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View Full Version : This is how it feels (St Johnstone 18 November)



Jonnyboy
18-11-2017, 07:58 PM
Going to the game today I chatted about the fact that over the years it seemed that when a team needed a positive result, Hibs would generally oblige. St Johnstone went into today’s game on the back of a horrendous run of results, namely six defeats, no goals scored and twelve conceded but come the final whistle, all of that changed.

From the moment the teams ran out and I spotted that Craig Thomson was the referee I had a bad feeling in my bones and though Thomson was his usual self, I don’t blame him for the match outcome. Hibs started slowly and never really got going. The momentum of the previous run of good games had been interrupted by the break so that Scotland could play a meaningless friendly and although I can’t quite get my head around why a week off would have such a detrimental effect on performance, it certainly showed that it had, right from the off.

In a dull first forty five minutes, Zander Clark was hardly troubled whilst at the other end, Rocky saved well from a Craig thunderbolt. John McGinn tried manfully in midfield but often had three opponents closing him down while enduring a series of challenges that Craig Thomson deemed to be fair. The referee was angering both sets of fans with his display and it was no surprise when boo’s rang out from all four stands on the half time whistle.

During the break we discussed and agreed the fact that Neil Lennon should make changes and we felt that the introduction of Dylan McGeouch would give us more creativity in the midfield area but as it was the manager decided to go with the same eleven, presumably after telling them they needed to up the pace considerably.

As it turned out, Hibs were unable to do that and allowed St Johnstone to dictate large parts of the game. Marciano produced an excellent stop from O’Halloran and John McGinn cleared a Steven Anderson effort off the line but the writing was on the wall and with around fifteen minutes left, Davidson headed the visitors in front. It was a very poor goal to lose defensively and I felt that when the ball was delivered to our back post it was in the air long enough for Rocky to come and claim it.

By that time, McGeouch and Porteous had replaced Gray and Barker as Hibs moved to a back three. The introduction of Dylan had an almost instant effect as he chipped a superb ball over the top of a Saints defender for Boyle to run on too. As Martin did just that he was clearly held back by a defender but Craig Thomson waved aside the justifiable claim for a penalty.

Another bizarre decision soon came along. Hibs had the ball down the right, level with the edge of the eighteen yard box. My view of who played it into the middle was impaired but the ball was passed square and not forward. It hit Craig Thomson and landed at the feet of Boyle in the Saints box only for the referee’s assistant to raise his flag for offside. If indeed the original ball was passed square and not forward it’s impossible for Boyle to have been offside, no matter where he was standing when that pass was made.

With ten minutes left, Neil Lennon sent on Big Dave for Marvin Bartley, a move we all felt should have happened much earlier. With time running out fast, a cracking shot by Ambrose looked to be heading into the bottom corner before Clark stuck out a foot to deflect it for a corner. Moments later, a ball into the Saints box witnessed Boyle swivelling to shoot and as he did so, Shaughnessy deflected the ball away with his arm and even Craig Thomson couldn’t ignore that one. After a wave of protests from the Saints player, led by Steven Anderson who twice put hands on the ref but was not punished for doing so, Stokesy buried the ball in the corner of the net to draw Hibs level. That was in the first minute of the three minutes added on by the referee and I recall thinking that although a win would have taken us up to second, I’d happily settle for a point as we were so far off the pace a draw would be a bonus.
Right at the death, Hibs showed a remarkable naivety in trying to go forward when a Hearts style hoof up the park would have been eminently preferable. That naivety cost them dear as a ball from the right found Davidson in the centre of the six yard box and although Rocky saved well he was unable to retain the ball in his possession, allowing the unmarked Steven MacLean to tap home the winner.

It’s always disappointing to lose a game and although we nearly sneaked a point you have to give St Johnstone credit for going at us until the end.

The players

Rocky – had two outstanding saves but could and should have come to collect the ball at the first goal.

David Gray – solid performance without doing anything of particular note.

Efe – no real Efe moments today and on a couple of occasions he drove forward much to the delight of the home fans.

Paul Hanlon – for the second game in a row, Paul gets my man of the match award. Defended solidly throughout and had one fantastic late block that saved a shot on target getting though.

Lewis – another solid display and got forward more after Barker went off and we went to a 3 5 2 formation.

Boyler – had one stunning drive in the first half and stood out in the final ten minutes but for the remainder of the time I felt the young St Johnstone left back, Tanser, kept him in check.

Marv – broke up play well enough but I questioned the need for him to be on the park for as long as he was. Not his fault though, I know.

SJM – invariably surrounded by St Johnstone players but nevertheless, always showed for the ball and did his utmost to drive us forward.

Brandon – had a few mesmeric runs and had the young Saints full back on toast until the unfortunate Comrie did his hamstring. Foster was the experienced replacement and Brandon didn’t feature as much thereafter.

Simon – not his day today, caught offside a lot and couldn’t make much of the few occasions he was fed the ball.

