Jonnyboy
19-07-2018, 10:17 PM
It’s hard to know where to start with this one. Firstly, I wasn’t at the game so my offering is based on what I watched and sometimes failed to see of the television coverage. The line-up was the traditional 3-5-2 with Whitty on the left of the back three alongside Efe and Ryan Porteous whilst the midfield had SDG on the right, Lewis on the left and Mallan in the middle alongside big Marv. Up front were the only two first team strikers on the books at the moment in Flo and Oli.
Settling down in my brother’s living room in Livingston, I ventured the thought that Hibs would take it easy, score two or three and then start preparing for the next round. Unfortunately we took it far too easily and were two goals down inside the first five minutes. The opener came inside the first minute when Whitty was left for dead and Benjaminsen fired a low hard cross into the six yard area and with Bogdan ready to clutch the ball safely, Efe made a real hash of trying to hack it clear and only managed to slice the ball into his own net. A few minutes later we gave away cheap possession on our right and Benjaminsen again played the ball into our box, beyond the outstretched leg of Porteous and into the path of Olsen who had crept clear of Whittaker and the home team were 2-0 up before we’d really started.
Thankfully, after ten minutes it was 2-1 when SDG’s low cross into the box was met at the back post by SJM and Hibs were finally awake and in the game. A couple of half chances were missed but on sixteen minutes a clever cut back found Lewis unmarked on the right edge of the eighteen yard box and the wee man fair rifled a shot into the postage stamp corner to make it 2-2. It seemed to be all Hibs now but in a rare breakaway, Bartley gave away cheap possession and once again Benjaminsen was the provider as Olsen grabbed his second and Runavik’s third with a classy low drive into the bottom corner.
With the ref ready to blow the half time whistle, a fine right foot cross by McGinn found SDG at the back post and the Hibs captain skilfully steered the ball home to make it 3-3 at half time. By this time there was a thick fog coming in off the water and based on the TV pictures it looked like the game might not finish but thankfully it did clear up again. By the time it had it was 4-4 with Efe firing home from a good Mallan delivery before Porteous misjudged the flight of the ball in the air allowing Olsen to race clear and get his hat trick.
It seemed the part time team might now be running out of puff and two sublime Mallan strikes saw Hibs home by a 6-4 scoreline. The first was a stunning free kick from a good twenty five yards out and the second, from open play, looked even further out but on both occasions the keeper had no chance.
I’d love to have been there but confess I might have panicked when that fog descended and abandonment would mean a whole host of problems would ensue. It seems odd to say it, given that we scored six goals away from home in Europe but I don’t think any one player stood out on a night when far too many schoolboy errors created needless pressure. If the Greeks were watching on they would have been encouraged.
The players
Adam – Had very little to do as all four goals were the result of poor play in front of him. One thing I will say is that he punched the ball on a couple of occasions tonight when he could easily have held it though he did have one good save, low to his right from a Knudsen free kick.
Efe – I’ve no idea why he swiped at the ball for the first goal although he maybe didn’t get a shout from the keeper.
Ryan – The big fella looked exposed a number of times and he’ll be disappointed he misjudged the flight of the ball, allowing them to score a fourth goal.
Whitty – Horribly exposed on a number of occasions and didn’t look the part at all as the left in a back three. His lack of pace will cause problems against players prepared to run at him.
SDG – Had an excellent first half and took his goal well. He might have had an excellent second half too but given that there was a long spell when I couldn’t see what was going on in that area of the park, I can only say he finished the game quite strongly.
Mallan – Flitted in and out of the game but two quite stunning strikes gave us a glimpse of what he can bring to the party.
Marv – I like Marv but I thought he was very poor tonight. When you play with three at the back you need your holding midfielder to provide protection and Marv didn’t really do that tonight.
SJM – I was delighted to see him start and I thought he played well in patches, took his goal well and set SDG up for his.
Lewis – What a stunning strike for the goal. Who would ever have believed that our traditional right and left back’s would both score for us in an away tie in Europe?
Flo – Kept the Runavik defenders on their toes all night but if I had a gripe it would be that sometimes he’s a bit greedy. Mind you, he’s a striker and I suppose that goes with the territory.
Oli – I’m aware that some feel he’s not ready yet and I guess I might get some flak for saying this but I thought on a poor night all round he was my man of the match. His hold up play was very good and he didn’t allow himself to be bullied. I also thought there were a few occasions when he and Flo combined well.
Slivka – Got the last ten minutes or so but I don’t really recall anything of note from his time on the park.
Danny – Same as Slivka really.
Hammer – Jamie only got a few minutes and whilst they had no impact on the game I’m sure he’ll treasure the fact that he’s played for Hibs in Europe.
