Jonnyboy
16-12-2017, 07:35 PM
Well, that’s me home and had my tea (this isn’t Facebook so no picture included) and now I’ve settled down to write the latest “This is how it feels” which is going to be a painful experience, given the efforts of our team this afternoon.
On the way to the game I was saying that after my offering regarding Wednesday’s game against the Rangers, I’d decided to pick the many positives out of that game and there were quite a few despite the result. I offered the view that following our second half display in that game it was only a matter of time before I witnessed a team getting a real battering. I just didn’t expect it to be Hibs on the receiving end and make no mistake, we were thrashed.
Ahead of kick off we were told that Anthony Stokes was dropped to the bench and that Hibs were opting for a 352 formation with Murray the lone striker. The Dons were in good form having got back to positive ways after Derek McInnes decided not to be tempted into joining the Rangers, despite concerted efforts in some areas of the media to bully him into doing so.
The opening exchanges offered some hope to the travelling support with Hibs pressing the Dons defence high but sadly that soon petered out and after ten minutes the hosts took the lead when a bread and butter cross to the back post was guided back to the edge of the box by Mackay-Steven, allowing the unmarked Graham Shinnie to stroke the ball home. It was a defensive calamity and it wouldn’t be the only one but it would be wrong to pile the blame solely onto our back four as neither Bartley nor McGeouch tracked the run of Shinnie, making the Aberdeen skipper’s task that much easier. Add to that the fact that Rocky had needlessly given away a throw in when all he had to do was pick the ball up, rather than hoiking it out of play and it’s no wonder we paid the penalty for poor play.
Hibs were offering very little going forward and seemed unable to retain possession of the ball whilst failing miserably to win any second ball challenges. When we had the ball we inched forwards and invariably lost possession whilst Aberdeen in that position charged forward with six or seven players on the move.
Around the 35 minute mark, comic capers at the edge of our box witnessed Mackay-Steven, who probably weighs about ten stones soaking wet, barge past two Hibs defenders and as he stumbled to the ground he poked the ball towards goal with it hitting the net having glanced off the foot of Marciano. It has to be said that the attempted tackles were feeble and the efforts of Rocky to stop the ball going into the net, woeful.
I recall saying to my brother that I hoped we could keep it at 2-0 until the interval as it would give the manager a chance to reorganise and galvanise our players. Needless to say we couldn’t do that after losing a third goal in terrible circumstances. The ball fell between Ambrose and McGregor just inside the Hibs half but as they looked at each other and Efe appeared to give Daz the nod that he was taking charge, their hesitation allowed Mackay-Steven to nick the ball off Efe’s toes and race towards the Hibs goal before sending a powerful shot past Marciano.
During the break we speculated about how many more goals Hibs might ship if they kept playing in a slovenly manner. We also wondered if any changes would be made to shape and personnel, noticing that Stokes was not out warming up with the other subs. About ten minutes into the break, a Hibs backroom staff member rushed onto the pitch and spoke to one or two of the players, after which Whitty made his way to the dressing room. When Hibs reappeared for the second half it would be without the presence of both McGregor and Bartley with Stokes and Whittaker taking their place. A change in personnel and a change in shape to 442 but it must be said it made little or no significant difference to the flow of the game.
Moments after Oli Shaw had replaced the ineffective Simon Murray, more dilly dallying by the Hibs defence allowed Stevie May to nick the ball before feeding Mackay-Steven who skipped along the edge of the Hibs box unchallenged before firing in his side’s fourth and his own third of the match. Considine then looked to have made it five but was flagged offside in what looked a very tight decision.
Whether Aberdeen felt they’d done enough is a matter for debate because they stopped flooding forward at every opportunity, choosing instead to keep possession of the ball or, when Hibs had it, closing all routes forward. With the full time whistle looming, Stokes managed to grab a consolation via the leg of Shinnie but it was very much a case of too little, too late.
Let’s not mince words here; Hibs were terrible today with well below par performances from every player that took part in the game. Yes, Aberdeen were exceptional and stopped Hibs playing by cutting off the lifeline as they hunted the Hibs midfield in packs but even so, not a single Hibs player should have left the pitch feeling they’d done their best.
In the car I listened to Neil Lennon’s post-match interview and found myself agreeing with a lot of what he said. He accepted that as manager he has to shoulder responsibility but he quite rightly pointed out that not one of his players took the responsibility of driving the team on. The contrast between the second half display against the Rangers and today’s ninety minutes was, quite frankly, frightening.
