out

[J-C]

It's about giving players who haven't had too much game time, a run out


And scoring a good few goals isn't a bad thing for confidence either. :wink:

[MWHIBBIES]

Just me, but I never see the good in playing games like this. No real competition.Confidence and fitness.

[Iggy Pope]

Just me, but I never see the good in playing games like this. No real competition.

Puts a bit back into grass roots clubs that need the income.

[Mibbes Aye]

Just me, but I never see the good in playing games like this. No real competition.

The younger guys get the chance to play against grown men, with the physicality that comes with that. At the end of the match I walked past a Coldstream player talking to his friends or family on the touchline and he was moaning about how our guys thought they were "untouchable". If they're going to make it at first-team level then there's no harm learning to play against teams who can't match them for ability but will get stuck in.

Teams like Coldstream also make us play - in the first half they worked really hard to limit our options and despite dominating possession we had only scored from a long-range shot and a penalty won due to a clumsy challenge by the keeper. Although we pulled away after the break we had to work, change positioning etc

I posted this on another thread recently but there's also good promotional value in Hibs playing in the Borders. There's scope to add to our fanbase as there's a growing population and there isn't a natural Scottish club for people to affiliate themselves with.

[Brightside]

Just me, but I never see the good in playing games like this. No real competition.

Aye best not to bother with player fitness.

[snooky]

Hopefully parents take their kids to these type of games for their first outing and they might start following Hibs :dunno:

[truehibernian]

Just me, but I never see the good in playing games like this. No real competition.

Not being funny but have you ever played football to a decent standard ? Even in juvenile, junior and senior football you need a pre-season - 4/5 weeks inactivity tells.

[GreenNWhiteArmy]

Hopefully parents take their kids to these type of games for their first outing and they might start following Hibs :dunno:

I remember going up to Gala and another game up the borders when I was wee with my parents. Loved it. That season began a 10 year long season ticket for my family

[NadeAteMyLunch!]

The younger guys get the chance to play against grown men, with the physicality that comes with that. At the end of the match I walked past a Coldstream player talking to his friends or family on the touchline and he was moaning about how our guys thought they were "untouchable". If they're going to make it at first-team level then there's no harm learning to play against teams who can't match them for ability but will get stuck in.

Teams like Coldstream also make us play - in the first half they worked really hard to limit our options and despite dominating possession we had only scored from a long-range shot and a penalty won due to a clumsy challenge by the keeper. Although we pulled away after the break we had to work, change positioning etc

I posted this on another thread recently but there's also good promotional value in Hibs playing in the Borders. There's scope to add to our fanbase as there's a growing population and there isn't a natural Scottish club for people to affiliate themselves with.

And a train line now that makes travel from the Borders to the east end of Princes St far easier. I've also been saying we should be tapping into this more than we currently are.

[Mibbes Aye]

And a train line now that makes travel from the Borders to the east end of Princes St far easier. I've also been saying we should be tapping into this more than we currently are.

:agree:

We've played a few games down in the Borders in recent years, this season feels more concentrated with games in Hawick, Coldstream, Selkirk and Gala.

The latter two are perhaps more handy for the train line but it all helps build up our club's profile. The train makes a massive difference.

[GloryGlory]

And scoring a good few goals isn't a bad thing for confidence either. :wink:

Wasn't it the famous Hungarian team of the 1950s which used to play friendlies against very weak opposition and score a barrowload of goals? the coach made that very point that it helped to build confidence.

[J-C]

Wasn't it the famous Hungarian team of the 1950s which used to play friendlies against very weak opposition and score a barrowload of goals? the coach made that very point that it helped to build confidence.


Friendlies are just that, a chance to build up fitness levels, score goals and get the confidence high before the season begins, Stubbs 1st pre season was a shambles due to the state the club was in at the time but I was very concerned about our build up to last season, off to La Manga, closed doors game and 2-3 friendlies before being humped by Rangers in the Petrofac. People kept saying that the Rangers game was still a pre season as the Petrofac was a diddy cup etc but we handed psychological advantage to Rangers that day and we never caught up with them until the cup final.

