Jonnyboy
16-08-2018, 08:56 PM
As I’ve said before, it’s not easy writing this stuff when all you’ve got to go on is television pictures and it’s even harder when the pictures you are watching are provided by a single camera with no instant replays. Nevertheless, that’s what I’m going to do and so I hope the reader will bear in mind that hard work and effort off the ball is not going to be described/included. It may well have happened but for the most part, I didn’t see it if it did.
Going into the game Lenny was confident that Hibs would score and therefore make the job of Molde all the more difficult. I confess, I thought the same because we came so close on several occasions in the home leg. If we could play the same way and look to convert chances we’d be in with a good shout of progressing. Sadly, it was not to be and in the end we went out with a whimper.
I thought we started well enough and enjoyed some good periods of possession but we were toothless in the final third with Flo and Jamie seeming to contribute very little. Some half chances came our way and Stevie Mallan twice tested the Norwegian goalie. For their part, Molde also fashioned a couple of chances and Hibs were very lucky when a ball into the box allowed a free header but the Molde player put the ball high and wide.
At this point I was thinking we were still very much in the hunt but we then conceded a very cheap goal. A high cross from the right reached our back post where a Molde player outmuscled Efe in the jump to send the ball back across goal and Haaland was unchallenged in heading home. It was a real blow and the home side put the foot on the gas to try and get a second. Hibs’ cause was not helped when Bartley went down holding his hamstring about five minutes before the break and I confess I was somewhat surprised that he was replaced by Hyndman when Whittaker or Martin might have been the obvious choice.
As they did at Easter Road the hosts started the second half brightly, although one of the best chances of the half fell to Boyler who contrived to push a weak effort wide of the post. Not long after, Hibs were guilty of some criminal marking as Hestad picked the ball up inside his own half and galloped unchallenged right down the middle of the park before finding Haaland who quickly moved the ball onto Auresnes for an easy tap in. I’m sure Lenny would have been apoplectic at that scenario, I know I was.
A glimmer of hope surfaced when Maclaren lost his marker in the box but his low header beat the keeper, only to come back off the base of a post before being cleared. Had that gone in, who knows how Molde would have reacted? As it was, it didn’t and with around ten minutes left the hosts shredded Hibs’ defence and scored a third through Haaland.
It was really poor stuff from Hibs with my brother voicing the view that they’d played like they did when Aberdeen ripped them apart at Pittodrie last season.
I’m going to offer my views as always on how each player performed but again I must say my views are based entirely on television pictures.
The players
Adam – Although beaten three times, I don’t think it would be fair to blame him for conceding any of them. The lad needs to work on his kicking though.
Efe – As polished as he was against St Johnstone he was very erratic tonight and should have done a lot better at the first goal.
Ryan – Porty was booked early in the first half for a ‘robust’ tackle and subsequently had to tread warily for the rest of the game. I thought Haaland got the better of him on a few occasions but one thing I won’t criticise the laddie on is his bravery as, once again, he put his body on the line when it mattered.
Paul – For me, Paul had a pretty jittery night and was not his usual composed self. Ventured forward a few times, lost the ball and left us light at the back for a counter attack.
Boyler – Lenny has rightly been talking Boyler up but tonight I thought he was woeful and I’d have replaced him at half time with David Gray. The number of times he went past a man but forgot to take the ball with him was horrendous.
Slivka – Once again he flitted in and out of the game and while he picked out a few decent passes he seemed to go missing for periods too.
Marv – The big fella was doing ok I thought but his hamstring injury will likely keep him out for a week or two.
Stevie – Another who flitted in and out, two decent efforts at goal but knocked off the ball too easily in a packed midfield.
Lewis – I thought Lewis was doing ok but has to take his share of the responsibility in a defence that shipped three very avoidable goals.
Jamie – He might have been working his socks off but the TV pictures didn’t show that. On a couple of occasions he made clever runs off the back of a defender but no end product.
Flo – This was quite possibly his worst performance in a Hibs strip. Contributed virtually nothing and failed on almost every occasion to hold the ball up.
Emerson – The TV pictures were from a distance and I may have kept mixing him and Mallan up as both are very slight in build and both are easily bullied off the ball.
Oli – I was pleased to see him coming on but I’d have hooked Kamberi rather than Maclaren.
SDG – Two minutes left, 3-0 down …. I mean what was the point.
Lenny – Haven’t heard his views but I’m pretty sure he’ll be an angry man tonight.
Man of the match – I couldn’t in all honesty give that to a player; instead I’m giving it to the band of Hibs fans that made the trip, sang their lungs out and cheered the players at the end. Every man, woman and child of you, take a bow.
The ref – The Dutchman didn’t really get much wrong to be fair.