The players
Rocky – no need for the kicked clearance leading to our first goal conceded and poor keeping for the second.
Efe – one of only two players I felt at least tried to take on the responsibility highlighted by the manager but I felt sorry for the guy due to the pillorying he took from the home support.
Daz – poor stuff from big Daz as he seemed to be caught out of position a lot and struggled to handle the physical presence of Adam Rooney.
Paul – much the same as Daz with both of them led a merry dance at times by Mackay-Steven.
Lewis – has to accept his share of the collective blame for Hibs shipping four goals.
Boyler – can’t remember the last time I seen him pretty much anonymous for the whole game.
Dylan – never slow to show for the ball but his use of it today was very poor.
Bartley – big Marv has his off days and today was one of them. Caught ball watching on numerous occasions and failed to track the runs of the likes of Christie and McLean.
SJM – there’s no doubt John is a quality player but he was very poor today. He needs to stop using that shield the ball with your arse trick as opponents have all rumbled to it and simply double up on him to take the ball.
Barker – like Efe he at least tried to take some responsibility but mazy runs with no end product don’t win games.
Simon – another poor display from him and he needs to realise that running around a lot does not in itself win matches.
Whitty – I’m told he’s carrying an injury and it showed. Mackay-Steven caused him all sorts of problems and I thought the tackle for his booking might have attracted a red card.
Stokesy – no supply of the ball and when he did get it he didn’t do a lot with it.
Oli – much the same as Stokesy.
Neil Lennon – clearly raging after the game and he wasn’t alone.
Bobby Madden – confirmed to me he’s the best ref in Scotland at the moment. Kept a strong and sensible grip on the game, issuing cards only when they were truly warranted.
The fans – A sizable support, some of whom seemed to leave at half time. I love supporting Hibs and I’m very proud to be a Hibby but we do have some lowlifes that follow our team. The guy behind me, whom I’ve seen get in trouble on numerous times before today, was screaming that he wished “that wee gay **** Mackay-Steven had drowned in that ******* river” before turning his ire onto the nearest Dons fans calling them “paedo’s” and challenging them to a fight outside. There was a policeman not ten yards away who did nothing about it so I thought if he wasn’t willing to do his job there was no way I was going to risk a sore face for doing it for him.
On the way to the game I was saying that after my offering regarding Wednesday’s game against the Rangers, I’d decided to pick the many positives out of that game and there were quite a few despite the result. I offered the view that following our second half display in that game it was only a matter of time before I witnessed a team getting a real battering. I just didn’t expect it to be Hibs on the receiving end and make no mistake, we were thrashed.
Ahead of kick off we were told that Anthony Stokes was dropped to the bench and that Hibs were opting for a 352 formation with Murray the lone striker. The Dons were in good form having got back to positive ways after Derek McInnes decided not to be tempted into joining the Rangers, despite concerted efforts in some areas of the media to bully him into doing so.
The opening exchanges offered some hope to the travelling support with Hibs pressing the Dons defence high but sadly that soon petered out and after ten minutes the hosts took the lead when a bread and butter cross to the back post was guided back to the edge of the box by Mackay-Steven, allowing the unmarked Graham Shinnie to stroke the ball home. It was a defensive calamity and it wouldn’t be the only one but it would be wrong to pile the blame solely onto our back four as neither Bartley nor McGeouch tracked the run of Shinnie, making the Aberdeen skipper’s task that much easier. Add to that the fact that Rocky had needlessly given away a throw in when all he had to do was pick the ball up, rather than hoiking it out of play and it’s no wonder we paid the penalty for poor play.
Hibs were offering very little going forward and seemed unable to retain possession of the ball whilst failing miserably to win any second ball challenges. When we had the ball we inched forwards and invariably lost possession whilst Aberdeen in that position charged forward with six or seven players on the move.
Around the 35 minute mark, comic capers at the edge of our box witnessed Mackay-Steven, who probably weighs about ten stones soaking wet, barge past two Hibs defenders and as he stumbled to the ground he poked the ball towards goal with it hitting the net having glanced off the foot of Marciano. It has to be said that the attempted tackles were feeble and the efforts of Rocky to stop the ball going into the net, woeful.