Stokesy – took his penalty well which accounted for about thirty seconds of the ninety three minutes played. Other than that he was largely anonymous, caught on his heels or just standing still. When the ball doesn’t go to him it’s always somebody else’s fault. Maybe I’m being harsh but I expect a lot more from Stokesy than he offered us today.

Ryan Porteous – did very well and like Paul Hanlon had one stupendous block on the edge of his own box. He wasn’t overly happy at Steven MacLean for one late challenge and soon let him know that.

Dylan – if he’s fit he should play. We improved after his introduction and might have had a more favourable result had he started or even been given the whole of the second half.

Big Dave – another cameo appearance, so not much to say regarding his performance.

The fans – I don’t know why but I thought the atmosphere today was a bit like the team – flat. With over 16,000 Hibs fans in the ground there was long periods of quiet despite the best efforts of the Since 1875 and Section 43 guys and gals.

Craig Thomson – buffoon, end of.

cleanyman
18-11-2017, 08:02 PM
If the ball hits the referee it counts as the last players touch hence the decision was correct. It's offside.

neil7908
18-11-2017, 08:07 PM
Slightly generous towards some of ours players but overall pretty accurate.

We need to get out home form sorted though.

Sir David Gray
18-11-2017, 08:11 PM
Can't comment as I had to leave early today and missed the incident but it's interesting that the penalty we got is described as being pretty clear cut.

The guys on the radio were in disbelief that it had been awarded.

StevieCowan
18-11-2017, 08:14 PM
If the ball hits the referee it counts as the last players touch hence the decision was correct. It's offside.

Absolute nonsense.

cleanyman
18-11-2017, 08:19 PM
Absolute nonsense.

If I play a pass and that hits off the referee and it goes for a throw in who's ball is it?

Same applies for today.

Smartie
18-11-2017, 08:19 PM
I should probably add that I was reasonably impressed with big Dave (having criticised him in the past).

We were getting a bit ragged by the time he was on and were just shelling balls up the park. For the first time in a Hibs jersey he seemed to have the upper hand on the opposition defence in the air and whilst he didn't manage to create anything of note he threw himself at everything and got something on every ball, making it tough for his defender.

Billy Whizz
18-11-2017, 08:21 PM
Good report as always Jonnyboy. Can’t really add too much, other than we were slow in possession, and the team looked unbalanced from the KO
Over to the manager to fix for next week

kaimendhibs
18-11-2017, 08:32 PM
Can't comment as I had to leave early today and missed the incident but it's interesting that the penalty we got is described as being pretty clear cut.

The guys on the radio were in disbelief that it had been awarded.Think they thought was for a tackle but was for handball

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

StevieCowan
18-11-2017, 08:33 PM
If I play a pass and that hits off the referee and it goes for a throw in who's ball is it?

Same applies for today.

If the Hibs player wasn’t in an offside position when the last Hibs player kicked the ball then there is no other situation in the game where he can be penalised.

Your right with the throw in but wrong with the offside

cleanyman
18-11-2017, 08:41 PM
If the Hibs player wasn’t in an offside position when the last Hibs player kicked the ball then there is no other situation in the game where he can be penalised.

Your right with the throw in but wrong with the offside

If I've got this wrong then I stand corrected. Makes it an extremely odd decision then

Thecat23
18-11-2017, 08:52 PM
I’ve agreed with you on pretty much all the previous posts on games but feel you have been very light on the criticism on the players here. Hibs for me today were dreadful and Saints were worse but got 2. Murray was brutal along with Stokes. Bartley and Hanlon only 2 i’d give passmarks too.

Day to forget all round if I’m honest and I think Lennon got it all wrong today. With Boyle and Barker you’d think we could play at pace but it was the complete opposite. Dull boring first half and a crap second. Draw would have been fair but by god that was hard to sit through.

GreenNWhiteArmy
18-11-2017, 09:04 PM
I’ve agreed with you on pretty much all the previous posts on games but feel you have been very light on the criticism on the players here. Hibs for me today were dreadful and Saints were worse but got 2. Murray was brutal along with Stokes. Bartley and Hanlon only 2 i’d give passmarks too.

Day to forget all round if I’m honest and I think Lennon got it all wrong today. With Boyle and Barker you’d think we could play at pace but it was the complete opposite. Dull boring first half and a crap second. Draw would have been fair but by god that was hard to sit through.

I'd agree with this.

There was a 10 minute spell where I was convinced efe had a bet on St J to score. Then the next minute he's skinning folk in the corner and whipping in crosses. He's some guy.

Dylan Iniesta looked his usual footballing self when he came on. What a player he is

SRHibs
18-11-2017, 09:08 PM
If the defence had all played as well as the OP suggests I don’t think we would’ve conceded these goals. Why do we constantly let the ball bounce in the box?

Even though we’ve got a relatively decent defensive record I still get the fear every time a high ball comes in.

FitbaFolkKen
18-11-2017, 09:09 PM
The first half was a non event, we are a different team without Dylan. I think if we are forcing Stokes into the line up it should be at the expense of Barker on the left allowing us to keep the same system with the strong midfield three.

