Jonnyboy
09-02-2019, 08:01 PM
For many, many years I used to dread Scottish Cup days because they invariably ended in pain but 21 May 2016 finally cured that ill and so now I kinda look forward to these although in truth I was a bit nervous about today. For a variety of well documented reasons, Hibs are not at their best and Raith Rovers would arrive feeling they had a real chance of causing a cup upset. Rovers may be League One side but they are full time and are in a rich vein of form. Thankfully my concern was ill founded as although Hibs were not at their best they were still good enough to reach the quarter final draw.
Missing from the eleven that started at Celtic Park in midweek was Sean Mackie and Oli Shaw who dropped to the bench whilst Ryan Gauld missed out through injury. In came Daryl Horgan, Stevie Mallan and Mark McNulty all of whom would go on to have a positive impact on the outcome. One player who retained his starting place was David Gray who had surprisingly recovered from an injury that forced his substitution at Celtic Park.
Hibs put on the pressure right from the off and won a few corners as well as having Raith keeper Robbie Thomson pull off a couple of saves. Mallan in particular was busy and had a couple of near misses with efforts from outside the box. Raith were mostly pinned back but around the tenth minute mark a long range effort by Dingwall had Rocky diving to his right to beat the shot away. The hosts were playing some decent football with the aforementioned Mallan seeing a volley dip just over the bar whilst both Horgan and Slivka were busy in keeping the ball moving and Milligan sitting in front of the central defenders providing effective cover.
Not long after that dipping effort from Mallan, Hibs took the lead when Slivka fed the ball to Horgan who dropped his shoulder to evade a defender before sending a sweet left foot strike high into the far corner of Thomson’s net. Moments later, Flanagan broke free and was bearing down on the Hibs goal until a fine last ditch tackle by Hanlon stopped the Raith man from being clear through. Heartened by that chance, Rovers created another and a fine cross into the six yard box should have been headed home by Dingwall but his effort flew well wide.
Having survived those moments, Hibs took control again with Mallan and Milligan in particular catching the eye. After another Mallan effort had drifted just wide, Hibs scored again when a Horgan ball into the box was chested down by McNulty to the waiting Slivka and the Hibs man fired home from around twelve yards.
The wind had been affecting a fair bit of the play with the ball either flying long or dropping short. Hibs had mastered that problem in the first half but at the start of the second half the visitors coped better and had a couple of efforts at goal although neither really troubled Rocky. At the other end both Horgan and Mallan went close before Hibs scored again near the hour mark. A lovely ball over the top from Horgan saw McNulty race clear, drawing Thomson out of his goal and then slotting the ball past him into the net.
Around five minutes later, Horgan went down injured and was immediately replaced by Stephane Omeonga who quickly got involved and made a great run down the right before his low cross into the middle was cut out by Murray with Kamberi lurking. Rovers were throwing everything they had at Hibs and pulled a goal back around fifteen minutes from time. Flanagan’s near post corner was met by Murray who bulleted his header past the helpless Marciano. Five minutes later, Milligan had to be replaced due to injury with Whittaker coming on to the park.
There was nervousness in Hibs’ play for a while and it was noticeable that Raith’s ball retention in the final third had improved after Milligan went off but the home side dealt well with the threat although Rocky had to look smart to save a fierce drive by Dingwall. With five minutes left, Kamberi brilliantly turned his man right in front of the tunnel before setting off down the left hand side but in his desperation to score he overcooked his effort which flew over the bar. Next, Kamberi picked out Slivka in acres of space on the edge of the Rovers box but the midfielder dallied on the ball and his effort was deflected for a corner.
It wasn’t a classic performance by any stretch of the imagination but the object of the exercise was to get our name into the hat for the quarter final draw and that was achieved in relative comfort. If the new manager, whoever that may be, was in the stand he would have gotten a fair idea of the job he is taking on.
The players
Rocky – Called upon to make saves a couple of times but had little to do otherwise. I still think he needs to work on his distribution but in fairness the wind today made life a bit more difficult for him.
SDG – I was both surprised and delighted that SDG had recovered from his knock on Wednesday last as he was the out ball on numerous occasions during the game. SD wears his heart on his sleeve and as is almost always the case he gave everything he had this afternoon.
Daz – Largely untroubled, Daz pretty much strolled through the game and only looked to have been made to work a bit harder when Raith brought Chris Duggan off the bench with around twenty minutes to go.
Paul – Recent displays have not been great but he looked much more assured today and his ability to read the play seemed back in working order. Passing also improved as I recall only one or two going astray.
