Jonnyboy
09-05-2018, 11:02 PM
I’m always disappointed when we lose a game but I’m a hundred fold disappointed when we lose to Hearts. That’s my mood dealt with, now to the actual game.
Heading in to Tynecastle I was surprised to hear that Hibs would be departing from their successful 3-5-2 line up and adopting more of a 4-4-1-1. I was baffled as to why Neil would move away from a set up that clearly suits the players and as it turned out, that change played, in my view, a significant part in us losing the game. Another significant point was that Hibs struggled throughout to deal with the physicality of the game and that shocked me as we’ve shown in the last few months that we would not be bullied. From the off, Hearts were very physical and we let that affect our football. Rather than getting the ball down and playing our passing game we were continuously caught in possession or failing to find a telling pass to a team mate.
Much was made ahead of the game that this would be Craig Thomson’s last Derby match and there were fears expressed on the messageboard that he’d do his best to scupper any chance Hibs had of making second spot in the final league table. Aside from the fact that he should have red carded Lafferty for the assault on Lewis and the fact that he allowed Adao free license to kick anyone and everyone in a green jersey but not get booked, I don’t think we can blame the referee as he was not the reason we lost this game.
Hibs had started the game well and were on top when Lafferty was yellow carded for a vicious and cynical foul on Lewis Stevenson after the ball had gone. Whether that rattled Hibs and Lewis in particular I don’t know but after spurious claims for a penalty when Naismith took a swan dive in the box were rightly waived away, Hibs soon found themselves a goal behind. Indecision in defence, with Lewis failing to clear allowed Lafferty to poke the ball past the stranded Marciano. The error by Lewis was uncharacteristic as his form has been excellent of late.
Rocking a little, Hibs nearly conceded a second when Cochrane waltzed through the middle of the Hibs defence but thankfully Rocky was alert to the situation and made what turned out to be his only real save of the night. Minutes later it was the Hearts keeper who was stung into action when he pushed away a strong driven effort from Barker. Up until the half time whistle and indeed for most of the first half the Hibs midfield was swamped and struggled to gain any foothold in the proceedings as Cochrane again came close to extending the Hearts lead but his shot was wayward. Just prior to the half ending, Boyler went down in a heap after trying to squeeze between two Hearts defenders and it must have been a sore one because the physio immediately signalled the winger was unable to continue, resulting in the mask wearing McGeouch joining the fray.
At half time we discussed how things would have to change if Hibs were to get anything from the game and just three minutes after the restart Adao fouled Stevenson for the umpteenth time only on this occasion it was inside the 18 yard box and Craig Thomson immediately pointed to the spot. There seemed to be a bit of debate as to who should take the kick but Flo Kamberi had no doubts as he coolly sent McLaughlin the wrong way.
For the next five minutes or so Hibs looked like they might actually be taking control of the game but as they piled forward, Paul Hanlon was caught the wrong side of Lafferty who needed no encouragement to go down under a challenge about twenty five yards from goal. From the resultant free kick, whipped into the area by Cochrane, Naismith lost his marker and guided a header beyond Marciano and into the corner of the net.
Ten minutes or so later, Jamie Maclaren appeared stripped for introduction to the game and I doubt I was the only one feeling surprised when the man he replaced was Paul Hanlon. The Hibs captain didn’t seem to have suffered an injury but the change meant Whittaker going to right back as Efe joined Daz in the middle. With Hearts wasting time at every opportunity, Neil tried to mix things up a bit by introducing Slivka who replaced Scott Allan. There was almost a quick reward for that change when Slivka drove forward towards the centre of the Hearts defence before laying a superb ball into the path of Barker but the speed merchant took a touch rather than hitting it first time and Hearts cleared the danger.
Try as they might in the closing stages, Hibs just couldn’t get level though they had two excellent chances to do so. The first came from a loose ball in the Hearts area which an off balance Maclaren slashed at, much to the frustration of Kamberi who was ideally placed to fire the ball home and the second came right at the death when big Daz, who’d been moved to centre forward in the hunt for a goal, completely missed the ball from six yards out when the goal was gaping.
