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View Full Version : This is how it feels (Celtic 020319)



Jonnyboy
02-03-2019, 09:10 PM
When I set off for Easter Road this afternoon I confess I did so more in hope than expectation. Granted we had won our last three games but this was the league leaders we were about to face and their domestic form going into the game was very good indeed.

There was only one change to the starting eleven with Mallan dropping to the bench in favour of Stephane Omeonga who had shown up well against St Johnstone in the previous outing. Celtic would be missing the influential McGregor and Christie but such is the depth of their playing squad they were able to draft in Bitton and deploy Forrest into a roving midfield role.

From the off it seemed that Hibs’ tactics would be to let Celtic have plenty of possession across their back four and in their own half and that worked well enough for the most part. The problem with such a tactic was that it limited the amount of attacking play Hibs could do but I’m guessing Paul Heckingbottom was looking to contain them for as long as possible and then have a go later in the game.

The visitors made the first chance when slack play allowed the Celtic midfield to pick out Burke inside the Hibs box. The striker got his shot away and in saving the effort, Rocky could only parry into the path of Sinclair but before the Celtic man could make clean contact with the ball, Paul Hanlon got in a block and the ball trickled wide of the post. At the other end, McNulty got a shot on target but there was no pace in the effort and Bain saved easily. Next, Horgan won a corner which he took himself and his cross reached Kamberi at the far post but the Hibs man’s effort struck a defender and went out for another corner.

Referee Willie Collum had been handling the game quite well but when Sinclair went down after there had been no contact with him by a Hibs player I felt a yellow card should have been shown, as it was to Slivka against St Johnstone. This would not be the only occurrence of simulation to go unpunished as both Sinclair again and Burke escaped that offence without punishment.

There followed three rapid involvements for Marciano around the half hour mark. First, he blocked at the feet of Edouard and then flew through the air to punch away a cross destined for a Celtic head at the far post. The third save was a routine one as a poorly executed overhead kick by Edouard was easily held. Hibs tried to make good use of the ball when moving forward with both Omeonga and Horgan making mazy runs whilst Slivka prompted from his role in the centre of the midfield but the half time whistle arrived with no goals having been scored.

The visitors continued to enjoy the better of the possession but Hibs kept their shape well and so the game got a bit bogged down for a spell. When Milligan went down injured after a clash with Bitton I noticed that Bartley was being readied as his replacement. Unfortunately, before that change could be made, Milligan was guilty of losing possession around twenty five yards from goal and that allowed Forrest to pounce, drift past a couple of half-hearted challenges and fire a rocket of a shot beyond Marciano to open the scoring. Milligan was then replaced, as was Horgan who gave way to Mallan.

Hibs pretty much had to change their approach now and there was more emphasis on the full backs getting forward whilst the whole team shifted forward about ten yards. That was of course going to mean more space for Celtic players to break in to and so when a bad mistake by Bartley saw his team mates horribly exposed it was no surprise that Celtic doubled their lead when Scott Brown appeared in the Hibs box and hammed a shot from about twelve yards high into the net about fifteen minutes from the end.

In an effort to try and get back into the game, Paul Heckingbottom replaced a midfielder in the cramp ridden Omeonga with a third striker in Oli Shaw but by that time Celtic knew they were in the semi-finals and easily saw out the remainder of the match.

The players

Rocky – Although he was called upon to make a few saves and he conceded two goals I felt he had a decent game all told.

SDG – As always he gave his all but I have to say his crossing and his final ball today were pretty poor. Selected by the match sponsors as their man of the match but in truth it was hard to see why.

Daz – The big man always dominates when the ball is in the air but given that both Celtic goals today came when the scorer found room in the middle of the box you have to wonder at his positioning.

Paul – I thought he was better today than he’s been for a while but like Daz, he has to be questioned about that space in the middle of our box.

Lewis – It was telling that Forrest was being so ineffective due to Lewis coping with anything the Celtic man had to offer, Lennon moved him into the middle and pushed Burke wide right. Like SDG, I felt his crossing was not that great today.

Daryl – Flitted in and out of the game but when he was ‘in’ he was good with a number of telling runs whilst when he was ‘out’ he was largely anonymous.

Milli – I felt he was badly at fault for the first goal and reckon that’s three games in a row he has cost us goals. There’s a lot to like about his game but it’s hard to excuse him for the errors made.