One thing I've not seen mentioned much but there was a lot of niggling at each other among the team. Stokes giving Barker a hard time, Murray was frustrated several times with teammates, whether that be his passes going astray or not getting the service he wanted, Hanlon was giving Efe and Boyler it tight at a couple of points. Not necessarily a bad thing but it stuck out today. Probably because we were rubbish.

Golden Bear
18-11-2017, 09:09 PM
When the Saints broke in the last few seconds we were undone by our own honesty. Their player should have been taking out in the centre circle by fair means or foul, it's a professional sport and as they say, the rest is history.

jaf
18-11-2017, 09:14 PM
I actually throught Efe had a handful of Efe moments, think someone above mentioned a 10 minute period and that summed it up for me.
In saying that he also had a equal amount of superb moments.

Efe in a nutshell I suppose.

Smartie
18-11-2017, 09:16 PM
I actually throught Efe had a handful of Efe moments, think someone above mentioned a 10 minute period and that summed it up for me.
In saying that he also had a equal amount of superb moments.

Efe in a nutshell I suppose.

I agree.

Today totally summed up the mad world of Efe Ambrose, from the sublime to the truly ridiculous.

I think we're so used to them that we don't even consider them to be Efe moments any more.

Lang Toun hibby
18-11-2017, 09:43 PM
We have no leaders. Nobody shouting, directing, etc Today saw Liam Craig with plenty of room outside our box just before he nearly scored. It happens every week that there are unmarked players in or around our box. Hopefully McGregor will come back soon and allow Efe to go into midfield where I feel may be his future position. The team setup totally sussed by Wright. Why were they full of passion and wiling to stop us when breaking but we very seldom do. Need to start games with moving the ball quicker and forward and mixing passing with getting the ball into the box Lennon needs to sub quicker and change formations. PS Work on corners and throw ins requ ired

H18 SFR
18-11-2017, 10:15 PM
Such a flat day. We've thrown away our chance of winning the league - jokes! But we could have went second.

pacoluna
18-11-2017, 10:31 PM
Bollocks

Nicho87
18-11-2017, 10:49 PM
Today's result won't be the last time imo. For some reason we don't play our best at Easter road this season again imo. Top 4 will be great. Big Dave needs moved on. Doesn't offer anything. I'd let Barker go back to city, Half arsed

MWHIBBIES
18-11-2017, 10:52 PM
I really hope Barker has a clause that he has to play because him being in the team ahead of McGeouch and Slivka is just laughable. He is a winger that never scores and very rarely puts in a good cross. He never runs in behind either.

Get back to a midfield 3 and have Stokes operating from the left.

Golden Bear
18-11-2017, 10:59 PM
I really hope Barker has a clause that he has to play because him being in the team ahead of McGeouch and Slivka is just laughable. He is a winger that never scores and very rarely puts in a good cross. He never runs in behind either.

Get back to a midfield 3 and have Stokes operating from the left.

He "ran in behind " frequently in the first half hour especially albeit the end product was disappointing. The lad lacks endeavour and guts and that will be his downfall as a professional football player.

bordergreen
18-11-2017, 11:16 PM
Going to the game today I chatted about the fact that over the years it seemed that when a team needed a positive result, Hibs would generally oblige. St Johnstone went into today’s game on the back of a horrendous run of results, namely six defeats, no goals scored and twelve conceded but come the final whistle, all of that changed.

From the moment the teams ran out and I spotted that Craig Thomson was the referee I had a bad feeling in my bones and though Thomson was his usual self, I don’t blame him for the match outcome. Hibs started slowly and never really got going. The momentum of the previous run of good games had been interrupted by the break so that Scotland could play a meaningless friendly and although I can’t quite get my head around why a week off would have such a detrimental effect on performance, it certainly showed that it had, right from the off.

In a dull first forty five minutes, Zander Clark was hardly troubled whilst at the other end, Rocky saved well from a Craig thunderbolt. John McGinn tried manfully in midfield but often had three opponents closing him down while enduring a series of challenges that Craig Thomson deemed to be fair. The referee was angering both sets of fans with his display and it was no surprise when boo’s rang out from all four stands on the half time whistle.

During the break we discussed and agreed the fact that Neil Lennon should make changes and we felt that the introduction of Dylan McGeouch would give us more creativity in the midfield area but as it was the manager decided to go with the same eleven, presumably after telling them they needed to up the pace considerably.

As it turned out, Hibs were unable to do that and allowed St Johnstone to dictate large parts of the game. Marciano produced an excellent stop from O’Halloran and John McGinn cleared a Steven Anderson effort off the line but the writing was on the wall and with around fifteen minutes left, Davidson headed the visitors in front. It was a very poor goal to lose defensively and I felt that when the ball was delivered to our back post it was in the air long enough for Rocky to come and claim it.

By that time, McGeouch and Porteous had replaced Gray and Barker as Hibs moved to a back three. The introduction of Dylan had an almost instant effect as he chipped a superb ball over the top of a Saints defender for Boyle to run on too. As Martin did just that he was clearly held back by a defender but Craig Thomson waved aside the justifiable claim for a penalty.