Neil – I’ve no idea if he’s been interviewed as I left at the final whistle but I can pretty much guess what he had to say to them, especially at half time.
The fans – A huge well done to those that made the trip.
Settling down in my brother’s living room in Livingston, I ventured the thought that Hibs would take it easy, score two or three and then start preparing for the next round. Unfortunately we took it far too easily and were two goals down inside the first five minutes. The opener came inside the first minute when Whitty was left for dead and Benjaminsen fired a low hard cross into the six yard area and with Bogdan ready to clutch the ball safely, Efe made a real hash of trying to hack it clear and only managed to slice the ball into his own net. A few minutes later we gave away cheap possession on our right and Benjaminsen again played the ball into our box, beyond the outstretched leg of Porteous and into the path of Olsen who had crept clear of Whittaker and the home team were 2-0 up before we’d really started.
Thankfully, after ten minutes it was 2-1 when SDG’s low cross into the box was met at the back post by SJM and Hibs were finally awake and in the game. A couple of half chances were missed but on sixteen minutes a clever cut back found Lewis unmarked on the right edge of the eighteen yard box and the wee man fair rifled a shot into the postage stamp corner to make it 2-2. It seemed to be all Hibs now but in a rare breakaway, Bartley gave away cheap possession and once again Benjaminsen was the provider as Olsen grabbed his second and Runavik’s third with a classy low drive into the bottom corner.
With the ref ready to blow the half time whistle, a fine right foot cross by McGinn found SDG at the back post and the Hibs captain skilfully steered the ball home to make it 3-3 at half time. By this time there was a thick fog coming in off the water and based on the TV pictures it looked like the game might not finish but thankfully it did clear up again. By the time it had it was 4-4 with Efe firing home from a good Mallan delivery before Porteous misjudged the flight of the ball in the air allowing Olsen to race clear and get his hat trick.
It seemed the part time team might now be running out of puff and two sublime Mallan strikes saw Hibs home by a 6-4 scoreline. The first was a stunning free kick from a good twenty five yards out and the second, from open play, looked even further out but on both occasions the keeper had no chance.
I’d love to have been there but confess I might have panicked when that fog descended and abandonment would mean a whole host of problems would ensue. It seems odd to say it, given that we scored six goals away from home in Europe but I don’t think any one player stood out on a night when far too many schoolboy errors created needless pressure. If the Greeks were watching on they would have been encouraged.
The players
Adam – Had very little to do as all four goals were the result of poor play in front of him. One thing I will say is that he punched the ball on a couple of occasions tonight when he could easily have held it though he did have one good save, low to his right from a Knudsen free kick.
Efe – I’ve no idea why he swiped at the ball for the first goal although he maybe didn’t get a shout from the keeper.
Ryan – The big fella looked exposed a number of times and he’ll be disappointed he misjudged the flight of the ball, allowing them to score a fourth goal.
Whitty – Horribly exposed on a number of occasions and didn’t look the part at all as the left in a back three. His lack of pace will cause problems against players prepared to run at him.
SDG – Had an excellent first half and took his goal well. He might have had an excellent second half too but given that there was a long spell when I couldn’t see what was going on in that area of the park, I can only say he finished the game quite strongly.
Mallan – Flitted in and out of the game but two quite stunning strikes gave us a glimpse of what he can bring to the party.
Marv – I like Marv but I thought he was very poor tonight. When you play with three at the back you need your holding midfielder to provide protection and Marv didn’t really do that tonight.
SJM – I was delighted to see him start and I thought he played well in patches, took his goal well and set SDG up for his.
Lewis – What a stunning strike for the goal. Who would ever have believed that our traditional right and left back’s would both score for us in an away tie in Europe?
Flo – Kept the Runavik defenders on their toes all night but if I had a gripe it would be that sometimes he’s a bit greedy. Mind you, he’s a striker and I suppose that goes with the territory.
Oli – I’m aware that some feel he’s not ready yet and I guess I might get some flak for saying this but I thought on a poor night all round he was my man of the match. His hold up play was very good and he didn’t allow himself to be bullied. I also thought there were a few occasions when he and Flo combined well.
Slivka – Got the last ten minutes or so but I don’t really recall anything of note from his time on the park.
Danny – Same as Slivka really.
Hammer – Jamie only got a few minutes and whilst they had no impact on the game I’m sure he’ll treasure the fact that he’s played for Hibs in Europe.
Neil – I’ve no idea if he’s been interviewed as I left at the final whistle but I can pretty much guess what he had to say to them, especially at half time.
The fans – A huge well done to those that made the trip.