Vikki – Once again he was the lynchpin in midfield and once again he tried to get Hibs on the front foot whenever in possession which is why he came very close to getting my man of the match award.

Stephane – Although he didn’t last the full ninety minutes he was a real livewire and was impressive both in attacking and defending. There’s not a lot of him but he showed great strength at times today and for the fact that his efforts excited me more than the efforts of any of his team mates he gets my man of the match award.

Flo – Due to the way we were set up, Flo was required to do a lot more pressing than normal and for the most part I felt he did that very well. There was an occasion in the first half that he was clearly fouled as he made to enter the Celtic box but Willie Collum ignored the challenge.

Sparky – Like Flo, he had little opportunity to show his skills as a striker but he still impressed me with the intelligent runs he makes when our midfield have the ball.

Stevie – Coming off the bench isn’t always easy but the pace of this game was so pedestrian at times it should have presented no problem. Unfortunately, Stevie never quite got going.

Marv – I love the big fella but he was a nightmare today. At fault for the second goal and caught in possession far too often.

Oli – There was about fifteen minutes left when Oli came on but Celtic had just made it 2-0 and that made his job so much harder with Hibs looking a beaten team by that time.

Hecky – I’m not sure I approved of his tactics because I always feel that when you face Celtic there are two things you must do to have a chance of beating them. One is to man mark Scott Brown as everything Celtic do comes through him and the second is to attack them as defensively they will make errors under pressure. We did neither today but I’m positive Hecky will have learned from that.

Willie Collum – Only two bookings in the game but there should have been at least four as both Sinclair and Burke were guilty of simulation without punishment.

The fans – It’s been done to death this but the singing section is totally a waste of time where it currently sits/stands. They tried so very hard but it’s difficult hearing their efforts. As to the ‘fan’ that threw the bottle at Sinclair, I hope they find you, ban you and have you charged with attempted assault. I don’t want the likes of you supporting my team.

Leith Green
02-03-2019, 09:17 PM
Thought Hanlon was really poor today.

Beefster
02-03-2019, 09:19 PM
Not much to disagree with there JB.

ancient hibee
02-03-2019, 09:24 PM
Agree with all this which just shows what a clever chap you are:greengrin

We actually had quite a lot of ball out wide in good positions with players in the box but the efforts to get the ball to them were really abysmal.Gray and Stevenson defended well but going forward were poor.

wookie70
02-03-2019, 09:27 PM
I agree with most of that but I had Slivka as MOTM ahead of Stephane mainly as he lasted the 90. He will be a big miss when suspended.

PatHead
02-03-2019, 09:28 PM
Good summary. Thought the wind was a major factor in the first half. Felt it benefitted Celtic more and had disappeared in the second.

kaimendhibs
02-03-2019, 09:31 PM
Mibbe I'm wrong but I thought Lewis was to blame for the first goal.
He hooked the ball into midfield instead of putting it out for a throw.
But,bi sit at the back off FF upper so may be wrong?

Sent from my VTR-L09 using Tapatalk

Forza Fred
02-03-2019, 09:33 PM
Thought first half we competed well, without ever really threatening their goal.

Big Marv has served us well, but bringing him on was never going to change the game in our favour.

And as soon as Forrest cut across our box it was obvious he would have a pop.....just why he was allowed to run virtually unchallenged I do not know.

But, certainly not the worst we’ve played by any means, but we DO lack a cutting edge.

SideBurns
02-03-2019, 09:38 PM
Can't disagree with much of that JB, and in particular couldn't understand why Brown was allowed so much space. He's a clever player who is good at taking up effective positions, but if you get close to him it's possible to spoil Celtic's flow.

In defence of the, err, defence - Celtic created very little and both goals came from mistakes in central midfield; think it's a bit harsh to blame our defenders for either.

04Sauzee
02-03-2019, 09:42 PM
Slivka done so many good things today but thought he had to do better at both goals

Famous Fiver
02-03-2019, 09:54 PM
I felt that the ball had to 'stick' to Kamberi a lot more than it did. He preferred the flick or the lay off, rather than trying to get it under control and running at the Celtic defence.

