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View Full Version : This is how it feels (The Rangers 3rd Feb 2018)



Jonnyboy
03-02-2018, 09:39 PM
Hearing that both Paul Hanlon and Darren McGregor would not start the match this afternoon made for a nervy build up to the clash with the Rangers at Ibrox. My nerves took a further turn for the worse when I heard the starting eleven contained no right back, despite the fact that Rherras was fit and available but only made the bench. Add in the fact that going to three at the back would have meant Lewis as the left of the three, a position I don’t believe he has ever played before and you can perhaps understand my fears.

On the positive side, Neil Lennon gave Scott Allan his first start of his second spell with the club and stuck with his two wide men in Brandon Barker and Martin Boyle. It was a very bold move in my opinion and one that could have backfired as the Rangers had plenty of width and experience in their side. As it turned out, it was a masterstroke by the manager as Hibs were magnificent in the first half and extremely resolute in the second as the home side threw everything they could at the visitors.

As is often the way when teams visit Ibrox, Hibs found themselves under early pressure and with the back three still finding their feet it took a fantastic block by Lewis Stevenson to stop the Rangers taking an early lead.

There was a blow to Hibs around the eight minute mark when Brandon Barker pulled up sharply and looked to have suffered a hamstring injury. After treatment, Brandon attempted to walk across the width of the pitch but was told to take the long way round by referee Willie Collum. Marvin Bartley seemed to query the ref’s decision, indicating the nature of the injury and the fact that Brandon would have to run the gauntlet of sections of the home support, but Collum was unmoved.

As Brandon departed, Jamie McLaren was called into action and fans around me expressed surprise that it was not Danny Swanson who took to the field. A few minutes later, McLaren showed his worth by finding space from a Boyle cutback but was crowded out as he shaped to shoot. Very soon thereafter, McLaren did find the net from a Kamberi cross but was adjudged offside. That happened at the far end from me so I’m unsure whether the offside call was correct or not.

Next up came a fabulous double save by Ofir Marciano who denied both Murphy and Windass, when both looked favourites to score. The action was fast and furious as the game flowed from end to end with Scott Allan the standout as he orchestrated things in the middle of the park. Strong on the ball and drifting past defenders as though they were not there you got the feeling he could find Lord Lucan with a pass.

The pace demonstrated by Hibs had the home defence in a pickle and the home support growing progressively restless as Florian Kamberi took a pass from McLaren and elected to shoot straight away when steadying himself might have denied the save made by Fotheringham. As the Rangers tried to flow forward a brilliant block by Ryan Porteous stopped them in their tracks and then just a few minutes before the break a surging run by John McGinn saw the Hibs man fire a low shot beyond Fotheringham and into the bottom corner of the net, sending the small but very noisy Hibs support into raptures.

It was always going to be the case that Rangers would come out of the traps in the second half and that’s just what they did but this new look Hibs defence, protected well by Marvin Bartley and Dylan McGeouch held firm under increasing pressure. Twenty minutes in, the Rangers thought they had equalised but the scorer was deemed to be offside. Another couple of tidy saves by Rocky kept the visitors in the lead before they decided to introduce Jason Cummings into the proceedings. They probably thought he’d hit the target against his old club but he was not involved when, a couple of minutes later, the Rangers equalised. A silly foul by Porteous was punished by Goss whose shot went over the wall, hit the underside of the crossbar and hit Rocky on the back before it went in.

I doubt if I was alone in thinking we’d struggle to take anything from the game at that point but less than two minutes later James Tavernier stupidly tripped Scott Allan in the box and Willie Collum immediately pointed to the spot. I wondered who might take it but there seemed little opposition when Jamie McLaren stepped forward with ball. His hard shot, low to the keeper’s right, found the net and Hibs were back in front.

The next fifteen or so minutes were the worst kind of torture any Hibs fan had to endure as the Rangers dominated possession with Hibs struggling to get out of their own half. It has to be said that our makeshift defence, ably assisted by the likes of McGinn, Bartley and McGeouch stood firm with a fantastic block by Porteous stopping a certain equaliser at the death. The arrival of Cummings had concerned me as we’ve all read that script before but the only thing he did of any note was get booked for hauling down Marvin Bartley. It was interesting to see the Rangers man rush to apologise to Marv who, let’s face it, is not a man to trifle with.

As the final whistle blew, the hordes of disgruntled home fans streamed out of the ground, ably demonstrating that despite their assertions to the contrary, they do walk away. We were kept in for twenty minutes or so but never a support to miss a chance we just had a wee party to ourselves!

