Jonnyboy
04-11-2017, 06:42 PM
The sun was shining on Leith today as upwards of 16,000 fans made their way to Easter Road for the match against Neil McCann’s Dundee. Of course Hibs were fresh off the back of three wins and three clean sheets in a seven day spell whilst the Dens Park outfit had lost their previous four league outings. With Anthony Stokes fit again, many felt he would be reinstated to the starting eleven but Neil Lennon chose instead to go with the team that had started against Kilmarnock and notched up an impressive 3-0 away win.
As the teams were announced I learned that McCann had dropped keeper Scott Bain and that pleased me because his performance in the corresponding fixture at Dens Park earlier in the season helped them win a point they scarcely deserved. It would be Elliot Parish between the posts and the stand in stood no chance as Hibs opened the scoring after a minute of play. Martin Boyle gained possession just inside the Dundee half and sprinted off towards the visitors’ goal. Beating two or three men on the way, Squirrel made an angle for himself as he entered the 18 yard box before rifling a low shot into the far corner of the net. I’ll be honest here and say I wondered whether the oft mentioned hammering of some team might actually transpire today, especially as Hibs pushed on in those opening exchanges, but it was not to be.
With McGinn virtually anonymous and McGeouch struggling to find a telling forward pass, Dundee began to take control of the game and after 20 minutes, Deacon bullied Lewis Stevenson off the ball before delivering a cross to the far post where Marcus Haber outjumped everyone to head home an equaliser. From then until half time the visitors dominated the ball and but for a fine block by Paul Hanlon they might have scored a second goal.
One thing that annoyed me and I’d wager almost the entire Hibernian support in that first half was the quite atrocious refereeing of John Beaton. Every time a Dundee player fell over a free kick was awarded and every time a Hibs player went down it was ‘play on’ and stop complaining. The man is hopeless and quite how he gets to referee at all, never mind at Grade 1 level is a mystery. On one particular occasion, Stokesy who replaced the injured Dylan had his legs chopped from under him but in Beaton’s eyes that was a fair challenge. More on Beaton later …..
Something had to change in the second half if Hibs were to get anything positive out of it and so it was interesting to see that Neil Lennon introduced Porteous and Slivka for Gray and Barker. That meant a change to three at the back and a bit more bite in midfield with Stokes playing in behind Murray. The effect was apparent as Hibs began to control more of the passages of play but not until after Rocky had pulled off a quite stunning save low to his right as a shot from the tricky El Bakhtaoui came through a sea of legs. In fact it could be argued that Rocky’s save provided a wake-up call to his team mates as they swarmed downfield in a move that ended with Stokes taking a Hanlon pass in his stride before netting but unfortunately the flag had gone up for offside.
Next came a further instalment in the John Beaton show when Simon Murray was flagged offside just inside the Dundee half. He didn’t look offside but it was given and a Dundee player placed the ball down just inside the Hibs half. Immediate protests from Hibs players were ignored as the referee allowed the kick to be taken.
When Ryan Porteous and a Dundee defender competed for a dropping ball, Beaton blew for a free kick against Porteous whilst the Dundee man went down like a sack of tatties. John McGinn was right there where it happened and bent to shout at the Dundee player for his apparent playacting which caused other Dundee players to step in. Before you knew it there was a scrum of a dozen or so players all pushing and jostling. It was mostly handbags and once things had died down, Beaton booked Porteous, Stokes and Hendry for their part in it all. In truth, red cards might have been in order for a few players but Beaton took the easy option.
Another good save from Marciano kept us on the edge of our seats before a quite brilliant second goal put Hibs ahead. Strangely it all started from an intercepted Hanlon pass half way inside the Dundee half. For whatever reason, the Dundee player gave the ball straight back to Paul who quickly picked out the unmarked Stokes about 20 yards from goal. Stokesy looked up, saw Simon Murray finding space and played a wonderful pass to the human dynamo who poked the ball home past Bishop.
The visitors were flagging now and Hibs should really have put the game to bed. A Boyle effort was cleared off the line before Murray wriggled free on the right and with both McGinn and Stokes in the six yard box, Simon sent in a high ball that cleared the heads of both players. Another Beaton mystery came along next when Kamara chopped down John McGinn and got a finger wagging telling off and then just a couple of minutes later the foul was replicated when McGinn downed Kamara but Beaton had the yellow card out before he’d even blown his whistle.