BILLYHIBS
02-03-2019, 10:36 PM
Brilliant as usual Jonnyboy

I feel for once I have to disagree with you ( that’s what forums are all about as you will no doubt know)

Slivka my man of the match

First goal Milligan fell over but as you said he was injured

Bartley made a grave error for the second

We did well first half to contain them but ran out of steam second half

Difficult to compete with their budget

When I saw their line up in the pub before the game I thought it looked ominous

Heckingbottom must be starting to draw a line through the names of a few already but to have any chance of defeating the OF at home you need to finish the job at home

I could not believe the amount of time and space Broony got on the ball the total opposite of a few weeks ago when we comprehensively beat them 2-0. :confused:

GreenCastle
02-03-2019, 10:44 PM
Agree about Scott Brown - in recent home games Swanson and even Mallan basically man marked Brown and Celtic weren’t as effective.

Last time we beat Celtic they were missing several players though and at full strength they are league winners for a reason (most Ł spent = wins the title usually).

I’ve said for a while we don’t look fully fit - first half we matched them but 2nd half we fatigued and that meant errors and gaps- escpailly aftet they went 1-0 up.

The bottle incident was ridiculous - if that hit a player on head would be awful.

The signing section should have been in famous five lower today - so many empty seats needing sorted as looks awful on TV.

Loved the Hibs banner though.

Greenbeard
02-03-2019, 11:19 PM
Overall, given where we've been and the fact that our recent run was against poor oppo (and I include St Johnstone in that) I thought we did pretty well. Hoops fan I watched with (not in the East) agreed. It took two VG goals to beat us. But we did not threaten their goal nearly enough. Omeonga was class. Again thought Kamberi's first touch was very poor more often than not.

Iain G
02-03-2019, 11:19 PM
Don't understand why Bartley was introduced and did nothing other than give the ball away for their goal.

TelaStella
02-03-2019, 11:34 PM
Glad Slivka is starting to get some of the recognition he deserves, thought he was giving his everything yet again today in trying to move us forward yet nearly everyone around me at the game love to use him as their favourite scapegoat, it’s quite poor. Felt Horgan had a similar pretty decent first half but didn’t seem to come back out for the second. Hanlon looked much better and Lewis actually impressed me quite a lot with how he dealt with Burke’s physicality and pace. There’s been some debate about the first goal but for me Milligan sold it, soon as Forrest was up against him he just looked like he didn’t fancy it and as for Flo, not sure if it was just a poor game for him or what but I just didn’t really understand him today it was a bit of a strange performance on his part. Biggest problem overall for me was the lack of a flowing link between midfield and the two strikers. McNulty was always going to be the difference for us today yet I can genuinely think of once when the ball actually managed to find him. We go on but things need to be different for the huns game as I actually think they’d punish us a lot more than Celtic did today.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

BILLYHIBS
02-03-2019, 11:37 PM
Glad Slivka is starting to get some of the recognition he deserves, thought he was giving his everything yet again today in trying to move us forward yet nearly everyone around me at the game love to use him as their favourite scapegoat, it’s quite poor. Felt Horgan had a similar pretty decent first half but didn’t seem to come back out for the second. Hanlon looked much better and Lewis actually impressed me quite a lot with how he dealt with Burke’s physicality and pace. There’s been some debate about the first goal but for me Milligan sold it, soon as Forrest was up against him he just looked like he didn’t fancy it and as for Flo, not sure if it was just a poor game for him or what but I just didn’t really understand him today it was a bit of a strange performance on his part. Biggest problem overall for me was the lack of a flowing link between midfield and the two strikers. McNulty was always going to be the difference for us today yet I can genuinely think of once when the ball actually managed to find him. We go on but things need to be different for the huns game as I actually think they’d punish us a lot more than Celtic did today.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This!

Starting to hear ALFREDO ringing in my ears already :confused:

Aim Here
02-03-2019, 11:38 PM
I thought it was obvious why SDG was MotM; while he was rather mediocre going forward, his tackling was on-point throughout, and he more or less neutralized Scott Sinclair.

NAE NOOKIE
03-03-2019, 01:35 AM
Any success we have had recently against Celtic has been as a result of pressing them high up the pitch and putting pressure on Scott Brown. We did neither on Saturday and as a result we never looked like scoring a goal.