Finally – I hate when we lose; I hate when we fold like we did; I’m sure my fellow Hibs fans will be hurting as much as me but on the drive home from Livingston, where I went to watch the game, I came to the conclusion that we should be proud of our club for coming so far over the last couple of seasons. It’s been an education and I hope the players learned from it.
Going into the game Lenny was confident that Hibs would score and therefore make the job of Molde all the more difficult. I confess, I thought the same because we came so close on several occasions in the home leg. If we could play the same way and look to convert chances we’d be in with a good shout of progressing. Sadly, it was not to be and in the end we went out with a whimper.
I thought we started well enough and enjoyed some good periods of possession but we were toothless in the final third with Flo and Jamie seeming to contribute very little. Some half chances came our way and Stevie Mallan twice tested the Norwegian goalie. For their part, Molde also fashioned a couple of chances and Hibs were very lucky when a ball into the box allowed a free header but the Molde player put the ball high and wide.
At this point I was thinking we were still very much in the hunt but we then conceded a very cheap goal. A high cross from the right reached our back post where a Molde player outmuscled Efe in the jump to send the ball back across goal and Haaland was unchallenged in heading home. It was a real blow and the home side put the foot on the gas to try and get a second. Hibs’ cause was not helped when Bartley went down holding his hamstring about five minutes before the break and I confess I was somewhat surprised that he was replaced by Hyndman when Whittaker or Martin might have been the obvious choice.
As they did at Easter Road the hosts started the second half brightly, although one of the best chances of the half fell to Boyler who contrived to push a weak effort wide of the post. Not long after, Hibs were guilty of some criminal marking as Hestad picked the ball up inside his own half and galloped unchallenged right down the middle of the park before finding Haaland who quickly moved the ball onto Auresnes for an easy tap in. I’m sure Lenny would have been apoplectic at that scenario, I know I was.
A glimmer of hope surfaced when Maclaren lost his marker in the box but his low header beat the keeper, only to come back off the base of a post before being cleared. Had that gone in, who knows how Molde would have reacted? As it was, it didn’t and with around ten minutes left the hosts shredded Hibs’ defence and scored a third through Haaland.
It was really poor stuff from Hibs with my brother voicing the view that they’d played like they did when Aberdeen ripped them apart at Pittodrie last season.
I’m going to offer my views as always on how each player performed but again I must say my views are based entirely on television pictures.
The players
Adam – Although beaten three times, I don’t think it would be fair to blame him for conceding any of them. The lad needs to work on his kicking though.
Efe – As polished as he was against St Johnstone he was very erratic tonight and should have done a lot better at the first goal.
Ryan – Porty was booked early in the first half for a ‘robust’ tackle and subsequently had to tread warily for the rest of the game. I thought Haaland got the better of him on a few occasions but one thing I won’t criticise the laddie on is his bravery as, once again, he put his body on the line when it mattered.
Paul – For me, Paul had a pretty jittery night and was not his usual composed self. Ventured forward a few times, lost the ball and left us light at the back for a counter attack.
Boyler – Lenny has rightly been talking Boyler up but tonight I thought he was woeful and I’d have replaced him at half time with David Gray. The number of times he went past a man but forgot to take the ball with him was horrendous.
Slivka – Once again he flitted in and out of the game and while he picked out a few decent passes he seemed to go missing for periods too.
Marv – The big fella was doing ok I thought but his hamstring injury will likely keep him out for a week or two.
Stevie – Another who flitted in and out, two decent efforts at goal but knocked off the ball too easily in a packed midfield.
Lewis – I thought Lewis was doing ok but has to take his share of the responsibility in a defence that shipped three very avoidable goals.
Jamie – He might have been working his socks off but the TV pictures didn’t show that. On a couple of occasions he made clever runs off the back of a defender but no end product.
Flo – This was quite possibly his worst performance in a Hibs strip. Contributed virtually nothing and failed on almost every occasion to hold the ball up.
Emerson – The TV pictures were from a distance and I may have kept mixing him and Mallan up as both are very slight in build and both are easily bullied off the ball.
Oli – I was pleased to see him coming on but I’d have hooked Kamberi rather than Maclaren.
SDG – Two minutes left, 3-0 down …. I mean what was the point.
Lenny – Haven’t heard his views but I’m pretty sure he’ll be an angry man tonight.
Man of the match – I couldn’t in all honesty give that to a player; instead I’m giving it to the band of Hibs fans that made the trip, sang their lungs out and cheered the players at the end. Every man, woman and child of you, take a bow.
The ref – The Dutchman didn’t really get much wrong to be fair.
Finally – I hate when we lose; I hate when we fold like we did; I’m sure my fellow Hibs fans will be hurting as much as me but on the drive home from Livingston, where I went to watch the game, I came to the conclusion that we should be proud of our club for coming so far over the last couple of seasons. It’s been an education and I hope the players learned from it.