Another bizarre decision soon came along. Hibs had the ball down the right, level with the edge of the eighteen yard box. My view of who played it into the middle was impaired but the ball was passed square and not forward. It hit Craig Thomson and landed at the feet of Boyle in the Saints box only for the referee’s assistant to raise his flag for offside. If indeed the original ball was passed square and not forward it’s impossible for Boyle to have been offside, no matter where he was standing when that pass was made.

With ten minutes left, Neil Lennon sent on Big Dave for Marvin Bartley, a move we all felt should have happened much earlier. With time running out fast, a cracking shot by Ambrose looked to be heading into the bottom corner before Clark stuck out a foot to deflect it for a corner. Moments later, a ball into the Saints box witnessed Boyle swivelling to shoot and as he did so, Shaughnessy deflected the ball away with his arm and even Craig Thomson couldn’t ignore that one. After a wave of protests from the Saints player, led by Steven Anderson who twice put hands on the ref but was not punished for doing so, Stokesy buried the ball in the corner of the net to draw Hibs level. That was in the first minute of the three minutes added on by the referee and I recall thinking that although a win would have taken us up to second, I’d happily settle for a point as we were so far off the pace a draw would be a bonus.
Right at the death, Hibs showed a remarkable naivety in trying to go forward when a Hearts style hoof up the park would have been eminently preferable. That naivety cost them dear as a ball from the right found Davidson in the centre of the six yard box and although Rocky saved well he was unable to retain the ball in his possession, allowing the unmarked Steven MacLean to tap home the winner.

It’s always disappointing to lose a game and although we nearly sneaked a point you have to give St Johnstone credit for going at us until the end.

The players

Rocky – had two outstanding saves but could and should have come to collect the ball at the first goal.

David Gray – solid performance without doing anything of particular note.

Efe – no real Efe moments today and on a couple of occasions he drove forward much to the delight of the home fans.

Paul Hanlon – for the second game in a row, Paul gets my man of the match award. Defended solidly throughout and had one fantastic late block that saved a shot on target getting though.

Lewis – another solid display and got forward more after Barker went off and we went to a 3 5 2 formation.

Boyler – had one stunning drive in the first half and stood out in the final ten minutes but for the remainder of the time I felt the young St Johnstone left back, Tanser, kept him in check.

Marv – broke up play well enough but I questioned the need for him to be on the park for as long as he was. Not his fault though, I know.

SJM – invariably surrounded by St Johnstone players but nevertheless, always showed for the ball and did his utmost to drive us forward.

Brandon – had a few mesmeric runs and had the young Saints full back on toast until the unfortunate Comrie did his hamstring. Foster was the experienced replacement and Brandon didn’t feature as much thereafter.

Simon – not his day today, caught offside a lot and couldn’t make much of the few occasions he was fed the ball.

Stokesy – took his penalty well which accounted for about thirty seconds of the ninety three minutes played. Other than that he was largely anonymous, caught on his heels or just standing still. When the ball doesn’t go to him it’s always somebody else’s fault. Maybe I’m being harsh but I expect a lot more from Stokesy than he offered us today.

Ryan Porteous – did very well and like Paul Hanlon had one stupendous block on the edge of his own box. He wasn’t overly happy at Steven MacLean for one late challenge and soon let him know that.

Dylan – if he’s fit he should play. We improved after his introduction and might have had a more favourable result had he started or even been given the whole of the second half.

Big Dave – another cameo appearance, so not much to say regarding his performance.

The fans – I don’t know why but I thought the atmosphere today was a bit like the team – flat. With over 16,000 Hibs fans in the ground there was long periods of quiet despite the best efforts of the Since 1875 and Section 43 guys and gals.

Craig Thomson – buffoon, end of.

I thought before any substitutions were made that the game was screaming out for McGeouch to be brought on for one of the front players, and the wingers pushed higher up the park. I probably would have taken Stokes off, as I thought he was woeful today. Murray was not setting the heather on fire either. I commented to the person sitting beside me that I had no idea what position Stokes was meant to be playing, to which his response was, I don't think Stokes does either.

I also thought our defence was pulled all over the place today, Ambrose in particular didn't cover himself in glory. I couldn't work out what Lennon was thinking with the substitutions. I was waiting with interest to see what Lennon's comments were after the game. I have just read them, and my feeling is he must have been watching a different game to me. I thought we were gash today.

I would like to see a better striker signed this window if nothing else.

pacoluna
19-11-2017, 12:11 AM
I really hope Barker has a clause that he has to play because him being in the team ahead of McGeouch and Slivka is just laughable. He is a winger that never scores and very rarely puts in a good cross. He never runs in behind either.

Get back to a midfield 3 and have Stokes operating from the left.
Barker was our best player in first half.

Steve20
19-11-2017, 07:58 AM
Few things to disagree with what some folk have said:

Apart from Hanlon, the defence was all over the place. Ambrose had plenty of Efe moments.