To be fair to Hibs they defended pretty well in the first half, but if you are going to put Celtic out of a cup you have to do it at home, because of that I thought we would come out in the second half and give it a real go, but apart from winning a few corners we rarely troubled the Celtic keeper. In both halves I thought Kamberi and McNulty were too far away from each other, so that on the few times either one of them put pressure on a centre half there was nobody there to pick up the pieces.

At least twice, one being from Horgan, Hibs players presented the ball to a Celtic midfielder by passing straight to him when under little pressure, I was beginning to wonder if they had forgotten we weren't the team playing in dayglo. Far too often our passes were rushed and far too often the player in possession didn't have an option because of poor movement.

This is the first time I have wondered about Heckingbottom. He must have watched film and discussed with the players details of our previous games against Celtic and yet we did none of the things which have previously worked for us. No wonder our players tired near the end, especially Omeonga who time after time ran 20 or more yards to close down a Celtic defender in possession, but because Him, Kamberi and McNulty were doing that individually and not as a unit with back up from midfield the Celtic player had an easy pass … it was just a waste of energy.

I agree that David Gray put in a good shift defensively, but in the final third he was absolutely dreadful and it was a day to forget for him in that regard … like the OP for me it was a toss up between Slivka and Omeonga for MOM in what was a tame performance .. Omeonga just shades it for his commitment.

Because of where we were sitting in the east we couldn't see the singing section, we sure as hell couldn't hear them. Me and my mate tried at least 3 times to start a song while the game was at 0 - 0 but got practically no reaction from the 'fans' around us ….. I thought our 'support' today was absolutely rubbish, both in backing the team and in numbers. When our crowds hit the dizzy heights the season before last and increased the following season I was on here telling folk to savour it because it was odds on the faint hearts and tourists would disappear as soon as we hit a rocky patch, a prediction which is all too obviously now coming to fruition … Today was practically our season barring an improbable stirring finish to our league campaign and it was disappointing to say the least to see so many empty seats. I couldn't give a rats ass what the club has to say about family sections and all that, they simply have to get the singing section into the FF lower.

Whoever the moron was who threw the bottle should be banned for life.

sean04
03-03-2019, 06:40 AM
When I set off for Easter Road this afternoon I confess I did so more in hope than expectation. Granted we had won our last three games but this was the league leaders we were about to face and their domestic form going into the game was very good indeed.

There was only one change to the starting eleven with Mallan dropping to the bench in favour of Stephane Omeonga who had shown up well against St Johnstone in the previous outing. Celtic would be missing the influential McGregor and Christie but such is the depth of their playing squad they were able to draft in Bitton and deploy Forrest into a roving midfield role.

From the off it seemed that Hibs’ tactics would be to let Celtic have plenty of possession across their back four and in their own half and that worked well enough for the most part. The problem with such a tactic was that it limited the amount of attacking play Hibs could do but I’m guessing Paul Heckingbottom was looking to contain them for as long as possible and then have a go later in the game.

The visitors made the first chance when slack play allowed the Celtic midfield to pick out Burke inside the Hibs box. The striker got his shot away and in saving the effort, Rocky could only parry into the path of Sinclair but before the Celtic man could make clean contact with the ball, Paul Hanlon got in a block and the ball trickled wide of the post. At the other end, McNulty got a shot on target but there was no pace in the effort and Bain saved easily. Next, Horgan won a corner which he took himself and his cross reached Kamberi at the far post but the Hibs man’s effort struck a defender and went out for another corner.

Referee Willie Collum had been handling the game quite well but when Sinclair went down after there had been no contact with him by a Hibs player I felt a yellow card should have been shown, as it was to Slivka against St Johnstone. This would not be the only occurrence of simulation to go unpunished as both Sinclair again and Burke escaped that offence without punishment.

There followed three rapid involvements for Marciano around the half hour mark. First, he blocked at the feet of Edouard and then flew through the air to punch away a cross destined for a Celtic head at the far post. The third save was a routine one as a poorly executed overhead kick by Edouard was easily held. Hibs tried to make good use of the ball when moving forward with both Omeonga and Horgan making mazy runs whilst Slivka prompted from his role in the centre of the midfield but the half time whistle arrived with no goals having been scored.

