Jonnyboy
25-09-2018, 11:48 PM
I’ve never been mugged but I would imagine that’s how the Hibs players feel tonight after losing out in the cruellest fashion to an Aberdeen side that was allowed to foul its way through 120 minutes of football. I’m not going to blame referee Steven McLean for our defeat as poor decision making and a profligacy of missed chances were the reason we lost but his performance tonight was the worst I’ve seen from a top referee in many a year. The Dons, as seems to be their style these days, committed foul after foul with the likes of Shinnie and McKenna getting away with murder whilst Hyndman was booked for his only real challenge of the game and Mallan was booked for contesting a 50/50 ball with Cosgrove. Ineptitude doesn’t cover it in terms of my assessment of his performance and had he applied the rules correctly there is every chance Aberdeen might have had to play a large portion of the game with only ten men. Shinnie, on three occasions for example, tripped a Hibs man as he raced clear only for McLean to award the foul but no yellow card.
Personnel wise, David Gray hadn’t recovered enough to make the team and so Hibs went with three at the back in and Hanlon whilst Horgan and Slivka were on the bench with Shaw and Hyndman in the starting eleven.
As I’ve said, the referee didn’t lose us the game as chance after chance was squandered, starting early on when Kamberi shot wide the goal empty. Up until then, Aberdeen had been in with a shout as an early goalmouth scramble saw Hibs manage to clear the danger and later, Ball’s free kick struck the crossbar. In truth though, the Dons offered very little in an attacking sense whilst Hibs contrived to miss chance after chance and had a goal chalked off when Boyle was adjudged to have handled the ball prior to slotting the ball under the advancing Lewis. Boyle again, Kamberi and Hyndman missed good opportunities in rushing attempts when a touch of composure might have helped. Even when a shot did land on target the giant that is Joe Lewis pulled off excellent saves to keep his side in the game. Quite how we reached half time without having a comfortable lead is baffling to say the least. Aberdeen could have had no complaint had they gone in 4-0 down.
Two more shots from Hyndman resulted in a near miss and a good save and then Kamberi brilliantly turned Devlin before racing towards goal. The striker decided to shoot and the ball sailed over the bar when a square pass would have found both Shaw and Boyle in space. Boyle again had the ball in the net but was adjudged offside before Shaw broke free but screwed his shot wide of the post. The last few minutes of normal time were extremely tense but to Hibs’ credit they kept looking for that elusive goal. It didn’t arrive and so we moved into extra time.
At this point, Hibs replaced a struggling Paul Hanlon and a very tired Hyndman with Bartley and Agyepong meaning that Milligan slotted into the back three and Agyepong slipped in behind the two strikers. Perhaps unsurprisingly the pace of the game dropped but it was still Hibs on the front foot with Agyepong looking lively. A near thing saw Whittaker, who had replaced an exhausted Kamberi, head for goal but with Lewis beaten the ball struck a Dons defender and spun away for a corner. Aberdeen then had a couple of chances on the break but both May and McGinn were wild with their efforts. Deadlock meant penalties and Aberdeen won the right to take theirs first. The kicks were at the South Stand end and so the sizeable and noisy Dons support had a grandstand view.
Mallan took the first penalty for Hibs and it was saved by Lewis who must present a daunting sight when faced. The fact that he was a couple of yards off his line when Mallan struck the ball seemed to elude the attentions of McLean and the assistant standing in the position to ensure such a thing doesn’t happen. The Dons were in the driving seat until Bogdan made a fine stop from McGinn’s effort and after five apiece it was sudden death. Sadly, Hibs lost out when young Thomas Agyepong saw his effort strike the underside of the bar and bounce out.
That was a sore one to take and I’m gutted we lost out whilst at the same time having immense pride in our players and the fact that they stood up to the bullying and simply kept trying to create opportunities to score. I heard the after match interviews and thought McInnes was quite honest in his summing up – especially when he said his final substitution was made with penalties in mind. When the lad Anderson came on there was still six or seven minutes to go. Inadvertently, McInnes had admitted they were playing for penalties as they’d been practicing them the day before. To be honest, even half way through the second half of normal time it was obvious Aberdeen were looking for a draw.
The players
Adam – The fact that he had little to do until the penalties doesn’t deter me from saying that the laddie is growing in confidence week on week. To have a keeper that confidently comes and collects high balls into the box is a real bonus in my view.
Efe – I gave Efe my man of the match for the Dundee game and despite the fact that he had a few close contenders tonight I can’t bring myself not to award it to him again. He was immense throughout and his timing in the tackle was absolutely spot on.