Barker was poor again. He was nowhere near our best player in the first half.

St Johnstone were not worse than us. They were far the better side.

Stokes was awful but so was Simon Murray. For some reason, Stokes gets more stick on here than Murray for poor performances.

Anyway, it’s only one game and it’s vital we take 6 points from our next two games before that difficult Celtic-Rangers-Aberdeen run of games in the middle of December. Not even 4 points is a good return from Hamilton and Partick. Has to be 6 or we could find teams further down the league closing in by the time we go to Tynecastle on 27th Dec.

Jones28
19-11-2017, 08:38 AM
Marciano 6 - didn't look comfortable in more than one occasion with crosses but made a few of his usual, top drawer saves. That second goal was a stinker though.

Gray 6 - solid defensively but didn't offer anything going forward, very reluctant to try and cross.
Efe 5 - a mix of sublime and terrifying.
Hanlon 7 - MOTM looked comfortable and assured but was part a defence that lost 2 rotten goals.
Stevenson 5 - meh

Barker 4 - if he played off the shoulder he would be lethal. As it is he comes short for every ball and has to beat a man at least twice before streaking past him. Me and my mate suspect there's someone from Man City there watching and he's trying to show them what he can do.
McGinn 6 - was crowded out every time he was on the ball, we really missed the extra body in the middle. Battled though and fizzed a shot towards the end that must have been close.
Bartley 6 - like McGinn looked over-ran in the middle of the park. He plays his best when he's part of a middle three.
Boyle 5 - so so ineffective today other than one run where he was fouled umpteen times, advantage was played every time and yet only one player was booked. The saints full back had his number.

Murray 4 - rank. Outmuscled on every occasion.
Stokes 5 - shades Murray because of a well taken penalty in a high pressure situation.

Lennon - he got it wrong today, slivka must be wondering what he has to do to get a starting spot.

Allant1981
19-11-2017, 08:44 AM
Marciano 6 - didn't look comfortable in more than one occasion with crosses but made a few of his usual, top drawer saves. That second goal was a stinker though.

Gray 6 - solid defensively but didn't offer anything going forward, very reluctant to try and cross.
Efe 5 - a mix of sublime and terrifying.
Hanlon 7 - MOTM looked comfortable and assured but was part a defence that lost 2 rotten goals.
Stevenson 5 - meh

Barker 4 - if he played off the shoulder he would be lethal. As it is he comes short for every ball and has to beat a man at least twice before streaking past him. Me and my mate suspect there's someone from Man City there watching and he's trying to show them what he can do.
McGinn 6 - was crowded out every time he was on the ball, we really missed the extra body in the middle. Battled though and fizzed a shot towards the end that must have been close.
Bartley 6 - like McGinn looked over-ran in the middle of the park. He plays his best when he's part of a middle three.
Boyle 5 - so so ineffective today other than one run where he was fouled umpteen times, advantage was played every time and yet only one player was booked. The saints full back had his number.

Murray 4 - rank. Outmuscled on every occasion.
Stokes 5 - shades Murray because of a well taken penalty in a high pressure situation.

Lennon - he got it wrong today, slivka must be wondering what he has to do to get a starting spot.

stevenson was no worse than gray, possibly better but you give him a lower rating, strange?

Firestarter
19-11-2017, 08:44 AM
Far to biased and green tinted. We where awful yesterday. Managers fault playing two players in the middle of the park, McGinn didn't have a chance.

Mr Grieves
19-11-2017, 09:21 AM
Marciano 6 - didn't look comfortable in more than one occasion with crosses but made a few of his usual, top drawer saves. That second goal was a stinker though.

Gray 6 - solid defensively but didn't offer anything going forward, very reluctant to try and cross.
Efe 5 - a mix of sublime and terrifying.
Hanlon 7 - MOTM looked comfortable and assured but was part a defence that lost 2 rotten goals.
Stevenson 5 - meh

Barker 4 - if he played off the shoulder he would be lethal. As it is he comes short for every ball and has to beat a man at least twice before streaking past him. Me and my mate suspect there's someone from Man City there watching and he's trying to show them what he can do.
McGinn 6 - was crowded out every time he was on the ball, we really missed the extra body in the middle. Battled though and fizzed a shot towards the end that must have been close.
Bartley 6 - like McGinn looked over-ran in the middle of the park. He plays his best when he's part of a middle three.
Boyle 5 - so so ineffective today other than one run where he was fouled umpteen times, advantage was played every time and yet only one player was booked. The saints full back had his number.

Murray 4 - rank. Outmuscled on every occasion.
Stokes 5 - shades Murray because of a well taken penalty in a high pressure situation.

Lennon - he got it wrong today, slivka must be wondering what he has to do to get a starting spot.

I thought Boyle was one of our better performer's yesterday. He was our only attacking player to drive us forward and try to make something happen. Murray had a really poor game, Stokes and Barker were ineffective.

Hibee Mac
19-11-2017, 09:24 AM
Barker was our best player in first half.