The visitors continued to enjoy the better of the possession but Hibs kept their shape well and so the game got a bit bogged down for a spell. When Milligan went down injured after a clash with Bitton I noticed that Bartley was being readied as his replacement. Unfortunately, before that change could be made, Milligan was guilty of losing possession around twenty five yards from goal and that allowed Forrest to pounce, drift past a couple of half-hearted challenges and fire a rocket of a shot beyond Marciano to open the scoring. Milligan was then replaced, as was Horgan who gave way to Mallan.

Hibs pretty much had to change their approach now and there was more emphasis on the full backs getting forward whilst the whole team shifted forward about ten yards. That was of course going to mean more space for Celtic players to break in to and so when a bad mistake by Bartley saw his team mates horribly exposed it was no surprise that Celtic doubled their lead when Scott Brown appeared in the Hibs box and hammed a shot from about twelve yards high into the net about fifteen minutes from the end.

In an effort to try and get back into the game, Paul Heckingbottom replaced a midfielder in the cramp ridden Omeonga with a third striker in Oli Shaw but by that time Celtic knew they were in the semi-finals and easily saw out the remainder of the match.

The players

Rocky – Although he was called upon to make a few saves and he conceded two goals I felt he had a decent game all told.

SDG – As always he gave his all but I have to say his crossing and his final ball today were pretty poor. Selected by the match sponsors as their man of the match but in truth it was hard to see why.

Daz – The big man always dominates when the ball is in the air but given that both Celtic goals today came when the scorer found room in the middle of the box you have to wonder at his positioning.

Paul – I thought he was better today than he’s been for a while but like Daz, he has to be questioned about that space in the middle of our box.

Lewis – It was telling that Forrest was being so ineffective due to Lewis coping with anything the Celtic man had to offer, Lennon moved him into the middle and pushed Burke wide right. Like SDG, I felt his crossing was not that great today.

Daryl – Flitted in and out of the game but when he was ‘in’ he was good with a number of telling runs whilst when he was ‘out’ he was largely anonymous.

Milli – I felt he was badly at fault for the first goal and reckon that’s three games in a row he has cost us goals. There’s a lot to like about his game but it’s hard to excuse him for the errors made.

Vikki – Once again he was the lynchpin in midfield and once again he tried to get Hibs on the front foot whenever in possession which is why he came very close to getting my man of the match award.

Stephane – Although he didn’t last the full ninety minutes he was a real livewire and was impressive both in attacking and defending. There’s not a lot of him but he showed great strength at times today and for the fact that his efforts excited me more than the efforts of any of his team mates he gets my man of the match award.

Flo – Due to the way we were set up, Flo was required to do a lot more pressing than normal and for the most part I felt he did that very well. There was an occasion in the first half that he was clearly fouled as he made to enter the Celtic box but Willie Collum ignored the challenge.

Sparky – Like Flo, he had little opportunity to show his skills as a striker but he still impressed me with the intelligent runs he makes when our midfield have the ball.

Stevie – Coming off the bench isn’t always easy but the pace of this game was so pedestrian at times it should have presented no problem. Unfortunately, Stevie never quite got going.

Marv – I love the big fella but he was a nightmare today. At fault for the second goal and caught in possession far too often.

Oli – There was about fifteen minutes left when Oli came on but Celtic had just made it 2-0 and that made his job so much harder with Hibs looking a beaten team by that time.

Hecky – I’m not sure I approved of his tactics because I always feel that when you face Celtic there are two things you must do to have a chance of beating them. One is to man mark Scott Brown as everything Celtic do comes through him and the second is to attack them as defensively they will make errors under pressure. We did neither today but I’m positive Hecky will have learned from that.

Willie Collum – Only two bookings in the game but there should have been at least four as both Sinclair and Burke were guilty of simulation without punishment.

The fans – It’s been done to death this but the singing section is totally a waste of time where it currently sits/stands. They tried so very hard but it’s difficult hearing their efforts. As to the ‘fan’ that threw the bottle at Sinclair, I hope they find you, ban you and have you charged with attempted assault. I don’t want the likes of you supporting my team.


I think hecky set up with what we had, dont see what else considering the personnel at his disposal. He will learn from the game

Brooster
03-03-2019, 08:04 AM
Another excellent report JB. Positives for me were Gray's defensive display, Hanlon's improved performance and Slivka and Omeonga's energy in midfield. Frustrations for me were Marciano continually kicking the ball out and another dire performance from Bartley - is he out of contract at the end of the season? Either way it's time to stop playing him.