Ryan – The big lad has a few rough edges but he’s honing them nicely with each game that passes. His handling of the very physical Sam Cosgrove was mightily impressive.
Paul – Got the man of the match at the stadium and I can see why as he played a good captain’s part but as he missed extra time he left the door open for Efe.
Boyler – Martin twice had the ball in the net but neither counted. On two other occasions he elected to shoot when a cut back may have produced a better outcome but what I absolutely loved about him tonight was that no matter how many times he was fouled, and that was many, he just got up and got on with it.
Emerson – This was by far and away his best performance in green and white. I thought he was fantastic tonight and played a few passes that Scott Allan would have been proud of. Added to that his work rate was excellent and he got stuck in when needed. Was close to Efe in my thoughts for man of the match but like Paul, never managed the full 120.
Milligan – The more I see of Mark Milligan the more I think we’ve got a cracking player on our hands. He played the holding role to perfection and was always on hand when needed. Also talks his way through the game and the younger players will certainly learn from his experience.
Stevie – Flitted in and out a bit his ‘in’ bits were very good with intelligent use of the ball. I was very pleased to see him mix it physically as up until now I’ve felt he’s backed away from challenges on occasion.
Lewis – Whether the arrival of the new man has any bearing or not, I don’t know, but the wee fella was magnificent tonight with Mackay Steven once again getting no change out of him. Oh and boy, did he thrash that penalty home.
Flo – Had he scored with that early chance he and we’d be looking forward to a trip to Hampden I am sure. Had a couple of other chances and elected to shoot when a square pass or cut back might have reaped rewards but it’s hard to criticise a striker for having a shot at goal.
Oli – A strange striking partnership but I thought Oli did well enough. Still lacks a bit of physicality but he’s young and it will come.
Marv – The fans just love Marv and I reckon the feeling is mutual. Played his part in stifling Aberdeen in the middle of the park and frightened himself silly when he turned up in the Aberdeen box with the goals in sight.
Wee Tommy – This lad will trouble defences of that I’ve no doubt. I felt heart sorry for him when his penalty struck the bar but I’m sure he’d know he was forgiven when Lewis rushed forward to put an arm around his shoulder.
Whitty – Only got fifteen minutes and came oh so close to scoring what would probably have been the winning goal. I wonder how those Hibs ‘fans’ I heard booing his arrival onto the pitch would have dealt with that.
The ref – I’ve said my piece but even after having calmed down whilst writing this I’m still disgusted with him.
Lenny – His team did him proud tonight in that they played the game the way it should be played. Hibs were by far the better team and even McInnes hinted at that in his interview. I’m sure some will say ‘why proud when they lost’ but I’m sorry, I’m cut from a different cloth.
The fans – I don’t know what the attendance was but in the main we got right behind the team whilst the Since1875 folks were heard loud and clear.
Personnel wise, David Gray hadn’t recovered enough to make the team and so Hibs went with three at the back in and Hanlon whilst Horgan and Slivka were on the bench with Shaw and Hyndman in the starting eleven.
As I’ve said, the referee didn’t lose us the game as chance after chance was squandered, starting early on when Kamberi shot wide the goal empty. Up until then, Aberdeen had been in with a shout as an early goalmouth scramble saw Hibs manage to clear the danger and later, Ball’s free kick struck the crossbar. In truth though, the Dons offered very little in an attacking sense whilst Hibs contrived to miss chance after chance and had a goal chalked off when Boyle was adjudged to have handled the ball prior to slotting the ball under the advancing Lewis. Boyle again, Kamberi and Hyndman missed good opportunities in rushing attempts when a touch of composure might have helped. Even when a shot did land on target the giant that is Joe Lewis pulled off excellent saves to keep his side in the game. Quite how we reached half time without having a comfortable lead is baffling to say the least. Aberdeen could have had no complaint had they gone in 4-0 down.
Two more shots from Hyndman resulted in a near miss and a good save and then Kamberi brilliantly turned Devlin before racing towards goal. The striker decided to shoot and the ball sailed over the bar when a square pass would have found both Shaw and Boyle in space. Boyle again had the ball in the net but was adjudged offside before Shaw broke free but screwed his shot wide of the post. The last few minutes of normal time were extremely tense but to Hibs’ credit they kept looking for that elusive goal. It didn’t arrive and so we moved into extra time.
At this point, Hibs replaced a struggling Paul Hanlon and a very tired Hyndman with Bartley and Agyepong meaning that Milligan slotted into the back three and Agyepong slipped in behind the two strikers. Perhaps unsurprisingly the pace of the game dropped but it was still Hibs on the front foot with Agyepong looking lively. A near thing saw Whittaker, who had replaced an exhausted Kamberi, head for goal but with Lewis beaten the ball struck a Dons defender and spun away for a corner. Aberdeen then had a couple of chances on the break but both May and McGinn were wild with their efforts. Deadlock meant penalties and Aberdeen won the right to take theirs first. The kicks were at the South Stand end and so the sizeable and noisy Dons support had a grandstand view.
Mallan took the first penalty for Hibs and it was saved by Lewis who must present a daunting sight when faced. The fact that he was a couple of yards off his line when Mallan struck the ball seemed to elude the attentions of McLean and the assistant standing in the position to ensure such a thing doesn’t happen. The Dons were in the driving seat until Bogdan made a fine stop from McGinn’s effort and after five apiece it was sudden death. Sadly, Hibs lost out when young Thomas Agyepong saw his effort strike the underside of the bar and bounce out.
That was a sore one to take and I’m gutted we lost out whilst at the same time having immense pride in our players and the fact that they stood up to the bullying and simply kept trying to create opportunities to score. I heard the after match interviews and thought McInnes was quite honest in his summing up – especially when he said his final substitution was made with penalties in mind. When the lad Anderson came on there was still six or seven minutes to go. Inadvertently, McInnes had admitted they were playing for penalties as they’d been practicing them the day before. To be honest, even half way through the second half of normal time it was obvious Aberdeen were looking for a draw.
The players
Adam – The fact that he had little to do until the penalties doesn’t deter me from saying that the laddie is growing in confidence week on week. To have a keeper that confidently comes and collects high balls into the box is a real bonus in my view.
Efe – I gave Efe my man of the match for the Dundee game and despite the fact that he had a few close contenders tonight I can’t bring myself not to award it to him again. He was immense throughout and his timing in the tackle was absolutely spot on.
Ryan – The big lad has a few rough edges but he’s honing them nicely with each game that passes. His handling of the very physical Sam Cosgrove was mightily impressive.
Paul – Got the man of the match at the stadium and I can see why as he played a good captain’s part but as he missed extra time he left the door open for Efe.
Boyler – Martin twice had the ball in the net but neither counted. On two other occasions he elected to shoot when a cut back may have produced a better outcome but what I absolutely loved about him tonight was that no matter how many times he was fouled, and that was many, he just got up and got on with it.
Emerson – This was by far and away his best performance in green and white. I thought he was fantastic tonight and played a few passes that Scott Allan would have been proud of. Added to that his work rate was excellent and he got stuck in when needed. Was close to Efe in my thoughts for man of the match but like Paul, never managed the full 120.
Milligan – The more I see of Mark Milligan the more I think we’ve got a cracking player on our hands. He played the holding role to perfection and was always on hand when needed. Also talks his way through the game and the younger players will certainly learn from his experience.
Stevie – Flitted in and out a bit his ‘in’ bits were very good with intelligent use of the ball. I was very pleased to see him mix it physically as up until now I’ve felt he’s backed away from challenges on occasion.
Lewis – Whether the arrival of the new man has any bearing or not, I don’t know, but the wee fella was magnificent tonight with Mackay Steven once again getting no change out of him. Oh and boy, did he thrash that penalty home.
Flo – Had he scored with that early chance he and we’d be looking forward to a trip to Hampden I am sure. Had a couple of other chances and elected to shoot when a square pass or cut back might have reaped rewards but it’s hard to criticise a striker for having a shot at goal.
Oli – A strange striking partnership but I thought Oli did well enough. Still lacks a bit of physicality but he’s young and it will come.
Marv – The fans just love Marv and I reckon the feeling is mutual. Played his part in stifling Aberdeen in the middle of the park and frightened himself silly when he turned up in the Aberdeen box with the goals in sight.
Wee Tommy – This lad will trouble defences of that I’ve no doubt. I felt heart sorry for him when his penalty struck the bar but I’m sure he’d know he was forgiven when Lewis rushed forward to put an arm around his shoulder.
Whitty – Only got fifteen minutes and came oh so close to scoring what would probably have been the winning goal. I wonder how those Hibs ‘fans’ I heard booing his arrival onto the pitch would have dealt with that.
The ref – I’ve said my piece but even after having calmed down whilst writing this I’m still disgusted with him.
Lenny – His team did him proud tonight in that they played the game the way it should be played. Hibs were by far the better team and even McInnes hinted at that in his interview. I’m sure some will say ‘why proud when they lost’ but I’m sorry, I’m cut from a different cloth.
The fans – I don’t know what the attendance was but in the main we got right behind the team whilst the Since1875 folks were heard loud and clear.