As the game petered out, Hanlon’s fierce shot went just wide and Hibs ran down the clock by retaining possession via a series of free kicks and corners. On the final whistle, Neil McCann made a beeline for Beaton and I’m left wondering what on earth he could have been complaining about. Perhaps he felt Kamara should have been booked for series of fouls or that El Bakhtaoui should have been booked much earlier than he was. No? I don’t think so.
The players
Rocky – absolutely no chance with the goal and his save from El Bakhtaoui was priceless.
David Gray – started well but seemed to fall into the same first half malaise of many of his colleagues.
Efe – no pipe and no slippers today, just an afternoon where Marcus Haber dominated him.
Paul Hanlon – excellent start and an excellent second half where he drove his team mates on and deservedly won both the sponsors and my man of the match award.
Lewis – the wee man had a torrid first half with Deacon causing him all sorts of problems. Definitely at fault for the Dundee goal though he’d be entitled to ask where the hell Brandon Barker was at the time. Had a good and strong second half.
Boyler – a whirlwind start from Boyler with a wonderfully created and taken opening goal. Gave Kevin Holt a few problems throughout the 90 minutes.
Dylan – struggled to get going and limped off after 35 minutes with what look like a hamstring problem.
SJM – for me, this was John’s poorest performance in a Hibs shirt. Completely missing for most of the first half though he did finish the game strongly.
Marv – flitted in and out of things although he does well dropping in to cover when Hanlon and Efe venture forward.
Brandon Barker – so poor today with very few if any telling forward runs. On the plus side, it was his winning of a fifty/fifty ball that set Boyler free for the opening goal.
Simon – I really rate Simon. His movement is excellent as is his energy and willingness to close players down. Took up an excellent position to receive the pass from Stokes that brought the winning goal.
Stokesy – great to see him back and great to see him bring others into the game with incisive passes. Worked his socks off today and his pass for the winner was sublime.
Ryan Porteous – got the whole of the second half and played well. Rarely looks flustered and can pick a pass.
Slivka – so calm on the ball he helps others to reduce their anxiety levels! Played well in the five man midfield.
Neil Lennon – would have been raging I’m sure when Hibs scored early and then let Dundee dominate them until half time. Introduction of the two subs and a change of shape worked a treat and he deserves praise for that.
John Beaton – all I can say is that it’s just as well there’s a swear filter on Hibs.net. I know there’s a guy in the stand that marks a ref’s performance and unless that guy was wearing a blindfold he should offer up honest criticism and mark Beaton as a one out of ten.
As the teams were announced I learned that McCann had dropped keeper Scott Bain and that pleased me because his performance in the corresponding fixture at Dens Park earlier in the season helped them win a point they scarcely deserved. It would be Elliot Parish between the posts and the stand in stood no chance as Hibs opened the scoring after a minute of play. Martin Boyle gained possession just inside the Dundee half and sprinted off towards the visitors’ goal. Beating two or three men on the way, Squirrel made an angle for himself as he entered the 18 yard box before rifling a low shot into the far corner of the net. I’ll be honest here and say I wondered whether the oft mentioned hammering of some team might actually transpire today, especially as Hibs pushed on in those opening exchanges, but it was not to be.
With McGinn virtually anonymous and McGeouch struggling to find a telling forward pass, Dundee began to take control of the game and after 20 minutes, Deacon bullied Lewis Stevenson off the ball before delivering a cross to the far post where Marcus Haber outjumped everyone to head home an equaliser. From then until half time the visitors dominated the ball and but for a fine block by Paul Hanlon they might have scored a second goal.
One thing that annoyed me and I’d wager almost the entire Hibernian support in that first half was the quite atrocious refereeing of John Beaton. Every time a Dundee player fell over a free kick was awarded and every time a Hibs player went down it was ‘play on’ and stop complaining. The man is hopeless and quite how he gets to referee at all, never mind at Grade 1 level is a mystery. On one particular occasion, Stokesy who replaced the injured Dylan had his legs chopped from under him but in Beaton’s eyes that was a fair challenge. More on Beaton later …..
Something had to change in the second half if Hibs were to get anything positive out of it and so it was interesting to see that Neil Lennon introduced Porteous and Slivka for Gray and Barker. That meant a change to three at the back and a bit more bite in midfield with Stokes playing in behind Murray. The effect was apparent as Hibs began to control more of the passages of play but not until after Rocky had pulled off a quite stunning save low to his right as a shot from the tricky El Bakhtaoui came through a sea of legs. In fact it could be argued that Rocky’s save provided a wake-up call to his team mates as they swarmed downfield in a move that ended with Stokes taking a Hanlon pass in his stride before netting but unfortunately the flag had gone up for offside.
