The full backs.

[yerauldda]

So so much better with wingers playing in front of them and without the added pressure of having to supply all the width to the team.

Stevenson in particular was excellent and had his best game for months.

[David_D]

Stevenson's ball out to humpreys which led to our second goal was superb.

[Scott Allan Key]

Stevenson's dummy on the touch line then move up was a man returning to form, knowing he has cover and support fore or aft.

[Hibbyradge]

Exactly right.

Well done, Neil Lennon.

[hibee_girl]

Stevenson's ball out to humpreys which led to our second goal was superb.

:agree: fantastic ball from him

[lyonhibs]

:agree: fantastic ball from him

Did he not win a great tackle and the ball pinged out to Humphrey as a result? It didn't look like a deliberate pass to me, but I may well be wrong.

Either way, fantastic performance from him

[Borderhibbie76]

Lewy was back to his best last night solid as a rock defensively and looked more confident going forward knowing he had support in Boyle ahead of him - Sir David was much better too on the other side

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[BoomtownHibees]

Did he not win a great tackle and the ball pinged out to Humphrey as a result? It didn't look like a deliberate pass to me, but I may well be wrong.

Either way, fantastic performance from him

Yeah it was a crunching tackle that sent the ball all the way over to Humphrey

[Baw187]

So so much better with wingers playing in front of them and without the added pressure of having to supply all the width to the team.

Stevenson in particular was excellent and had his best game for months.

Spot on!

Showed what many have said in that Gray and Stevenson are good fullbacks. Our reliance on using them as our wide options has neither suited them or the team and I hope we will now see the end of that with genuine width in the team.

[hibee_girl]

Did he not win a great tackle and the ball pinged out to Humphrey as a result? It didn't look like a deliberate pass to me, but I may well be wrong.

Either way, fantastic performance from him

If you watch it again he gets the ball away before the tackle comes in.

He totally meant it :greengrin

[superfurryhibby]

Hats off to the two full backs, Stevenson in particular. Both had good games and benefitted from having a man playing in front of them. Fine defensive work and they both linked up well with the wingers. It's only one game, but the tactical changes we saw tonight suggest that this is the way forward. We looked very comfortable and restricted Utd to a few half chances, with out keeper only making one save.

[H18 SFR]

Both solid Scottish premiership quality full backs. The pressure is off them not operating as wing backs.

[Onion]

Both solid Scottish premiership quality full backs. The pressure is off them not operating as wing backs.

:agree: Both looked much more comfortable focusing on the one job of defending, and played well. Much better balance to whole team last night.

[HTD1875]

Couldn't agree more I've critised Stevenson and our general lack of creativity and flair in the wide areas all season but looks like Lennon has spotted a weakness and sorted it. Sign of a good manager.

[Brightside]

Totally agree. Both excellent now they are allowed to do the main job.

[J-C]

We've all said play them as fullbacks and get natural width in the team and it worked.

[Winston Ingram]

So so much better with wingers playing in front of them and without the added pressure of having to supply all the width to the team.

Stevenson in particular was excellent and had his best game for months.

Both of them showed what quality full backs they are.

[Shrekko]

All 4 defenders were outstanding last night and I hope they're here for years to come.

[HibernianJK]

Normally a critic of Stevenson but he was superb last night as was Gray.

But cmon guys, that pass to Humphrey for the 2nd was wasn't meant :greengrin

[NadeAteMyLunch!]

They have both received a lot of unfair criticism recently. They are full backs who have not made any mistakes in defence. Both have struggled to power up the wings and supply great crosses but then most full backs would. Unless you have consistently played wing back, you maybe don't appreciate how difficult and thankless it can be at times.

It's a position definitely more suited to the likes of Victor Moses at Chelsea who is playing it perfectly this season. An out and out winger who can leave the three centre backs to do the bulk of defending, tuck in when necessary but 90% of the time be looking to attack at pace. It's brutal expecting Gray and Stevenson to try and play this role well. So glad we've finally addressed this.

[My_Wife_Camille]

Been saying all season that these two are as good as anybody when they get to focus on their defensive jobs instead of playing as wide midfielders. Not surprised at all that they are both returning to form now we are playing 4 at the back

[Danderhall Hibs]

Both were great last night - as has been said playing as full backs rather than wing backs.

Gray never lets us down in big matches.

Did anyone else clock Stevenson's sprint through when cumming ran clear about 18-20 minutes in? He didn't get the ball - I think he played it to Commons in the end but the desire to get there from his was brilliant.

[Is It On....]