Not a chance, he's gash.

cleanyman
19-11-2017, 09:26 AM
Not a chance, he's gash.

I wouldn't say he's gash but he is under performing for me.

Played very well against Hearts and I didn't see anything before nor anything since. The Scottish Premiership is a tough league and he's taking time to adjust.

Brooster
19-11-2017, 09:35 AM
Another good report Johnnyboy. I cannot agree that both fullbacks were solid though. I thought both were terrible but thats just my opinion.

Thecat23
19-11-2017, 09:39 AM
Few things to disagree with what some folk have said:

Apart from Hanlon, the defence was all over the place. Ambrose had plenty of Efe moments.

Barker was poor again. He was nowhere near our best player in the first half.

St Johnstone were not worse than us. They were far the better side.

Stokes was awful but so was Simon Murray. For some reason, Stokes gets more stick on here than Murray for poor performances.

Anyway, it’s only one game and it’s vital we take 6 points from our next two games before that difficult Celtic-Rangers-Aberdeen run of games in the middle of December. Not even 4 points is a good return from Hamilton and Partick. Has to be 6 or we could find teams further down the league closing in by the time we go to Tynecastle on 27th Dec.

Saints were the worst side I’ve seen this season, they weren’t better than Hibs today and if you check the stats you will see it for yourself. Both teams were poor but Hibs were the only team trying to play the game, Saints just done what Hearts do hoof it.

danhibees1875
19-11-2017, 09:44 AM
Marciano - 6.5 debatable over whether he should have came for a couple more crosses but made a couple of great blocks, again.

Gray - 6.5 solid enough
Ambrose -5 I thought he had a few "Ambrose moments" although he also had 1 great piece of skill which I'd have been more enthusiastic about if we were 1-0 up rather than down.
Hanlon - 7.5 done well, solid and composed. MOTM but little competition.
Stevenson- 6.5 solid game from Lewis.

Bartley - 6 thought he broke up a lot in the middle of the park for us
Mcginn - 6 played a bit but crowded out a lot. Messed up when we had numbers down the left as he was too focused on his usual trick of getting himself between ball and man - then lashed out needlessly for a suspension enducing yellow.

Barker 5 - couple of good runs with no end product and then was soon quietened.
Boyle 6 - one particular good run in the 2nd. Always looked lively but never had anything come to much.
Stokes - 5.5 heavy touches, dwelling on the ball and loose passes meant he lost us possession often. Calmly taken penalty.
Murray - 5 not much worked out for him today, typified his day when he put in a minutes worth of effort to get the game restarted which only ended in our own downfall.

Portous 6 - one incredible block where he read the game expertly and was solid for everything else.
McGeoch 6 - always a good option to have on the pitch , I hope he's fit enough to start next week.
Big Dave X - not enough time, I'd have chucked him on earlier to see what happens.

Overall, we didn't deserve anything from the game and it's annoying to have not maintained our good run and capitalised on results elsewhere in the "push for 2nd" - it now looks more like we've lost some ground on Motherwell and Saints in the more realistic "race for 4th".

Hibee Mac
19-11-2017, 09:47 AM
I wouldn't say he's gash but he is under performing for me.

Played very well against Hearts and I didn't see anything before nor anything since. The Scottish Premiership is a tough league and he's taking time to adjust.

I agree he looked dangerous against hearts, and that's when I thought we'd finally start to see something from him.

But there's no point in looking dangerous by getting past a few men then stopping to let them all past you again. The best tangible end product I can remember this guy providing are corners.

I'm just disappointed that Neil Lennon of all people chooses to see past this and starts him every other week.

Look at Boyle on the other hand, clearly not got the same "technical ability" as a lad from man city but he scores us goals, gets crosses in the box and wins us penalties. He doesn't just look dangerous when he gets the ball, he actually is dangerous and provides us with an end product.

B.H.F.C
19-11-2017, 10:05 AM
Another good report Johnnyboy. I cannot agree that both fullbacks were solid though. I thought both were terrible but thats just my opinion.

I agree. IMO David Gray is/was the biggest culprit when it comes to the complete lack of urgency. Slows the game down so much and happy just to roll the ball inside to Ambrose instead of looking forward.

Jones28
19-11-2017, 11:03 AM
stevenson was no worse than gray, possibly better but you give him a lower rating, strange?

He offered even less attacking threat than gray, he wasn't helped by having barker in front of him who played behind him most of the time.

Pretty Boy
19-11-2017, 11:25 AM
I think some of the criticism of Rocky for the 1st goal is harsh, I heard a lot of people at the game blaming him for the 2nd as well. I've been critical of him in the past so this isn't a 'he's my favourite player' type post.

1st goal sees the player at the back post win the header far too easily and he knocks it down to a guy who is standing in total isolation in our 6 yard box, I still can't understand how there wasn't a Hibs player anywhere near him. The guy was just closer to the ball than the keeper and he's beaten him to it, if that had happened in the middle of the park between 2 outfield players it wouldn't even have attracted comment. 2nd goal saw a player skip past about 4 Hibs players like they weren't there, Rocky saves the shot from point blank range, whilst there wasn't a lot of power in it it's not easy to hold a shot struck from so close to you. It's interesting our defenders are getting 7s and 8s out of 10 when we have conceded 2 goals from crosses into our box that weren't dealt with and finished from close range yet we mark our keeper down for exactly the same reason.