Next came a further instalment in the John Beaton show when Simon Murray was flagged offside just inside the Dundee half. He didn’t look offside but it was given and a Dundee player placed the ball down just inside the Hibs half. Immediate protests from Hibs players were ignored as the referee allowed the kick to be taken.
When Ryan Porteous and a Dundee defender competed for a dropping ball, Beaton blew for a free kick against Porteous whilst the Dundee man went down like a sack of tatties. John McGinn was right there where it happened and bent to shout at the Dundee player for his apparent playacting which caused other Dundee players to step in. Before you knew it there was a scrum of a dozen or so players all pushing and jostling. It was mostly handbags and once things had died down, Beaton booked Porteous, Stokes and Hendry for their part in it all. In truth, red cards might have been in order for a few players but Beaton took the easy option.
Another good save from Marciano kept us on the edge of our seats before a quite brilliant second goal put Hibs ahead. Strangely it all started from an intercepted Hanlon pass half way inside the Dundee half. For whatever reason, the Dundee player gave the ball straight back to Paul who quickly picked out the unmarked Stokes about 20 yards from goal. Stokesy looked up, saw Simon Murray finding space and played a wonderful pass to the human dynamo who poked the ball home past Bishop.
The visitors were flagging now and Hibs should really have put the game to bed. A Boyle effort was cleared off the line before Murray wriggled free on the right and with both McGinn and Stokes in the six yard box, Simon sent in a high ball that cleared the heads of both players. Another Beaton mystery came along next when Kamara chopped down John McGinn and got a finger wagging telling off and then just a couple of minutes later the foul was replicated when McGinn downed Kamara but Beaton had the yellow card out before he’d even blown his whistle.
As the game petered out, Hanlon’s fierce shot went just wide and Hibs ran down the clock by retaining possession via a series of free kicks and corners. On the final whistle, Neil McCann made a beeline for Beaton and I’m left wondering what on earth he could have been complaining about. Perhaps he felt Kamara should have been booked for series of fouls or that El Bakhtaoui should have been booked much earlier than he was. No? I don’t think so.
The players
Rocky – absolutely no chance with the goal and his save from El Bakhtaoui was priceless.
David Gray – started well but seemed to fall into the same first half malaise of many of his colleagues.
Efe – no pipe and no slippers today, just an afternoon where Marcus Haber dominated him.
Paul Hanlon – excellent start and an excellent second half where he drove his team mates on and deservedly won both the sponsors and my man of the match award.
Lewis – the wee man had a torrid first half with Deacon causing him all sorts of problems. Definitely at fault for the Dundee goal though he’d be entitled to ask where the hell Brandon Barker was at the time. Had a good and strong second half.
Boyler – a whirlwind start from Boyler with a wonderfully created and taken opening goal. Gave Kevin Holt a few problems throughout the 90 minutes.
Dylan – struggled to get going and limped off after 35 minutes with what look like a hamstring problem.
SJM – for me, this was John’s poorest performance in a Hibs shirt. Completely missing for most of the first half though he did finish the game strongly.
Marv – flitted in and out of things although he does well dropping in to cover when Hanlon and Efe venture forward.
Brandon Barker – so poor today with very few if any telling forward runs. On the plus side, it was his winning of a fifty/fifty ball that set Boyler free for the opening goal.
Simon – I really rate Simon. His movement is excellent as is his energy and willingness to close players down. Took up an excellent position to receive the pass from Stokes that brought the winning goal.
Stokesy – great to see him back and great to see him bring others into the game with incisive passes. Worked his socks off today and his pass for the winner was sublime.
Ryan Porteous – got the whole of the second half and played well. Rarely looks flustered and can pick a pass.
Slivka – so calm on the ball he helps others to reduce their anxiety levels! Played well in the five man midfield.
Neil Lennon – would have been raging I’m sure when Hibs scored early and then let Dundee dominate them until half time. Introduction of the two subs and a change of shape worked a treat and he deserves praise for that.
John Beaton – all I can say is that it’s just as well there’s a swear filter on Hibs.net. I know there’s a guy in the stand that marks a ref’s performance and unless that guy was wearing a blindfold he should offer up honest criticism and mark Beaton as a one out of ten.