I recall saying to my brother that I hoped we could keep it at 2-0 until the interval as it would give the manager a chance to reorganise and galvanise our players. Needless to say we couldn’t do that after losing a third goal in terrible circumstances. The ball fell between Ambrose and McGregor just inside the Hibs half but as they looked at each other and Efe appeared to give Daz the nod that he was taking charge, their hesitation allowed Mackay-Steven to nick the ball off Efe’s toes and race towards the Hibs goal before sending a powerful shot past Marciano.
During the break we speculated about how many more goals Hibs might ship if they kept playing in a slovenly manner. We also wondered if any changes would be made to shape and personnel, noticing that Stokes was not out warming up with the other subs. About ten minutes into the break, a Hibs backroom staff member rushed onto the pitch and spoke to one or two of the players, after which Whitty made his way to the dressing room. When Hibs reappeared for the second half it would be without the presence of both McGregor and Bartley with Stokes and Whittaker taking their place. A change in personnel and a change in shape to 442 but it must be said it made little or no significant difference to the flow of the game.
Moments after Oli Shaw had replaced the ineffective Simon Murray, more dilly dallying by the Hibs defence allowed Stevie May to nick the ball before feeding Mackay-Steven who skipped along the edge of the Hibs box unchallenged before firing in his side’s fourth and his own third of the match. Considine then looked to have made it five but was flagged offside in what looked a very tight decision.
Whether Aberdeen felt they’d done enough is a matter for debate because they stopped flooding forward at every opportunity, choosing instead to keep possession of the ball or, when Hibs had it, closing all routes forward. With the full time whistle looming, Stokes managed to grab a consolation via the leg of Shinnie but it was very much a case of too little, too late.
Let’s not mince words here; Hibs were terrible today with well below par performances from every player that took part in the game. Yes, Aberdeen were exceptional and stopped Hibs playing by cutting off the lifeline as they hunted the Hibs midfield in packs but even so, not a single Hibs player should have left the pitch feeling they’d done their best.
In the car I listened to Neil Lennon’s post-match interview and found myself agreeing with a lot of what he said. He accepted that as manager he has to shoulder responsibility but he quite rightly pointed out that not one of his players took the responsibility of driving the team on. The contrast between the second half display against the Rangers and today’s ninety minutes was, quite frankly, frightening.
The players
Rocky – no need for the kicked clearance leading to our first goal conceded and poor keeping for the second.
Efe – one of only two players I felt at least tried to take on the responsibility highlighted by the manager but I felt sorry for the guy due to the pillorying he took from the home support.
Daz – poor stuff from big Daz as he seemed to be caught out of position a lot and struggled to handle the physical presence of Adam Rooney.
Paul – much the same as Daz with both of them led a merry dance at times by Mackay-Steven.
Lewis – has to accept his share of the collective blame for Hibs shipping four goals.
Boyler – can’t remember the last time I seen him pretty much anonymous for the whole game.
Dylan – never slow to show for the ball but his use of it today was very poor.
Bartley – big Marv has his off days and today was one of them. Caught ball watching on numerous occasions and failed to track the runs of the likes of Christie and McLean.
SJM – there’s no doubt John is a quality player but he was very poor today. He needs to stop using that shield the ball with your arse trick as opponents have all rumbled to it and simply double up on him to take the ball.
Barker – like Efe he at least tried to take some responsibility but mazy runs with no end product don’t win games.
Simon – another poor display from him and he needs to realise that running around a lot does not in itself win matches.
Whitty – I’m told he’s carrying an injury and it showed. Mackay-Steven caused him all sorts of problems and I thought the tackle for his booking might have attracted a red card.
Stokesy – no supply of the ball and when he did get it he didn’t do a lot with it.
Oli – much the same as Stokesy.
Neil Lennon – clearly raging after the game and he wasn’t alone.
Bobby Madden – confirmed to me he’s the best ref in Scotland at the moment. Kept a strong and sensible grip on the game, issuing cards only when they were truly warranted.
The fans – A sizable support, some of whom seemed to leave at half time. I love supporting Hibs and I’m very proud to be a Hibby but we do have some lowlifes that follow our team. The guy behind me, whom I’ve seen get in trouble on numerous times before today, was screaming that he wished “that wee gay **** Mackay-Steven had drowned in that ******* river” before turning his ire onto the nearest Dons fans calling them “paedo’s” and challenging them to a fight outside. There was a policeman not ten yards away who did nothing about it so I thought if he wasn’t willing to do his job there was no way I was going to risk a sore face for doing it for him.