Lewis – Standard fare from Lewis who looked comfortable, assured and in control of any threat aimed at him.
Viki – One of his better games as he got more involved in the play centrally. Scored one and made chances for others and so he gets pass marks from me.
Stevie – Mallan was involved throughout the game and seemed to pop up wherever the ball was both in attack and defence. This looked much more like the Stevie Mallan of earlier in the season and he was very unlucky not to get his name on the scoresheet.
Mark – Last Wednesday he left me wondering whether he should get a starting place but today was his best performance yet in a Hibs strip. He played the holding midfield role so well and was able to contribute going forward too; he was my man of the match today, even though he didn’t last the full ninety minutes.
Daryl – Took his goal really well and set up the third with as fine ball into the path of McNulty. He always seems to want the ball, never shies away from getting involved and is probably one of those players that need a prolonged run in the team to bring out the very best in him.
Sparky – I thought he was pretty quiet for the first part of the match but he grew into it and once he got going he was non-stop in terms of effort. Made a number of very clever runs to create space for himself or Flo and when he took Horgan’s pass in his stride you just knew he was going to hit the target.
Flo – It’s like Groundhog Day where I sit as some around me criticise every single aspect of his play. Some harbour a dislike so intense that they cannot bring themselves to praise any positivity in his play. It’s quite sad really as it seems blatantly obvious to me that the laddie’s confidence meter is hovering around the empty mark. I still believe that if the new manager can get him going again he’ll get back to scoring goals on a regular basis.
Stephane – Got around half an hour and was impressive both in his use of the ball and his running off it. Has obvious talent and I look forward to seeing more of it.
Whitty – Arrived into the game when Raith were having a bit more of possession and although he didn’t do anything of any great note he used his experience to help get the team over the finish line.
Oli – Another whom I was surprised to see after that clatter he took at Celtic Park. Oli wasn’t on the park for long enough to make a huge impact but his use of the ball was fine.
Eddie May/Grant Murray – I’m not sure about Grant’s thoughts regarding his stint as joint temporary first team coach but I do know Eddie’s and he’ll be a happy man once the new manager arrives next week.
The fans – A really poor turn out from Hibs fans and the atmosphere suffered although I noticed that the drummer suddenly appeared early in the second half to try and get things going. A special mention for the Raith fans who turned out in numbers and stayed with their team until the end.
Bobby Madden – He will never again have an easier ninety minutes than he did today as Rovers came to play football rather than resorting to the kind of spoiling tactics you get from the likes of Aberdeen. Not a single yellow card and that kinda emphasises my point.
Missing from the eleven that started at Celtic Park in midweek was Sean Mackie and Oli Shaw who dropped to the bench whilst Ryan Gauld missed out through injury. In came Daryl Horgan, Stevie Mallan and Mark McNulty all of whom would go on to have a positive impact on the outcome. One player who retained his starting place was David Gray who had surprisingly recovered from an injury that forced his substitution at Celtic Park.
Hibs put on the pressure right from the off and won a few corners as well as having Raith keeper Robbie Thomson pull off a couple of saves. Mallan in particular was busy and had a couple of near misses with efforts from outside the box. Raith were mostly pinned back but around the tenth minute mark a long range effort by Dingwall had Rocky diving to his right to beat the shot away. The hosts were playing some decent football with the aforementioned Mallan seeing a volley dip just over the bar whilst both Horgan and Slivka were busy in keeping the ball moving and Milligan sitting in front of the central defenders providing effective cover.
Not long after that dipping effort from Mallan, Hibs took the lead when Slivka fed the ball to Horgan who dropped his shoulder to evade a defender before sending a sweet left foot strike high into the far corner of Thomson’s net. Moments later, Flanagan broke free and was bearing down on the Hibs goal until a fine last ditch tackle by Hanlon stopped the Raith man from being clear through. Heartened by that chance, Rovers created another and a fine cross into the six yard box should have been headed home by Dingwall but his effort flew well wide.
Having survived those moments, Hibs took control again with Mallan and Milligan in particular catching the eye. After another Mallan effort had drifted just wide, Hibs scored again when a Horgan ball into the box was chested down by McNulty to the waiting Slivka and the Hibs man fired home from around twelve yards.
The wind had been affecting a fair bit of the play with the ball either flying long or dropping short. Hibs had mastered that problem in the first half but at the start of the second half the visitors coped better and had a couple of efforts at goal although neither really troubled Rocky. At the other end both Horgan and Mallan went close before Hibs scored again near the hour mark. A lovely ball over the top from Horgan saw McNulty race clear, drawing Thomson out of his goal and then slotting the ball past him into the net.