I hate losing to Hearts and tonight was all the more painful because that defeat pretty much consigns us to a fourth place finish. Equally painful was the fact that the two most loathsome Hearts players got their goals.
The players
Rocky - The keeper had no chance with either goal and only really had one save to make all night, which he did very well. Given that the rest of the team played so poorly, Rocky might have been in with a shout for my man of the match award but he misses out because of something that annoys the life out of me. Pre match, Rocky pings the ball with unerring accuracy to the waiting Alan Combe but sadly on two of the later occasions tonight, Combe was in the Hibs dugout.
Efe – I can honestly say that in my opinion, Efe was the only player tonight that didn’t disappoint me. He defended very well and his use of the ball was good but sadly he was ploughing a lone furrow tonight. My man of the match.
Daz – I’m not sure whether it was Daz that lost Naismith for the second goal tonight but even if it wasn’t his game was well below the high standards he sets himself and he’ll no doubt have nightmares about missing that late chance to level the game.
Paul – I’ve been impressed all season long at how Paul has never allowed himself to be bullied but tonight he was tormented by Lafferty for the seventy odd minutes he had on the park.
Lewis – Recently, Lewis has been pretty much Mr Dependable but tonight I have absolutely no idea why he didn’t clear the ball and allowed Lafferty to steal in and score. He was distraught as could be easily seen from his reaction but he did redeem himself a little as it was his tenacity that resulted in him being fouled in the box for the penalty.
Boyler – Had to leave the field injured, late in the first half. On the odd occasions that the ball reached him he gave Mitchell a bit of a hard time but he seems to have lost his appetite for scoring goals and getting in positions to do that.
Whitty – Steven had a bit of an up and down match tonight, in a midfield that struggled from the off. Too often he was caught on his heels and didn’t win too many second balls but he was by no means alone in that regard.
Scotty – Flitted in and out of the game and I think it’s fair to say that he struggles when things get physical. Tonight he took a few sore ones but also kept away from the ball when another sore one seemed likely. Played some delightful passes but was pretty peripheral at times.
SJM – I was tempted to refer to John as just JM tonight because I felt he was totally anonymous and seemed to spend most of his time trying to outmuscle his opponents to show who was the strongest. I was very disappointed with his display if truth be told.
Brandon – At times he looked like he was terrifying the Hearts defence and at other times he looked like he was terrified of the Hearts defence. On a few occasions he had the chance to run at the aging Aaron Hughes but didn’t take them when surely his pace would have left the Hearts man for dead. His chance, set up by Slivka, had me tearing out what little hair I have left.
Flo – Worked very hard but needs to work harder at avoiding getting caught offside. I lost count of the number of times his lack of concentration in running the Hearts back line, had him being caught offside. Was confident in grabbing the ball for the penalty and struck it well to give us some hope of getting something from the game.
Dylan – With his mask in place he didn’t use it as a disguise but got involved as often as he could. Sadly, his promptings came to nothing as move after move either broke down or came to a halt with the assistant ref flagging for offside.
Jamie – Buzzed around but caught Kamberi’s offside bug and clearly either didn’t hear or didn’t see Kamberi when he slashed the ball wide when off balance.
Slivka – Did ok when he came on and his surging run to set up Barker deserved a better outcome than Brandon feeling the need to take a touch when the ball was there to be hit first time.
Neil – I didn’t hear his post-match interview but I’m hoping someone might have asked him why the tried and tested 3-5-2 was dumped tonight.
The fans – Made enough noise and got right behind the team as always.
Craig Thomson – He’s finishing at the end of the season and in fact tonight might have been his last match. If only he’d red carded Lafferty and booked Adao – I’d have given him ten out of ten.