The players

Rocky – had a handful of very good and vital saves and was very unlucky with the goal as the ball struck him while he was flat on the ground. As Neil Lennon said recently, we’re starting to see the Marciano he thought he’d signed.

Efe – playing on the right of a three I thought Efe was first class today in curbing the supposed £8m player and having him resort to diving in order to get the better of the big man.

Ryan – was absolutely outstanding throughout if a little naïve at the free kick for the equaliser. My brother reckons, and I agree with him 100% that Ryan will go on to play at the highest level. I loved it after the final whistle when he joined the other players in saluting the fans and was grinning widely as he joined in with the singing.

Lewis – I was critical of Lewis after his uncharacteristic display against Motherwell but he was excellent today in the unfamiliar role on the left side of a back three. He can add captaining a winning Hibs at Ibrox to his roll of honour.

Boyler – caused them a lot of grief in the first half with his strong running and got back more often than not to protect the right side of our defence.

Dylan – had a great first half but was somewhat subdued in the second although that may have been because he had to sit so deep against a side that was pressing for an equaliser.

Scotty – at last we have a player that can pick a pass and dictate the tempo of the game from midfield. I never thought I’d see him in a Hibs jersey again but I am over the moon that he is back and playing like he did today.

Marv – the big fella had a key role today in having to protect an untried defensive set up and he did it very well indeed. This was the sort of game in which he excels and he didn’t disappoint.

SJM – another every blade of grass performance by John, who switched to a wider left position when Barker went off. Looked very assured in that more defensive role while still taking any chance he got to burst forward. I was lucky in that the angle I had for his shot showed me it was in from the moment he hit it.

Flo – had a bit of a task on his hands in leading the line on his own but he performed admirably, even when he was back helping out our hard pushed defence in the final fifteen minutes.

Jamie – the lad looks a player to me with excellent movement, a brilliant work rate and a cool head on his shoulders as demonstrated with the scoring of the penalty.

Oli – a bold move by Neil Lennon taking off Scott Allan from the midfield and replacing him with a striker but it had the desired effect as it forced the Rangers to leave a few men back to defend against the movement of Shaw and Kamberi.

Danny – only got a few minutes at the end so not much I can say regarding him.

Neil Lennon – brave to go with that back three but he got that right and got our tactics right too. Sadly, I didn’t see any ear cupping but I’ll let him off this time.

Willie Collum – I’d say there were about three very bad tackles in the whole game but never one to miss his chance in the spotlight he booked three from the Rangers and six from Hibs.

Man of the match – Rocky was excellent with vital saves; Scotty was a huge positive influence in the middle of the park; SJM gave his all as he usually does but my man of the match goes to our very promising young centre back Ryan Porteous.

essexhibee
03-02-2018, 09:41 PM
Great read JB as always.

JohnMcM
03-02-2018, 09:42 PM
Another good write-up. Thanks Johnnyboy.

hibby6270
03-02-2018, 09:48 PM
Saturday is now complete. Great write up as per usual.
Thanks JB.

Tornadoes70
03-02-2018, 09:48 PM
Great read as usual :aok:.

mon the cabbage!!!

Mikey
03-02-2018, 09:48 PM
Cheers John, great report.

One thing to add, during the 20 minutes we were kept in the singing section mercilessly taunted a hun steward. Top work chaps, it was hilarious :hilarious

Scorrie
03-02-2018, 09:48 PM
“Find Lord Lucan with a pass” 😂 Brilliant .

Is It On....
03-02-2018, 09:51 PM
Think we know why the report was a bit later than usual. Thanks as usual for the time and effort writing up the game from a very grateful London based Hibs exile.

Billy Whizz
03-02-2018, 09:55 PM
Great report as always John
Fantastic 1st half from Hibs, defensive in the 2nd. Some great individual performances today, but a big plus for a big team performance
Thought Neil was brave in his selection, but was brave when BB went off, and replaced him with a striker
Must admit I didn’t enjoy last 20 mins, but enjoyed getting locked in at the end
Great 3 points

matty_f
03-02-2018, 09:59 PM
Good review, JB - I didn't think Lewis hada bad game on Wednesday night though, but other than that I agree with your report!

esjorto
03-02-2018, 10:04 PM
Thank you. Well worth the wait:not worth

Clerie Green
03-02-2018, 10:07 PM
Nice oneJohn , Cheers :flag:

MSK
03-02-2018, 10:14 PM
Thanks JC, I can retire to bed now 😆👍

Bishop Hibee
03-02-2018, 10:27 PM
Great read. A golden era for Hibs at Ibrox.

greenlex
03-02-2018, 10:35 PM
Braw👍

Lancs Harp
03-02-2018, 10:41 PM
Well worth the wait Johnny. :thumbsup:

Bay Area Hibees
03-02-2018, 10:42 PM
San Fran hibeees loves your reports

GreenNWhiteArmy
03-02-2018, 10:44 PM
Good read Jonny cheers.