Around five minutes later, Horgan went down injured and was immediately replaced by Stephane Omeonga who quickly got involved and made a great run down the right before his low cross into the middle was cut out by Murray with Kamberi lurking. Rovers were throwing everything they had at Hibs and pulled a goal back around fifteen minutes from time. Flanagan’s near post corner was met by Murray who bulleted his header past the helpless Marciano. Five minutes later, Milligan had to be replaced due to injury with Whittaker coming on to the park.
There was nervousness in Hibs’ play for a while and it was noticeable that Raith’s ball retention in the final third had improved after Milligan went off but the home side dealt well with the threat although Rocky had to look smart to save a fierce drive by Dingwall. With five minutes left, Kamberi brilliantly turned his man right in front of the tunnel before setting off down the left hand side but in his desperation to score he overcooked his effort which flew over the bar. Next, Kamberi picked out Slivka in acres of space on the edge of the Rovers box but the midfielder dallied on the ball and his effort was deflected for a corner.
It wasn’t a classic performance by any stretch of the imagination but the object of the exercise was to get our name into the hat for the quarter final draw and that was achieved in relative comfort. If the new manager, whoever that may be, was in the stand he would have gotten a fair idea of the job he is taking on.
The players
Rocky – Called upon to make saves a couple of times but had little to do otherwise. I still think he needs to work on his distribution but in fairness the wind today made life a bit more difficult for him.
SDG – I was both surprised and delighted that SDG had recovered from his knock on Wednesday last as he was the out ball on numerous occasions during the game. SD wears his heart on his sleeve and as is almost always the case he gave everything he had this afternoon.
Daz – Largely untroubled, Daz pretty much strolled through the game and only looked to have been made to work a bit harder when Raith brought Chris Duggan off the bench with around twenty minutes to go.
Paul – Recent displays have not been great but he looked much more assured today and his ability to read the play seemed back in working order. Passing also improved as I recall only one or two going astray.
Lewis – Standard fare from Lewis who looked comfortable, assured and in control of any threat aimed at him.
Viki – One of his better games as he got more involved in the play centrally. Scored one and made chances for others and so he gets pass marks from me.
Stevie – Mallan was involved throughout the game and seemed to pop up wherever the ball was both in attack and defence. This looked much more like the Stevie Mallan of earlier in the season and he was very unlucky not to get his name on the scoresheet.
Mark – Last Wednesday he left me wondering whether he should get a starting place but today was his best performance yet in a Hibs strip. He played the holding midfield role so well and was able to contribute going forward too; he was my man of the match today, even though he didn’t last the full ninety minutes.
Daryl – Took his goal really well and set up the third with as fine ball into the path of McNulty. He always seems to want the ball, never shies away from getting involved and is probably one of those players that need a prolonged run in the team to bring out the very best in him.
Sparky – I thought he was pretty quiet for the first part of the match but he grew into it and once he got going he was non-stop in terms of effort. Made a number of very clever runs to create space for himself or Flo and when he took Horgan’s pass in his stride you just knew he was going to hit the target.
Flo – It’s like Groundhog Day where I sit as some around me criticise every single aspect of his play. Some harbour a dislike so intense that they cannot bring themselves to praise any positivity in his play. It’s quite sad really as it seems blatantly obvious to me that the laddie’s confidence meter is hovering around the empty mark. I still believe that if the new manager can get him going again he’ll get back to scoring goals on a regular basis.
Stephane – Got around half an hour and was impressive both in his use of the ball and his running off it. Has obvious talent and I look forward to seeing more of it.
Whitty – Arrived into the game when Raith were having a bit more of possession and although he didn’t do anything of any great note he used his experience to help get the team over the finish line.
Oli – Another whom I was surprised to see after that clatter he took at Celtic Park. Oli wasn’t on the park for long enough to make a huge impact but his use of the ball was fine.
Eddie May/Grant Murray – I’m not sure about Grant’s thoughts regarding his stint as joint temporary first team coach but I do know Eddie’s and he’ll be a happy man once the new manager arrives next week.
The fans – A really poor turn out from Hibs fans and the atmosphere suffered although I noticed that the drummer suddenly appeared early in the second half to try and get things going. A special mention for the Raith fans who turned out in numbers and stayed with their team until the end.
Bobby Madden – He will never again have an easier ninety minutes than he did today as Rovers came to play football rather than resorting to the kind of spoiling tactics you get from the likes of Aberdeen. Not a single yellow card and that kinda emphasises my point.