Baldy Foghorn
03-03-2019, 09:47 AM
I thought we hardly laid a glove on them.

Powder puff up front, never troubled Bain.

We allowed them to retain possession by not pressing them and getting in their faces, the two goals due to losing possession cheaply, and letting them move forward unchallenged.

Pretty meek performance all round

PeeJay
03-03-2019, 10:21 AM
Good read again - agree with almost everything you write - the only positive to take from the game as far as I'm concerned is that our new manager will now know who has to leave the club asap - I know who I would let go, be interesting to see what he does. We were generally poor, but Celtic too were very poor - if we had snuck a first goal, who knows?

On the back of this performance I don't expect any points on Friday ...

Hermit Crab
03-03-2019, 10:50 PM
When I set off for Easter Road this afternoon I confess I did so more in hope than expectation. Granted we had won our last three games but this was the league leaders we were about to face and their domestic form going into the game was very good indeed.

There was only one change to the starting eleven with Mallan dropping to the bench in favour of Stephane Omeonga who had shown up well against St Johnstone in the previous outing. Celtic would be missing the influential McGregor and Christie but such is the depth of their playing squad they were able to draft in Bitton and deploy Forrest into a roving midfield role.

From the off it seemed that Hibs’ tactics would be to let Celtic have plenty of possession across their back four and in their own half and that worked well enough for the most part. The problem with such a tactic was that it limited the amount of attacking play Hibs could do but I’m guessing Paul Heckingbottom was looking to contain them for as long as possible and then have a go later in the game.

The visitors made the first chance when slack play allowed the Celtic midfield to pick out Burke inside the Hibs box. The striker got his shot away and in saving the effort, Rocky could only parry into the path of Sinclair but before the Celtic man could make clean contact with the ball, Paul Hanlon got in a block and the ball trickled wide of the post. At the other end, McNulty got a shot on target but there was no pace in the effort and Bain saved easily. Next, Horgan won a corner which he took himself and his cross reached Kamberi at the far post but the Hibs man’s effort struck a defender and went out for another corner.

Referee Willie Collum had been handling the game quite well but when Sinclair went down after there had been no contact with him by a Hibs player I felt a yellow card should have been shown, as it was to Slivka against St Johnstone. This would not be the only occurrence of simulation to go unpunished as both Sinclair again and Burke escaped that offence without punishment.

There followed three rapid involvements for Marciano around the half hour mark. First, he blocked at the feet of Edouard and then flew through the air to punch away a cross destined for a Celtic head at the far post. The third save was a routine one as a poorly executed overhead kick by Edouard was easily held. Hibs tried to make good use of the ball when moving forward with both Omeonga and Horgan making mazy runs whilst Slivka prompted from his role in the centre of the midfield but the half time whistle arrived with no goals having been scored.

The visitors continued to enjoy the better of the possession but Hibs kept their shape well and so the game got a bit bogged down for a spell. When Milligan went down injured after a clash with Bitton I noticed that Bartley was being readied as his replacement. Unfortunately, before that change could be made, Milligan was guilty of losing possession around twenty five yards from goal and that allowed Forrest to pounce, drift past a couple of half-hearted challenges and fire a rocket of a shot beyond Marciano to open the scoring. Milligan was then replaced, as was Horgan who gave way to Mallan.

Hibs pretty much had to change their approach now and there was more emphasis on the full backs getting forward whilst the whole team shifted forward about ten yards. That was of course going to mean more space for Celtic players to break in to and so when a bad mistake by Bartley saw his team mates horribly exposed it was no surprise that Celtic doubled their lead when Scott Brown appeared in the Hibs box and hammed a shot from about twelve yards high into the net about fifteen minutes from the end.

In an effort to try and get back into the game, Paul Heckingbottom replaced a midfielder in the cramp ridden Omeonga with a third striker in Oli Shaw but by that time Celtic knew they were in the semi-finals and easily saw out the remainder of the match.

The players

Rocky – Although he was called upon to make a few saves and he conceded two goals I felt he had a decent game all told.

SDG – As always he gave his all but I have to say his crossing and his final ball today were pretty poor. Selected by the match sponsors as their man of the match but in truth it was hard to see why.