On now to Sunday, when the Rangers come to town knowing we’d need to beat them by five clear goals to nick third place. It’s highly unlikely but I hope we finish what’s been a fantastic season by having a bloody good go at them.
Heading in to Tynecastle I was surprised to hear that Hibs would be departing from their successful 3-5-2 line up and adopting more of a 4-4-1-1. I was baffled as to why Neil would move away from a set up that clearly suits the players and as it turned out, that change played, in my view, a significant part in us losing the game. Another significant point was that Hibs struggled throughout to deal with the physicality of the game and that shocked me as we’ve shown in the last few months that we would not be bullied. From the off, Hearts were very physical and we let that affect our football. Rather than getting the ball down and playing our passing game we were continuously caught in possession or failing to find a telling pass to a team mate.
Much was made ahead of the game that this would be Craig Thomson’s last Derby match and there were fears expressed on the messageboard that he’d do his best to scupper any chance Hibs had of making second spot in the final league table. Aside from the fact that he should have red carded Lafferty for the assault on Lewis and the fact that he allowed Adao free license to kick anyone and everyone in a green jersey but not get booked, I don’t think we can blame the referee as he was not the reason we lost this game.
Hibs had started the game well and were on top when Lafferty was yellow carded for a vicious and cynical foul on Lewis Stevenson after the ball had gone. Whether that rattled Hibs and Lewis in particular I don’t know but after spurious claims for a penalty when Naismith took a swan dive in the box were rightly waived away, Hibs soon found themselves a goal behind. Indecision in defence, with Lewis failing to clear allowed Lafferty to poke the ball past the stranded Marciano. The error by Lewis was uncharacteristic as his form has been excellent of late.
Rocking a little, Hibs nearly conceded a second when Cochrane waltzed through the middle of the Hibs defence but thankfully Rocky was alert to the situation and made what turned out to be his only real save of the night. Minutes later it was the Hearts keeper who was stung into action when he pushed away a strong driven effort from Barker. Up until the half time whistle and indeed for most of the first half the Hibs midfield was swamped and struggled to gain any foothold in the proceedings as Cochrane again came close to extending the Hearts lead but his shot was wayward. Just prior to the half ending, Boyler went down in a heap after trying to squeeze between two Hearts defenders and it must have been a sore one because the physio immediately signalled the winger was unable to continue, resulting in the mask wearing McGeouch joining the fray.
At half time we discussed how things would have to change if Hibs were to get anything from the game and just three minutes after the restart Adao fouled Stevenson for the umpteenth time only on this occasion it was inside the 18 yard box and Craig Thomson immediately pointed to the spot. There seemed to be a bit of debate as to who should take the kick but Flo Kamberi had no doubts as he coolly sent McLaughlin the wrong way.
For the next five minutes or so Hibs looked like they might actually be taking control of the game but as they piled forward, Paul Hanlon was caught the wrong side of Lafferty who needed no encouragement to go down under a challenge about twenty five yards from goal. From the resultant free kick, whipped into the area by Cochrane, Naismith lost his marker and guided a header beyond Marciano and into the corner of the net.
Ten minutes or so later, Jamie Maclaren appeared stripped for introduction to the game and I doubt I was the only one feeling surprised when the man he replaced was Paul Hanlon. The Hibs captain didn’t seem to have suffered an injury but the change meant Whittaker going to right back as Efe joined Daz in the middle. With Hearts wasting time at every opportunity, Neil tried to mix things up a bit by introducing Slivka who replaced Scott Allan. There was almost a quick reward for that change when Slivka drove forward towards the centre of the Hearts defence before laying a superb ball into the path of Barker but the speed merchant took a touch rather than hitting it first time and Hearts cleared the danger.
Try as they might in the closing stages, Hibs just couldn’t get level though they had two excellent chances to do so. The first came from a loose ball in the Hearts area which an off balance Maclaren slashed at, much to the frustration of Kamberi who was ideally placed to fire the ball home and the second came right at the death when big Daz, who’d been moved to centre forward in the hunt for a goal, completely missed the ball from six yards out when the goal was gaping.