To a man we were phenomenal. On and off the park. Superb hibees.

Mentioned it before but always felt Lewis could play in a back 3. Has such great game awareness and tbh could probably play anywhere and not let us down. Great wee pro he is.

SJM, I've been critical this season but hearts game aside, he's come back refreshed and hungry from the winter break. Maybe the transfer window affected him? Please sign a 1 year extension John so we can get big bucks in the summer

Soldiersteve
03-02-2018, 10:47 PM
Thanks JB from another grateful exile.

:flag:

FilipinoHibs
03-02-2018, 10:47 PM
Great read JB as always.

great report as always. living in South East Asia makes me fell I was at the game.

Lancs Harp
03-02-2018, 10:49 PM
Didnt read too much pre match but pre match I would have been astonished to learn we had gone with 3 at the back, especially consisting of Efe, Ryan and Lewis, with a very positive attack minded midfield with just the colossus that is Marv playing a defensive role. Astonishingly bold and brave. With ball players like Scotty, SJM and Dylan in midfield and the pace of Brandon and Boyler and a finisher upfront this team can really make an impression. Pace kills teams in the SPL, we have loads of it, just need to pick those passes and we certainly have the players to do that. Good times ahead.

hibee_girl
03-02-2018, 11:21 PM
Great report JB, loved reading that :thumbsup:

Hi Heid Yin
03-02-2018, 11:34 PM
Great write up, John. So good to get an actual fans take on the game

NAE NOOKIE
04-02-2018, 01:38 AM
Good read JB :aok:

When I saw the team it was pretty clear we were going to have to use attack as the best form of defence and it looked like we did that in the first half. As against Motherwell we seemed to run our of steam a wee bit in the 2nd half, but that's hardly surprising considering the schedule we have had and not forgetting that Porteous, McLaren and Flo haven't exactly had a lot of first team action this season.

A fantastic team performance and probably as good a win against the odds as we have ever had at Ibrox :thumbsup:

O'Rourke3
04-02-2018, 02:11 AM
Cheers JB. Wait for these before I read the BBC to see how accurate the reporting was.

cjward2
04-02-2018, 06:17 AM
Always look for JB's write up of the game. Thanks for doing it. I can end my Saturday now.

:flag::flag::flag:

My old man
04-02-2018, 06:22 AM
Thanks for the write up can’t wait for players ratings
GGTTH

Anti-hoofbaw
04-02-2018, 06:58 AM
Ryan Porteous is impressive. He's tough, strong, confident and good with the ball at his feet. He has the potential to play at the highest level.

Scott Allan is going to be a great fit in that midfield. He's going to absolutely destroy Hertz when we play them at easter road.

Bartley was solid. Guy struts about like an absolute ledge. He knows he's the man.

Rocky was immense.

Great display by the whole team, even under pressure.

To be fair to Rangers they try to play football which makes for a great game every time we play them.


That nasally voiced slavering weegie twat on Rangers tv is hilarious btw. He was gutted lol

Hibrandenburg
04-02-2018, 07:02 AM
Thanks JB, wasn't in a position to watch/listen to the game yesterday so appreciate The report.

jacomo
04-02-2018, 08:46 AM
These match reports have been really fantastic this season. Don’t underestimate the commitment and work needed from you JB.

SJM sometimes plays left in a midfield diamond but left wing back was a new one for me... he seemed terrific.

As you say, brilliant result for Captain Lewis.

lapsedhibee
04-02-2018, 08:57 AM
Scott Allan is going to be a great fit in that midfield. He's going to absolutely destroy Hertz when we play them at easter road.

If the ref gives a yellow to the very first of the many who'll have been detailed to hack him down in sequence, he might.

Baldy Foghorn
04-02-2018, 09:18 AM
Porteous was a rock.
Rocky was excellent.
McGinn back to his best.
Allan was superb.