Daz – The big man always dominates when the ball is in the air but given that both Celtic goals today came when the scorer found room in the middle of the box you have to wonder at his positioning.

Paul – I thought he was better today than he’s been for a while but like Daz, he has to be questioned about that space in the middle of our box.

Lewis – It was telling that Forrest was being so ineffective due to Lewis coping with anything the Celtic man had to offer, Lennon moved him into the middle and pushed Burke wide right. Like SDG, I felt his crossing was not that great today.

Daryl – Flitted in and out of the game but when he was ‘in’ he was good with a number of telling runs whilst when he was ‘out’ he was largely anonymous.

Milli – I felt he was badly at fault for the first goal and reckon that’s three games in a row he has cost us goals. There’s a lot to like about his game but it’s hard to excuse him for the errors made.

Vikki – Once again he was the lynchpin in midfield and once again he tried to get Hibs on the front foot whenever in possession which is why he came very close to getting my man of the match award.

Stephane – Although he didn’t last the full ninety minutes he was a real livewire and was impressive both in attacking and defending. There’s not a lot of him but he showed great strength at times today and for the fact that his efforts excited me more than the efforts of any of his team mates he gets my man of the match award.

Flo – Due to the way we were set up, Flo was required to do a lot more pressing than normal and for the most part I felt he did that very well. There was an occasion in the first half that he was clearly fouled as he made to enter the Celtic box but Willie Collum ignored the challenge.

Sparky – Like Flo, he had little opportunity to show his skills as a striker but he still impressed me with the intelligent runs he makes when our midfield have the ball.

Stevie – Coming off the bench isn’t always easy but the pace of this game was so pedestrian at times it should have presented no problem. Unfortunately, Stevie never quite got going.

Marv – I love the big fella but he was a nightmare today. At fault for the second goal and caught in possession far too often.

Oli – There was about fifteen minutes left when Oli came on but Celtic had just made it 2-0 and that made his job so much harder with Hibs looking a beaten team by that time.

Hecky – I’m not sure I approved of his tactics because I always feel that when you face Celtic there are two things you must do to have a chance of beating them. One is to man mark Scott Brown as everything Celtic do comes through him and the second is to attack them as defensively they will make errors under pressure. We did neither today but I’m positive Hecky will have learned from that.

Willie Collum – Only two bookings in the game but there should have been at least four as both Sinclair and Burke were guilty of simulation without punishment.

The fans – It’s been done to death this but the singing section is totally a waste of time where it currently sits/stands. They tried so very hard but it’s difficult hearing their efforts. As to the ‘fan’ that threw the bottle at Sinclair, I hope they find you, ban you and have you charged with attempted assault. I don’t want the likes of you supporting my team.


Kamberi dived.

oldbutdim
03-03-2019, 11:40 PM
Thought Hanlon was really poor today.

I can only assume this was the first game you have watched for several weeks.
Paul has been VERY shaky but was much better today.


Don't understand why Bartley was introduced and did nothing other than give the ball away for their goal.

Milligan was injured, and Bartley for Milligan was an obvious and sensible subby.
Unfortunately Marvin had his boots on the wrong feet and his head upside down. He was awful.


I thought we hardly laid a glove on them.

Powder puff up front, never troubled Bain.

We allowed them to retain possession by not pressing them and getting in their faces, the two goals due to losing possession cheaply, and letting them move forward unchallenged.

Pretty meek performance all round

Pretty much how I saw it.


Kamberi dived.

Take the green tinted specs off.

:rolleyes:

Jonnyboy
04-03-2019, 01:58 PM
Kamberi dived.

From my seat in the centre of the East it looked like a foul. What was your angle on it?

Franck Stanton
04-03-2019, 02:29 PM
I thought we hardly laid a glove on them.

Powder puff up front, never troubled Bain.

We allowed them to retain possession by not pressing them and getting in their faces, the two goals due to losing possession cheaply, and letting them move forward unchallenged.

Pretty meek performance all round

Agree with every word. Exactly how I feel as well.

Hermit Crab
04-03-2019, 05:30 PM
From my seat in the centre of the East it looked like a foul. What was your angle on it?


High up in the West, also got a text rom someone watching on tv saying he dived not long after the incident.

Jonnyboy
04-03-2019, 05:36 PM
High up in the West, also got a text rom someone watching on tv saying he dived not long after the incident.