Lewy was back to his best last night solid as a rock defensively and looked more confident going forward knowing he had support in Boyle ahead of him - Sir David was much better too on the other side

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Two defenders that are good at defending can now pass the ball to two wingers that are good at attacking. Sounds simple doesn't it 🙂

[Borderhibbie76]

Two defenders that are good at defending can now pass the ball to two wingers that are good at attacking. Sounds simple doesn't it 🙂
Yup it's not rocket science mate...can't believe it's taken 2.5 years to rectify this tbh

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[hibby6270]

Totally agree. As good as both Gray and Stevenson were last night doing what they do best - defend - what I noticed was that they were ably assisted by both Humphrey and Boyle in defending when necessary. Humphrey maybe more so than Boyle. Certainly in the first half there were occasions where Humphrey was as much in our half of the field on the right wing to give added cover. I'm sure that's not his natural way of playing but probably following tactical instruction to track back where necessary. Either way it added to what was an excellent attacking debut for Humphrey. Boyle did what he does best. Got the ball and just ran at their defence. Sometimes it paid off. Sometimes it didn't. United just couldn't handle it.

[Vault Boy]

Said this to my dad last night. They're both very good defenders who are capable of attacking when there's an opportunity to do so - not when they're depended on for it. Will be back to form with this new shape I'm sure!

[Jonnyboy]

Did he not win a great tackle and the ball pinged out to Humphrey as a result? It didn't look like a deliberate pass to me, but I may well be wrong.

Either way, fantastic performance from him

Reminded me a lot of the David Murphy challenge/pass that set Ivan off for the first of his hat trick at Greyskull


Both were great last night - as has been said playing as full backs rather than wing backs.

Gray never lets us down in big matches.

Did anyone else clock Stevenson's sprint through when cumming ran clear about 18-20 minutes in? He didn't get the ball - I think he played it to Commons in the end but the desire to get there from his was brilliant.

Yep. Commented on it at the time to my mate. He bust a gut to get into their box

[Danderhall Hibs]

Reminded me a lot of the David Murphy challenge/pass that set Ivan off for the first of his hat trick at Greyskull



Yep. Commented on it at the time to my mate. He bust a gut to get into their box

I watched the game again this afternoon and it's not that obvious on tv (happens at around 15mins).

[ancient hibee]

Watched the game on TV today and what wasn't always obvious last night was the number of players we had at either end of the pitch getting involved.At one stage there was one United player on screen surrounded by six of ours.

[Dashing Bob S]

Watched the game on TV today and what wasn't always obvious last night was the number of players we had at either end of the pitch getting involved.At one stage there was one United player on screen surrounded by six of ours.

Loved that hunger and organisation. We were right into them from the start and they looked really nervous.

[GreenLake]

They have both received a lot of unfair criticism recently. They are full backs who have not made any mistakes in defence. Both have struggled to power up the wings and supply great crosses but then most full backs would. Unless you have consistently played wing back, you maybe don't appreciate how difficult and thankless it can be at times.

It's a position definitely more suited to the likes of Victor Moses at Chelsea who is playing it perfectly this season. An out and out winger who can leave the three centre backs to do the bulk of defending, tuck in when necessary but 90% of the time be looking to attack at pace. It's brutal expecting Gray and Stevenson to try and play this role well. So glad we've finally addressed this.

Except for his defending against Spurs. :greengrin

[Hi Heid Yin]

I have been critical of Stevenson for a while, but I take my hat off to him. He was superb. Surely Lennon has finally acknowledged that Stevenson is no wingback and is much, much better when focused purely on being a left back. The new formation with two proper wingers was an absolute joy to behold and to watch. Even Gray had a brilliant game - knowing he had only to focus on his right back role.
A turning point in our season methinks!

[Pete]

I liked the formation but don't agree that Lennon has suddenly had this revelation. If you've been seeing it for months then I'm willing to bet that he's been seeing it for a little bit longer. The change is down to the tools at his disposal and his confidence in them to perform. Maybe he seen Boyle as a wide man but didn't see his mirror image on the other side up until now.

I'm also reluctant to cast Lewis and Gray as full backs as they've done ok as players providing width in the past. "Width and pace" seems to be the PlayStation managers solution to every problem and while it's something we've needed on occasion, it isn't the be all and end all. We need to be flexible, especially when we're back up in the top flight as we'll be playing some quality as well as some dross. Against the top teams we might have to play 3-5-2 or something similar because there is always the danger that they could play right through us.

It's encouraging that we've shown another side to our game but it's very much horses tor courses.