This season is very much different, 4 good friendlies so far with Birmingham and Shrewsbury to come, plus a good run out against Brondby the other night, we will be sharper and match fit when the season starts and that'll make all the difference.

[Andy74]

Friendlies are just that, a chance to build up fitness levels, score goals and get the confidence high before the season begins, Stubbs 1st pre season was a shambles due to the state the club was in at the time but I was very concerned about our build up to last season, off to La Manga, closed doors game and 2-3 friendlies before being humped by Rangers in the Petrofac. People kept saying that the Rangers game was still a pre season as the Petrofac was a diddy cup etc but we handed psychological advantage to Rangers that day and we never caught up with them until the cup final.

This season is very much different, 4 good friendlies so far with Birmingham and Shrewsbury to come, plus a good run out against Brondby the other night, we will be sharper and match fit when the season starts and that'll make all the difference.

Agree - last year the build up was very poor. Not helped by every player we brought in being injured it seemed. The Allan thing just topped it off but I don't think the prep was right even allowing for that.

[pacoluna]

Not being funny but have you ever played football to a decent standard ? Even in juvenile, junior and senior football you need a pre-season - 4/5 weeks inactivity tells.
I do, and from my own opinion its beneficial to play against harder opposition as off the ball it's a lot more physically demanding meaning a much better work out for pre season plus you can play a more structured formation, when putting 8 past a team most players are inclined to push up and perhaps lose their shape which is not ideal.

[ancient hibee]

Friendlies are just that, a chance to build up fitness levels, score goals and get the confidence high before the season begins, Stubbs 1st pre season was a shambles due to the state the club was in at the time but I was very concerned about our build up to last season, off to La Manga, closed doors game and 2-3 friendlies before being humped by Rangers in the Petrofac. People kept saying that the Rangers game was still a pre season as the Petrofac was a diddy cup etc but we handed psychological advantage to Rangers that day and we never caught up with them until the cup final.

This season is very much different, 4 good friendlies so far with Birmingham and Shrewsbury to come, plus a good run out against Brondby the other night, we will be sharper and match fit when the season starts and that'll make all the difference.
Quite right.Good to see Harris getting involved in the goals.

[J-C]

I do, and from my own opinion its beneficial to play against harder opposition as off the ball it's a lot more physically demanding meaning a much better work out for pre season plus you can play a more structured formation, when putting 8 past a team most players are inclined to push up and perhaps lose their shape which is not ideal.


We will be playing tougher opposition though, Birmingham and Shrewsbury, you don't go straight into tough matches, you build up to them. The Motherwell game was needed at that time because we had a game against Brondby, otherwise I'm sure that game would've been played nearer our season kick off.

[Mibbes Aye]

I do, and from my own opinion its beneficial to play against harder opposition as off the ball it's a lot more physically demanding meaning a much better work out for pre season plus you can play a more structured formation, when putting 8 past a team most players are inclined to push up and perhaps lose their shape which is not ideal.

I think you're forgetting this was the development squad, not the first team. Almost all the players who would be pushing for the first team - Carmichael, Keatings etc - were off the field by midway through the second half. It was matchtime for them in a real game, nothing more or less. If they do make it into Lennon's plans they will be playing with very different colleagues than those they were with on Saturday.

The point about structure is unfair - if you were at the game you would have seen that the team held their shape from back to front very effectively for the whole match, despite numerous substitutions and regardless of what the score was.

[MWHIBBIES]

Friendlies are just that, a chance to build up fitness levels, score goals and get the confidence high before the season begins, Stubbs 1st pre season was a shambles due to the state the club was in at the time but I was very concerned about our build up to last season, off to La Manga, closed doors game and 2-3 friendlies before being humped by Rangers in the Petrofac. People kept saying that the Rangers game was still a pre season as the Petrofac was a diddy cup etc but we handed psychological advantage to Rangers that day and we never caught up with them until the cup final.

This season is very much different, 4 good friendlies so far with Birmingham and Shrewsbury to come, plus a good run out against Brondby the other night, we will be sharper and match fit when the season starts and that'll make all the difference.Having 9 first team players injured is why we lost to Rangers, we were all over them till Malonga went off.