I'd also give Big Dave a mention. He didn't have much time but he won 2 or 3 headers that dropped into threatening positions and set up half chances. He didn't do anything fantastic but he unsettled the St Johnstone defence and I think it was him who had a little flick on in the lead up to the penalty.

JimboHibs
19-11-2017, 11:52 AM
Why do we nowadays feel the need to criticise and praise the team on a daily basis ?

Thecat23
19-11-2017, 11:57 AM
I think some of the criticism of Rocky for the 1st goal is harsh, I heard a lot of people at the game blaming him for the 2nd as well. I've been critical of him in the past so this isn't a 'he's my favourite player' type post.

1st goal sees the player at the back post win the header far too easily and he knocks it down to a guy who is standing in total isolation in our 6 yard box, I still can't understand how there wasn't a Hibs player anywhere near him. The guy was just closer to the ball than the keeper and he's beaten him to it, if that had happened in the middle of the park between 2 outfield players it wouldn't even have attracted comment. 2nd goal saw a player skip past about 4 Hibs players like they weren't there, Rocky saves the shot from point blank range, whilst there wasn't a lot of power in it it's not easy to hold a shot struck from so close to you. It's interesting our defenders are getting 7s and 8s out of 10 when we have conceded 2 goals from crosses into our box that weren't dealt with and finished from close range yet we mark our keeper down for exactly the same reason.

I'd also give Big Dave a mention. He didn't have much time but he won 2 or 3 headers that dropped into threatening positions and set up half chances. He didn't do anything fantastic but he unsettled the St Johnstone defence and I think it was him who had a little flick on in the lead up to the penalty.

I certainly wouldn’t blame him, I’m with you on this. Be good to see the goals again though. But what I will say is he had a very weird afternoon. Punched one that he could have easily caught, he wasn’t as commanding as usual either for some reason. But he did pull off a great save onto the bar so I thought he done just alright. Certainly no worse than the defenders who I thought all looked dodgy yesterday. Efe included btw!

Pretty Boy
19-11-2017, 12:01 PM
I certainly wouldn’t blame him, I’m with you on this. Be good to see the goals again though. But what I will say is he had a very weird afternoon. Punched one that he could have easily caught, he wasn’t as commanding as usual either for some reason. But he did pull off a great save onto the bar so I thought he done just alright. Certainly no worse than the defenders who I thought all looked dodgy yesterday. Efe included btw!

Yep he had a strange day. There were a couple of instances when he could have come for crosses and I think that sticks in people's minds when they analyse the goals. That punch was bizarre, I can't really workout what he was thinking and why he went chasing the red waving his arm because there was no one near him.

Thecat23
19-11-2017, 12:03 PM
Yep he had a strange day. There were a couple of instances when he could have come for crosses and I think that sticks in people's minds when they analyse the goals. That punch was bizarre, I can't really workout what he was thinking and why he went chasing the red waving his arm because there was no one near him.

Yeah I’ve no idea either why he was going mad chasing the ref. Sometimes even the best keepers seem to lose the plot at times and I don’t think they even know why 😂

eastcoasthibby
19-11-2017, 12:27 PM
I agree. IMO David Gray is/was the biggest culprit when it comes to the complete lack of urgency. Slows the game down so much and happy just to roll the ball inside to Ambrose instead of looking forward.

Totally agree Gray not sure.what the problem is but Gray shows no real desire to add anything to the game ...him and Boyle were poor on the right side ... much as I dislike Ricky Foster his attitude and eagerness.to get forward were an example for.our 2 full backs to look at yesterday and he was on the bench ...maybe tells the story about our full backs in general ?? ??

NAE NOOKIE
20-11-2017, 04:14 AM
It was a poor game compared to the Dundee game a fortnight ago which I really enjoyed ... I cant agree that St Johnstone were the better team, their endeavour was good, but their football wasn't. Hibs looked flat throughout and after 60 minutes of watching it not working I cant understand why NL didn't chuck on big Davy to at least mix things up ... giving him 10 minutes every other game is just taking the piss out of the guy.

Rocky ...... 6 ....... His first half save was brilliant, I was practically in line and he cant have seen the shot until it had passed the 6 yard line, I cant make my mind up if he could have cleaned out Davidson and the ball at the 2nd goal even after seeing it on the telly, perhaps a braver keeper would have.

Gray ..... 5 ...... Did OK defensively, but there was one point he was one on one with their left back with acres to run into and he chose to pass the ball back, FFS be brave mate, nobody minds if it goes wrong so long as you have a go.

Hanlon ..... 8 .... Has to take his share of the blame for two bad goals, but I thought he absolutely walked his individual battles, in the first half he was top drawer IMO.