All played well though, I really like the look of Kamberi

bigwheel
04-02-2018, 10:06 AM
Surprised few are mentioning Efe’s performance yesterday - as well as Ryan did, I felt it was Efe who was our top defender ...outstanding composure and leadership. Helped Ryan through the game - class act when he performs with that level of concentration

andybev1
04-02-2018, 10:06 AM
Jonnboy, you said he was tripped for the pen but he was pushed - probably been said before but I couldn't be bothered to check the pages.

kaimendhibs
04-02-2018, 10:48 AM
Great read. Thanks

Sent from my VTR-L09 using Tapatalk

The Pointer
04-02-2018, 12:02 PM
Great, incisive read Jonny, from a sunny Argyll. Gives you a flavour of what it was like.

blackpoolhibs
04-02-2018, 12:09 PM
Jonnboy, you said he was tripped for the pen but he was pushed - probably been said before but I couldn't be bothered to check the pages.

He was tripped and pushed for the pen.

lucky
04-02-2018, 12:18 PM
Finding Lord Lucan with a pass is the best line I’ve ever read in a match report in a long time :greengrin:greengrin Well done JB a good read.

BroxburnHibee
04-02-2018, 12:19 PM
Remember the days of rushing out to buy the Pink news?

Now getting this report after each game is fast becoming an absolute must read.

Thanks again John for taking the time to do this.

snooky
04-02-2018, 12:23 PM
Always look forward to reading your reports, Johnny.
They come across as well balanced and tell it like it was.

Borderhibbie76
04-02-2018, 12:30 PM
Surprised few are mentioning Efe’s performance yesterday - as well as Ryan did, I felt it was Efe who was our top defender ...outstanding composure and leadership. Helped Ryan through the game - class act when he performs with that level of concentrationAnd Wee Lewis too playing at left centre half...what a ledge this wee man is...he gives absolutely everything for the cause

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Baldy Foghorn
04-02-2018, 12:35 PM
And Wee Lewis too playing at left centre half...what a ledge this wee man is...he gives absolutely everything for the cause

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

:top marks

bigwheel
04-02-2018, 12:50 PM
And Wee Lewis too playing at left centre half...what a ledge this wee man is...he gives absolutely everything for the cause

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

Shows the trust the manager has in him....My favourite player of his generation...he himself would acknowledge he is not technically the best..but for application, commitment and attitude...everything I want in a Hibs player...love the guy


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Borderhibbie76
04-02-2018, 01:10 PM
Shows the trust the manager has in him....My favourite player of his generation...he himself would acknowledge he is not technically the best..but for application, commitment and attitude...everything I want in a Hibs player...love the guy


Sent from my iPad using TapatalkTotally this....we won t appreciate fully what we had with wee Lewy till he's gone. Not the most talented member of squad but he bleeds Hibs

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Famous Fiver
04-02-2018, 03:08 PM
Yes, I agree it was not a Tavernier trip but a full blooded two arm shove which he said he didn't do!!!

Tav, talk us through a slomo of it and explain yourself.

Excellent report.

Seveno
04-02-2018, 05:18 PM
Just back from a weekend in Northumberland with limited access so I only managed to pick up the score. Your report is the ‘go to’ read and greatly enjoyed as always. Thanks, John.

brog
04-02-2018, 07:53 PM
Excellent as ever John. Let me say, from someone who considered NL to probably be too conservative in his approach, that yesterday was possibly the bravest team selection I've ever seen. His courage was matched by the players & your report did them all justice.

Joe6-2
04-02-2018, 08:05 PM
Yes, I agree it was not a Tavernier trip but a full blooded two arm shove which he said he didn't do!!!

Tav, talk us through a slomo of it and explain yourself.

Excellent report.

Sportscene said a trip too! Blantant push

heidtheba
04-02-2018, 08:27 PM
Great report - I ALWAYS look forward to your reports and they are my go-to place for an honest and detailed write-up. Thanks!

Jonnyboy
04-02-2018, 08:47 PM
First off, thanks for all the kind reviews they are much appreciated :aok:

At the game I felt that Tavernier had hooked his right foot around Scotty's as well as putting two hands on his back. Having watched the highlights it seems pretty obvious that's what happened :greengrin Either way, Willie Collum got that decision right

As an aside, if you watch Scott Allan after he gets up following the trip/push he wanders towards the home support, probably acknowledging their acclamation of his genius :fibber: before Flo comes and leads him away :faf: