PDA

View Full Version : This is how it feels (Hearts 31102018)



Jonnyboy
01-11-2018, 12:06 AM
Where to begin? Maybe deal with the off the field incidents first. Bobby Zlamel apparently punched in the face by a Hibs ‘fan’ and Neil Lennon reportedly struck in the face by a coin thrown by a Hearts ‘fan.’ Add to that the fact that both assistant referees were apparently struck by thrown objects during the game. Additionally, we saw flares being tossed around and although I heard Brian McLaughlin of the BBC mention a flare thrown from the Hibs support into the Hearts stand he must surely have realised that the dark red coloured flares were unlikely to have been thrown by a Hibs fan. He is, of course, a Hearts fan and perhaps resorted to selective memory. Those points aside, the behaviour of elements of both supports was quite frankly shameful.

These people are the lowest of the low and a great advert as to why alcohol at games should remain a no, no. Watching the Hibs fans filling the Roseburn Stand it was astonishing how many of them seemed off their faces. Alcohol and whatever else will be blamed but the real culprits are the ‘fans’ that behaved in that way. They bring shame and quite probably financial penalties to the club and I can only hope they are caught on CCTV. I expect I’ll take some criticism for what I consider to be home truths but surely no right minded fan can condone any of the misdemeanours?

As to the game, we made life very difficult for ourselves by going down to ten men and although I heard the Sportsound guys defending Flo over his second booking the fact remains that he knew he was on a yellow and should not have gotten involved. It gave Dallas a very easy decision to make and let’s be honest he got loads of his decisions wrong over the ninety minutes.

When I heard the starting eleven I speculated that we might set up in a 4-1-3-1-1 formation with Marv in front of the back four, Milligan, Slivka and Mallan in the middle with Boyler playing off Kamberi up front. Needless to say I was wrong as Neil went with Efe, Daz and Milli at the back, allowing Whitty and Lewis to play wide in a five. From the off, Hearts seemed to target Milligan with numerous balls delivered into the space behind him but the Aussie coped well enough, aided by the alertness of Daz whenever trouble looked to be in store. The hosts came flying out of the traps and had us on the back foot for the first ten or fifteen minutes but when Hibs were awarded a rare fee kick about twenty-five yards out, Mallan struck a beauty that just dipped too late and hit the top of the bar on the way out of play. I’m convinced if it had been on target it was a goal because Zlamel was getting nowhere near it.

After Hearts were once again repelled, Hibs won a corner and Mallan’s deep cross was met square on by the head of McGregor and in truth I felt he should have scored rather than hit the side netting. It was amusing hearing the Hearts fans shouting ‘hoof’ every time we cleared the ball from danger and irony is clearly not their strongpoint because Hearts’ whole game plan seemed to involve punting high balls forward in the hope that they might find a team mate. Mallan went close on another two occasions, first striking the bar and then almost fooling Zlamel with a drilled free kick towards the near post.

A stunning save by Bogdan proved to be his only real save of the night but it was a real beauty. Just ahead of half time, Kamberi and Djoum got involved and Dallas wasted no time in booking both. Once again he just couldn’t wait to get his card out, just as he’d done earlier in the game in booking Bartley for a robust but fair challenge on Haring. It seemed that every time a Hibs player tackled an opponent, the Hearts players were in his face demanding free kicks.

At half time it was spot the personality as I watched Neil from the Young Ones wander over the pitch to the tunnel and then announcer Scott Wilson whipped the home support up into frenzy by introducing a stalwart of the East Lothian Decorators Federation to conduct the half time draw.

Early in the second half, Boyle and Smith exchanged shoves and Dallas solved the issue by booking both. Next into the book were Bozanic and Kamberi. My take on it, and TV pictures might prove me wrong, was that a 50/50 ball was contested by the two players and as a result, Garrucio ended up on the deck. For me there was no foul but the roars from the home stands and the carping in the face of the ref by Bozanic led to Kamberi losing the plot a bit and looking like he wanted to go fighting. He never got near a Hearts player, largely thanks to Slivka holding him back but Flo’s petulance combined with the pressure being heaped on Dallas by the Hearts players resulted in a second yellow and subsequent red with a good twenty five minutes still on the clock.

Hearts clearly fancied their chances now and enjoyed most of the possession from thereon in but much to the dismay of a clearly disgruntled Hearts support they totally failed to make the advantage of the extra man count. They dillied and dallied and huffed and puffed but still got no shots on target. A lot of that was due to the sterling work of the ten men and the fact that a late strike from a Hearts man hit the outside of the post and went behind. A late scare was on the cards and it arrived in the shape of a Dikamona header hitting the net but as the fans and players celebrated I noticed, with great delight that the assistant referee had his flag up for offside. I haven’t seen the incident again but in a perverse way I hope the lino got it wrong.

All in all I’m happy with the point after so many things went against us and I feel the ten men for the last twenty five minutes deserve enormous praise for their work rate and concentration levels.

The players

Adam - One stunning first half save and a bizarre couple of punches in the second were pretty much all he had to do all night.

Efe – it seemed that every cross into the box was cleared by Efe and although he had a couple of ropey clearances late in the second half he was basically sound.

Daz – Looked to struggle a bit early on with a couple of poor headed clearances but thereafter he was just Daz.

Milli – Targeted early on as part of Levein’s master plan (which was effectively, getting his defenders to hoof the ball into that corner) he looked assured throughout and on the one occasion I recall him being caught in possession he soon atoned for his error.

Whitty – I don’t expect I’ll get many agreeing with this but I thought Whitty was excellent tonight, especially in defending set pieces when he invariably stopped Jimmy Dunne getting anywhere near the ball. To my mind, Dunne is their best player by a distance and Whitty deserves both the credit for negating any threat and earning my man of the match award.

Slivka – Didn’t do anything spectacular but didn’t do much wrong either. He was there when needed and threaded a few decent passes to team mates.

Marv – Restored to the team and made captain for the night I thought his booking was harsh and given that it came early it didn’t stop him going about his business as usual.

Stevie – Rattled a few good shots at goal and was unlucky not to score. Add to that his willingness to run himself ragged in repelling the Hearts eleven and he can be pleased with his night’s work.

Lewis – Time and again Lewis was faced with the tricky Morrison and time and again he dealt with it, albeit with the help of Milligan on a few occasions.

Boyler – Ran his socks off, got hacked down a few times but as usual, he just got up and went back for more. Was clearly ‘noised up’ by Michael Smith and probably shouldn’t have pushed him but the laddie must be sick to death of getting little or no protection from officials.

Flo – Not a game he will remember with any great affection. Booked in the first half for what Dallas clearly indicated was persistent fouling (Dikamona and Haring fouled more often than him but neither was booked) he should never have reacted the way he did in earning his second yellow.

Oli – Got the last ten minutes when he replaced the knackered Boyle but in truth Hibs were defending pretty deep and he didn’t see a lot of the ball.

Emerson – The most interesting thing about Emerson’s appearance was that it was him and not Ryan Porteous that Lenny brought on. A clear indication to me that even down to ten men, Lenny still wanted to go looking for a winning goal.

Andrew Dallas – As alluded to earlier, he seemed to give Hearts a free kick every time one of their players lost the ball in a tackle. In a multitude of baffling decisions the one that sticks out most for me was him giving a free kick to Hearts after Oli Shaw had attempted a tackle and missed completely.

The fans – To those of you who, like me went along to Tynecastle to watch your team beat their oldest rivals, I salute you. To those morons who sullied the name of our club by their behaviour I say, I hope you’re identified and punished accordingly.

And finally ………. As they used to say on News at Ten, I was both stunned and surprised to find hot water in the gents. I was so impressed I washed my hands twice – pity there was no soap!

Lancs Harp
01-11-2018, 12:12 AM
Just a couple of points Jonny.

The Lino was indeed spot on with disallowing their goal.

Ref Marvs booking, I think you need to see it again. :wink:

A welcome report as ever tho

Jonnyboy
01-11-2018, 12:13 AM
Just a couple of points Johnnie.

The Lino was indeed spot on with disallowing their goal.

Bugger :greengrin

Ref Marvs booking, I think you need to see it again. :wink:

Really! :greengrin

PatHead
01-11-2018, 12:23 AM
Good report.
Only difference would be that Smith both elbowed and kicked Boyle. That was what got Boyle going mad.

Jonnyboy
01-11-2018, 12:25 AM
Good report.
Only difference would be that Smith both elbowed and kicked Boyle. That was what got Boyle going mad.

Didn't see that, K. Folk in front of me blocked my view so I only really saw the shoving.

PatHead
01-11-2018, 12:30 AM
Didn't see that, K. Folk in front of me blocked my view so I only really saw the shoving.

Think Levien’s teamtalk at half time were to wind up Hibs players. It worked with assistance from an incompetent referee.

NAE NOOKIE
01-11-2018, 01:23 AM
From the telly this was my view of the players efforts:

Bogdan …. 6 ….. Only really had one meaningful shot to save and did it brilliantly …. but flapped at one cross and failing to learn his lesson made a horrendous cock up of another one and was very lucky not to cost us the game as a result.

Whittaker … 7 … Did a more than decent job, one of his better performances.

Ambrose …. 7 …. Hardly put a foot wrong, apart from once when he tried to take the ball out of the box when it looked like all he had to do was leave it for Bogdan, he was lucky we weren't made to pay for him losing the ball as a result.

McGregor …. 8 …. Won header after header and put in challenge after challenge … it would have been a 9 but Daz … WTF was that header all about, you'll wake up in the middle of the night sweating over missing a golden chance to score a winning derby goal.

Milligan …. 7 …. Solid as anything and did little wrong.

Stevenson … 7 …. Played one or two decent cross field balls and as usual did his defensive duties diligently … but ye gods Lewie, WTF was that shot all about when we had 3 men in the box?

Bartley …. 8 …. In all honesty lucky not to be sent off for a pretty late tackle , but that aside he was immense breaking up the play and actually showing more composure on the ball than players who are supposed to be better than him.

Mallan …. 7 …. Worked hard enough but clearly isn't the sort of midfielder who can impose himself on the general play, gets a 7 because he was close to scoring three times, including a clever free kick which very nearly fooled the Hertz keeper.

Slivka … 6 …. Neat and tidy enough, but just another game where his contribution lasted 25 minutes rather than 90 … I fail to see how we cant do better than him.

Boyle …. 6 …. Worked his socks off, but in all honesty he didn't trouble the Hertz defence nearly enough, though I'm prepared to concede he could have done with a lot more service.

Kamberi …. 5 …. Didn't do a great deal and though I think the ref was wrong to send him off he didn't exactly help himself.

SUBS:

Shaw … 4 ….. Was barely involved.

Hyndman … 3 …. No time to do anything.

Neil Lennon …. 6 …. Not quite sure he was brave enough in his team selection or formation for that matter, but he came away with a point and in any circumstances not losing at a venue where we traditionally struggle is an acceptable effort. You would think he would know by now that Hearts have more than their fair share of morons and that a coin in the head was going to be a likely outcome to what was for me at least a hilarious reaction to the Jambos who thought they had scored a winner having their bubble burst :greengrin

SonOfDavidFrancey
01-11-2018, 10:27 AM
Yes another great report.

Far from getting it in the neck about the support you’ve got it just right.

The slowmo of Marvin’s tackle on Sportscene suggests you have that wrong and in truth so did Dallas - it’s a red card challenge.

brog
01-11-2018, 10:32 AM
Good report.
Only difference would be that Smith both elbowed and kicked Boyle. That was what got Boyle going mad.


The worst part was that the ball was nowhere near out of play but as usual the officials got it wrong. It's a shame Smith was booked as otherwise it would have been yet another retroactive red for the Yams.

BILLYHIBS
01-11-2018, 10:44 AM
The worst part was that the ball was nowhere near out of play but as usual the officials got it wrong. It's a shame Smith was booked as otherwise it would have been yet another retroactive red for the Yams.
Yip! The ball looked to be still in play from my birds eye view in my armchair and looked to me as though Boyle had broken through only to be thwarted by an elbow and a sly kick from Smith. The Officials appeared to be influenced by the claims from the hordes in the Jambo bear pit. It would have been interesting to see what VAR would have made of Smiths illegal challenge though this would have been countered by Boyles reaction so in all honesty a booking for both was fair Smith lucking not to see red I can only presume Dallas did not see Smiths kick!

FilipinoHibs
01-11-2018, 10:45 AM
Didn't see that, K. Folk in front of me blocked my view so I only really saw the shoving.
Straight arm accross his neck.

brog
01-11-2018, 10:50 AM
Excellent as ever John but, without reigniting the whole alcohol at games debate, maybe I can (gently) make a couple of points.
1. Alcohol was never previously sold at Scottish grounds (IIRC Clydebank were the only exception). I know you didn't say this but it seems to be a MSM fact that the sale of alcohol was banned post the 1980 troubles. The problem was not the sale but people carrying drink into the ground.
2. Thousands of people do now drink alcohol at Scottish grounds, but in hospitality. The drunkest people I saw at Carnoustie this year had all been in hospitality.
3. I suspect some of the people you saw off their heads pre game had drunk comparatively little. Here in England now the biggest social problem at sporting events, mostly horse racing, is drug abuse. I saw some of our fans in Glasgow before the Celtc game who had obviously indulged in illegal substances.

I go to many games in England, occasionally have a beer at ground before game but more often have 1 or 2 at Brighton after game to let crowds disperse. I've genuinely never seen anyone get drunk on beer at a ground. It's not something that I'm over excited about but there really is no good explanation why I can go to a rugby game at Murrayfield one week & have a drink, & attend a football match at the same venue the next week & be denied a drink.

brog
01-11-2018, 10:52 AM
Yip! The ball looked to be still in play from my birds eye view in my armchair and looked to me as though Boyle had broken through only to be thwarted by an elbow and a sly kick from Smith. The Officials appeared to be influenced by the claims from the hordes in the Jambo bear pit. It would have been interesting to see what VAR would have made of Smiths illegal challenge though this would have been countered by Boyles reaction so in all honesty a booking for both was fair Smith lucking not to see red I can only presume Dallas did not see Smiths kick!

I freeze framed it on Hibs TV, nowhere near out of play.

The_Sauz
01-11-2018, 10:55 AM
The worst part was that the ball was nowhere near out of play but as usual the officials got it wrong. It's a shame Smith was booked as otherwise it would have been yet another retroactive red for the Yams.
Has that rule not changed? The Hamilton who got booked on Saturday for a bad tackle on the Kille player has now been given a 2 game ban :confused:

Greenbeard
01-11-2018, 11:06 AM
Bartley and Smith both could have been red IMO.
Kamberi? Daft laddie. Acting the hard man as if he was going to lamp someone only after he was being restrained by Slivka. (In fact Dallas was the first to try and manhandle Kambo away from the situation.) Slivka should have let him be. Kamberi might then have just stood his ground and not overreacted like he was desperate for a square go which is what got him the second yellow, not the challenge.

If it hadn't been a primary school dimension pitch and the goals were an extra couple of metres further back, Mallan would have had a first half hat-trick!

McSwanky
01-11-2018, 11:07 AM
Good report as always! I was watching it on the telly, so saw some of the incidents a good few times more than you (and, to be fair, the ref). Interesting to read the perspective from someone who was actually there!

The main thing I've taken from this game is that it's a sad indictment on Scottish football that Hearts are top of the league. I know they were missing a few players (particularly Naismith) but their football is utterly eye-bleeding and I feel sad that that style of football is good enough to get them to where they are.

Hearts are like a Dundee/Livingston with a bigger budget. They play every game like they are in a relegation scrap, absolutely horrible to watch.

Last point from me, I have no time or sympathy for any of the idiots (on both sides) who were throwing stuff/getting too close to the goalie etc. but I don't consider Hearts to be completely blameless in this.

- The combative way Levein sets himself up for derbies reminds me of Rangers in the 80s. Stirring up bad feeling on the pitch which can only lead to tempers flaring in the stands as well.
- Tynecastle is a disgrace. The number of times fans are close enough to have a real go at the players is ridiculous. Stevenson was the target of a few 'cheeky chappies' having some 'fun' with the ball, and Hibs fans were no angels either (as we saw with the keeper).

I'm all for a good atmosphere at football, but last night went too far. HOpefully we see nothing of these sorts of incidents when they visit us later in the year.

Smartie
01-11-2018, 11:39 AM
At the time I thought Bartley was very unlucky to be carded.

I had a decent view too, back row of the stand.

Amazing how you can get these things wrong.

Sas_The_Hibby
01-11-2018, 11:40 AM
Bartley and Smith both could have been red IMO.
Kamberi? Daft laddie. Acting the hard man as if he was going to lamp someone only after he was being restrained by Slivka. (In fact Dallas was the first to try and manhandle Kambo away from the situation.) Slivka should have let him be. Kamberi might then have just stood his ground and not overreacted like he was desperate for a square go which is what got him the second yellow, not the challenge.

If it hadn't been a primary school dimension pitch and the goals were an extra couple of metres further back, Mallan would have had a first half hat-trick!

I disagree. It's up to team members to restrain their own player in such situations to avoid a red card and further trouble. Didn't work out this time but Slivka did the right thing.

BILLYHIBS
01-11-2018, 11:44 AM
Bartley and Smith both could have been red IMO.
Kamberi? Daft laddie. Acting the hard man as if he was going to lamp someone only after he was being restrained by Slivka. (In fact Dallas was the first to try and manhandle Kambo away from the situation.) Slivka should have let him be. Kamberi might then have just stood his ground and not overreacted like he was desperate for a square go which is what got him the second yellow, not the challenge.

If it hadn't been a primary school dimension pitch and the goals were an extra couple of metres further back, Mallan would have had a first half hat-trick!

Primary School Dimension Pitch

:faf:

NAE NOOKIE
01-11-2018, 01:02 PM
Bartley and Smith both could have been red IMO.
Kamberi? Daft laddie. Acting the hard man as if he was going to lamp someone only after he was being restrained by Slivka. (In fact Dallas was the first to try and manhandle Kambo away from the situation.) Slivka should have let him be. Kamberi might then have just stood his ground and not overreacted like he was desperate for a square go which is what got him the second yellow, not the challenge.

If it hadn't been a primary school dimension pitch and the goals were an extra couple of metres further back, Mallan would have had a first half hat-trick!

Its an interesting theory mate, but even at the Rust Arena the 18 yard line still has to be 18 yards from the goal line, so even on the biggest pitch in the world his free kicks would still have been from the distance they were last night :greengrin

Jonnyboy
01-11-2018, 08:25 PM
Yes another great report.

Far from getting it in the neck about the support you’ve got it just right.

The slowmo of Marvin’s tackle on Sportscene suggests you have that wrong and in truth so did Dallas - it’s a red card challenge.

Yep, I've seen it now and Marv was lucky :agree:

hibsbollah
01-11-2018, 09:09 PM
Yep, I've seen it now and Marv was lucky :agree:

I think you could have been a wee bit more effusive in your praise for Marvin and Daz. I thought they were both nothing short of magnificent in what was a difficult night.

Jonnyboy
01-11-2018, 09:23 PM
I think you could have been a wee bit more effusive in your praise for Marvin and Daz. I thought they were both nothing short of magnificent in what was a difficult night.

Yep, I enthused to my brother and nephew at the game :greengrin

TBH I was pretty knackered by the time I got home and wrote the piece up - it's an age thing :wink:

Billy Whizz
01-11-2018, 09:27 PM
Yep, I enthused to my brother and nephew at the game :greengrin

TBH I was pretty knackered by the time I got home and wrote the piece up - it's an age thing :wink:

Didn’t know Willie was your nephew

Jonnyboy
01-11-2018, 09:38 PM
Didn’t know Willie was your nephew

:greengrin He's my Grandad really :greengrin

JimBHibees
02-11-2018, 07:44 AM
Good report as always! I was watching it on the telly, so saw some of the incidents a good few times more than you (and, to be fair, the ref). Interesting to read the perspective from someone who was actually there!

The main thing I've taken from this game is that it's a sad indictment on Scottish football that Hearts are top of the league. I know they were missing a few players (particularly Naismith) but their football is utterly eye-bleeding and I feel sad that that style of football is good enough to get them to where they are.

Hearts are like a Dundee/Livingston with a bigger budget. They play every game like they are in a relegation scrap, absolutely horrible to watch.

Last point from me, I have no time or sympathy for any of the idiots (on both sides) who were throwing stuff/getting too close to the goalie etc. but I don't consider Hearts to be completely blameless in this.

- The combative way Levein sets himself up for derbies reminds me of Rangers in the 80s. Stirring up bad feeling on the pitch which can only lead to tempers flaring in the stands as well.
- Tynecastle is a disgrace. The number of times fans are close enough to have a real go at the players is ridiculous. Stevenson was the target of a few 'cheeky chappies' having some 'fun' with the ball, and Hibs fans were no angels either (as we saw with the keeper).

I'm all for a good atmosphere at football, but last night went too far. HOpefully we see nothing of these sorts of incidents when they visit us later in the year.

Totally agree especially with regard to Hearts style of play absolutely pub league.