I hate losing to Hearts and tonight was all the more painful because that defeat pretty much consigns us to a fourth place finish. Equally painful was the fact that the two most loathsome Hearts players got their goals.
The players
Rocky - The keeper had no chance with either goal and only really had one save to make all night, which he did very well. Given that the rest of the team played so poorly, Rocky might have been in with a shout for my man of the match award but he misses out because of something that annoys the life out of me. Pre match, Rocky pings the ball with unerring accuracy to the waiting Alan Combe but sadly on two of the later occasions tonight, Combe was in the Hibs dugout.
Efe – I can honestly say that in my opinion, Efe was the only player tonight that didn’t disappoint me. He defended very well and his use of the ball was good but sadly he was ploughing a lone furrow tonight. My man of the match.
Daz – I’m not sure whether it was Daz that lost Naismith for the second goal tonight but even if it wasn’t his game was well below the high standards he sets himself and he’ll no doubt have nightmares about missing that late chance to level the game.
Paul – I’ve been impressed all season long at how Paul has never allowed himself to be bullied but tonight he was tormented by Lafferty for the seventy odd minutes he had on the park.
Lewis – Recently, Lewis has been pretty much Mr Dependable but tonight I have absolutely no idea why he didn’t clear the ball and allowed Lafferty to steal in and score. He was distraught as could be easily seen from his reaction but he did redeem himself a little as it was his tenacity that resulted in him being fouled in the box for the penalty.
Boyler – Had to leave the field injured, late in the first half. On the odd occasions that the ball reached him he gave Mitchell a bit of a hard time but he seems to have lost his appetite for scoring goals and getting in positions to do that.
Whitty – Steven had a bit of an up and down match tonight, in a midfield that struggled from the off. Too often he was caught on his heels and didn’t win too many second balls but he was by no means alone in that regard.
Scotty – Flitted in and out of the game and I think it’s fair to say that he struggles when things get physical. Tonight he took a few sore ones but also kept away from the ball when another sore one seemed likely. Played some delightful passes but was pretty peripheral at times.
SJM – I was tempted to refer to John as just JM tonight because I felt he was totally anonymous and seemed to spend most of his time trying to outmuscle his opponents to show who was the strongest. I was very disappointed with his display if truth be told.
Brandon – At times he looked like he was terrifying the Hearts defence and at other times he looked like he was terrified of the Hearts defence. On a few occasions he had the chance to run at the aging Aaron Hughes but didn’t take them when surely his pace would have left the Hearts man for dead. His chance, set up by Slivka, had me tearing out what little hair I have left.
Flo – Worked very hard but needs to work harder at avoiding getting caught offside. I lost count of the number of times his lack of concentration in running the Hearts back line, had him being caught offside. Was confident in grabbing the ball for the penalty and struck it well to give us some hope of getting something from the game.
Dylan – With his mask in place he didn’t use it as a disguise but got involved as often as he could. Sadly, his promptings came to nothing as move after move either broke down or came to a halt with the assistant ref flagging for offside.
Jamie – Buzzed around but caught Kamberi’s offside bug and clearly either didn’t hear or didn’t see Kamberi when he slashed the ball wide when off balance.
Slivka – Did ok when he came on and his surging run to set up Barker deserved a better outcome than Brandon feeling the need to take a touch when the ball was there to be hit first time.
Neil – I didn’t hear his post-match interview but I’m hoping someone might have asked him why the tried and tested 3-5-2 was dumped tonight.
The fans – Made enough noise and got right behind the team as always.
Craig Thomson – He’s finishing at the end of the season and in fact tonight might have been his last match. If only he’d red carded Lafferty and booked Adao – I’d have given him ten out of ten.
On now to Sunday, when the Rangers come to town knowing we’d need to beat them by five clear goals to nick third place. It’s highly unlikely but I hope we finish what’s been a fantastic season by having a bloody good go at them.