Ambrose .... 7 ..... Two thirds of that is for his defending, which was brilliant and terrible in equal measure, the rest is for the fact that he tried hard to carry the ball into dangerous forward positions.

Stevenson ..... 6 ..... Was involved a lot and coped well until the last minute when he was skinned by the St Johnstone player who put in the cross for their winner.

Bartley ..... 6 ..... Had a tough shift against the numerically superior St Johnstone midfield, but stuck to his job manfully as usual and did some really good tracking back.

McGinn ..... 7 ..... Put in a great shift without being as effective as he can be, a great header off the line and a good block in our box before that, unlucky to see his shot from the free kick go a foot wide. I just don't get why every possession he gets seems to start half way in our own half, I want to see him pushed far further up the pitch where he can do some bloody damage ... IMO we are wasting him at times.

Barker .... 6 ..... He had a good first 20 minutes but then was only seen in flashes, it would help if he played on the last man instead of always having two guys to beat ... his delivery into the box isn't great, but then neither is our movement in the box to give him something to aim at and we seem to have the same problem we have had for years ... nobody making a late run into the bloomin' box from midfield !!! ..... but no wonder with McGinn playing like a holding midfield player and Bartley who gets a nose bleed when he crosses the half way line.

Boyle .... 6 .... Not as effective as he can be, but St Johnstone did a pretty good job of covering him and SJM's 5 or 6 attempts to find him with a long diagonal ball just didn't pay off this time .... a fantastic and gutsy run in the 2nd half, what a goal it would have been if he had made it all the way ... you can never fault the guy for effort that's for sure.

Stokes ..... 6 ..... And two of those points are for his calmly hit penalty. What is he supposed to be, a striker or a midfield player? he spent over half the game near enough in the centre circle and lost out tamely in challenges or gave the ball away for half of that ... blazed the ball over when presented with a chance by Boyle that a player of his quality should do better with and hardly bust a gut to get into the box when we had the ball out wide ..... I want to see more from him than what he provided on Saturday, which wasn't a lot. If folk think, 'aye but he was better than Murray' is the benchmark for a player we absolutely bust a gut to sign they have lower expectations for him than I do.

Murray .... 5 ..... Totally ineffective to the point where I wondered why he was still on the pitch, far from his best effort in a Hibs shirt, even his movement wasn't as good as it usually is .... effort is fine, but strikers, especially lightweight ones, need to be crafty as well.

SUBS:

Porteous .... 6 ..... Never lets himself down when he comes on and was the same on Saturday, if he continues to progress this kid is going to be the future when McGregor and Fontaine start feeling the years.

McGeouch .... 6 ..... What a difference this guy makes to us as a forward going unit ... he should be starting every week, its that simple .... but having said that he seriously needs to concentrate on his long range shooting practice, I've seen better from Sunday league players, unfortunately his shot on Saturday which went 5 yards past the post was the norm, not the exception.

Mateluvicius .... 6 ..... He won just about every ball he competed for when he came on and showed a lot of determination .. after 60 odd minutes of us huffing and puffing and getting nowhere with the ball on the deck he should have been brought on to mix it up, as I said earlier, how can the guy prove himself with 10 minutes every other game ..... It must be frustrating as hell for him watching the opposition keeper leaning on the post smoking a cigar and the manager still wont put him on until its too bloody late.

Neil Lennon ..... I praised him the other week for making changes that won us the game, this week I have to question his selection and tactics:

Why, against a team that hadn't scored a bloody goal for 7 matches did we need a defensive midfield player in front of a 4 man defence? leaving McGinn as our only creative player in the middle of the park, exactly who was supposed to supply ball to our two wingers, especially with McGinn playing so bloomin' deep most of the time?

At the risk of repeating myself, why when it was becoming clear that our strikers weren't at the races and our wingers weren't getting the ball into the box didn't he bring big Davy on far earlier to at least try to win some knock downs, which he actually did for the few minutes he got.

If he is giving Anthony Stokes a free role to go where he wants its time he changed his mind and told him to get into the box where the bloody goals are .... from what I've seen of Stokes I can hit a long range shot with more power than he can and I've yet to see a forward with as little pace as Stokes has get to 20 goals in a season when their starting point is 30 or 40 yards from goal in 4 out of 5 of their possessions.
I don't want to bash Stokes, I really don't, but c'mon ... we have played 14 league matches and he has scored 3 goals from open play ... Neil Lennon might think he's undroppable because of his quality as a player .... but this season where is the evidence of that quality? what goals is he creating for other players? How many assists does he have? How often has his movement or a pass from him lead to a chance for Boyle or Murray? ...... I can think of his one admittedly brilliant cross against Dundee, but that's about it.
As I said, I don't want to bash Anthony Stokes ... I don't ... But we have invested a hell of a lot of our resources in getting him to Easter Road and displays like Saturday and too many others this season are not IMO a decent enough return for our investment ... 3 goals from open play in 14 matches for a team as attack minded as we are certainly isn't.

Tin hat on .... :tin hat: