Jonnyboy
05-05-2019, 07:50 PM
Travelling back in the car today I was trying to work out which emotions were strongest in me and I came to the view that I was both frustrated and disappointed, as opposed to angry or depressed. I was disappointed because I felt we could have taken something from the game and frustrated that we were not forward thinking and adventurous enough after realising the Rangers were a bit rattled when we went to a 4-4-2 formation.
In what would prove to be a poor first half, Hibs actually started fairly brightly after an early scare when Arfield headed wide from a good position. A raking pass from Mallan looked to set Horgan free but the Hibs man could not control the ball and that attack petered out. Next, Gauld got on the end of a cross but couldn’t guide his header on target and from then on it was the hosts that created the better first half chances. Goldson and Arfield both saw efforts miss the target whilst Rocky had to be well placed to save another couple of efforts from the home side. Defoe then sliced the ball wide from a good position before Rocky saved well from a Ryan Kent effort. Little was being seen from Hibs in an attacking sense and McNulty was not at his best in the lone striker role.
With half time fast approaching the possession being enjoyed by the hosts paid off when Arfield squared the ball to Defoe who fired home from six yards. Watching the move live I wondered whether Arfield and then Defoe were offside but given the lack of any complaint from the Hibs defenders I guess the assistant referee got both decisions correct. That same assistant had, a few minutes earlier, infuriated the Hibs defence and travelling support by seeming to raise his flag for offside only to whip it down to his side again when referee Madden awarded a corner. That assistant got dogs abuse from the travelling support but he would have a key role to play later in the game.
The second half began much as the first had ended with the Rangers creating half chances but failing to capitalise on them. A double substitution by Hecky saw Horgan and Gauld replaced by Kamberi and Agyepong and immediately Hibs looked to have a better balance. Introducing a second striker in Kamberi took a bit of weight from the shoulders of McNulty and gave the Rangers pause for thought in how to deal with the changes. Agyepong fired straight at McGregor and then sent a cracking pass down the Hibs right which Kamberi raced on to before sending a low cross into the area that had too much on it with McNulty unable to make any contact.
Both sides made further changes with Murray on for Milligan and Morelos on for Defoe. Hibs were more involved now but it still took 82 minutes before they won their first corner with Daz heading Mallan’s cross wide of the target. With full time looming, Kamberi missed a glorious chance to equalise when Murray’s cross found him in the box but the big striker side footed his effort straight at McGregor and the keeper reacted quickly to make the save. Moments later the keeper was involved again when he took exception to McNulty standing on the 18 yard line in the hope of putting the keeper off when kicking from hand. The keeper got the ball away but seemed to lash out at McNulty. Madden was in centre field but his assistant spotted the incident and must have advised the whistler who approached McNulty and McGregor flashing first a yellow and then a red. Confusion reigned until it became clear that McNulty was being booked, presumably for obstruction as he’d made no contact with the keeper and then McGregor was shown a straight red.
After the predictable hullaballoo had quietened down, McCrorie had to go in goals because the Rangers had used all three subs. It was an opportunity for Hibs to put the lad under pressure but frustratingly they failed to do that and the game fizzled out.
The players
Rocky – Made a quite wonderful late save from Morelos but had absolutely no chance with the goal.
SDG – Put in a sterling and typical David Gray performance in both defending well and getting at the Rangers rearguard in an attacking sense. This was a real captain’s performance and SDG wins my man of the match award.
Daz – It’s no secret that he likes playing against his former employers and I felt he went about his duties well enough. For such a good header of the ball though, I think he should be offering a bigger threat at our corners and free kicks.
Paul – Once again his reading of the game was impressive although it’s fair to say that late on he had some problems dealing with the movement and physicality of Morelos.
Lewis – The wee man was excellent and pushed SDG for my man of the match award. It’s significant to me that he was often left marking both Tavernier and Arfield when his midfield cover went AWOL.
Daryl – Pretty anonymous for large parts of the game I felt he was often weak in the tackle and too slow in getting the ball forward. He’s had better games.
Ryan – I was surprised to see Ryan named in the starting eleven given his lack of minutes after returning from injury but I felt he started the game well before tiredness finally caused him to make way.
Millsy – Being a defensive midfielder is not only about covering your back four. It’s also about winning the ball and ensuring retention and that often means a backwards pass. Millsy was getting pelters for doing that today but for the most part unfairly in my view.
Stevie – Buzzed around and got stuck in when required. Had to take one for the team when Milligan’s stray pass would have sent Arfield through on goal had Stevie not tripped him.
Stephane – As good as he was in the Derby, he was pretty poor today. I thought a big part of his job was to stop Tavernier bombing down the right and delivering crosses. Sadly, Stephane was often posted missing in that regard.
Sparky – Another blank for our loanee but to be fair he was on a hiding to nothing when up front on his own. Got more involved when Flo joined him but still couldn’t engineer a shot on goal.
Thomas – I thought he’d be deployed wide and get served with balls over the top for him to use his pace. He started wide but soon drifted into a central position and was unable to use his biggest asset as a result.
Flo – I thought that, at times, he made a positive impact when he replaced Gauld but it seems to me he still struggles with the absolute basics of ball control and let’s face it he should have burst the net with that late opportunity.
Fraser – I thought he showed well during his brief time on the park. Was involved in the cross for Kamberi’s miss and just failed to connect properly with a late diving header.
Hecky – I’ve no idea what his take was on today’s performance but he is partially to blame for my frustration and disappointment. The Rangers are no great shakes but instead of having a go at them from the off we seemed happy to sit and let them bring the game to us.
The fans – A good turnout and a noisy bunch we were although I still cringe when the ‘Stokesy’s Da’ ditty is aired as it was today on numerous occasions.
Bobby Madden – I thought he refereed the game quite well. Mallan’s was a definite yellow; I couldn’t see the offence that brought Millsy his and I’m baffled as to why Sparky was booked for just standing there? He gets bonus points from me though for having the balls to dismiss Mr Angry.
In what would prove to be a poor first half, Hibs actually started fairly brightly after an early scare when Arfield headed wide from a good position. A raking pass from Mallan looked to set Horgan free but the Hibs man could not control the ball and that attack petered out. Next, Gauld got on the end of a cross but couldn’t guide his header on target and from then on it was the hosts that created the better first half chances. Goldson and Arfield both saw efforts miss the target whilst Rocky had to be well placed to save another couple of efforts from the home side. Defoe then sliced the ball wide from a good position before Rocky saved well from a Ryan Kent effort. Little was being seen from Hibs in an attacking sense and McNulty was not at his best in the lone striker role.
With half time fast approaching the possession being enjoyed by the hosts paid off when Arfield squared the ball to Defoe who fired home from six yards. Watching the move live I wondered whether Arfield and then Defoe were offside but given the lack of any complaint from the Hibs defenders I guess the assistant referee got both decisions correct. That same assistant had, a few minutes earlier, infuriated the Hibs defence and travelling support by seeming to raise his flag for offside only to whip it down to his side again when referee Madden awarded a corner. That assistant got dogs abuse from the travelling support but he would have a key role to play later in the game.
The second half began much as the first had ended with the Rangers creating half chances but failing to capitalise on them. A double substitution by Hecky saw Horgan and Gauld replaced by Kamberi and Agyepong and immediately Hibs looked to have a better balance. Introducing a second striker in Kamberi took a bit of weight from the shoulders of McNulty and gave the Rangers pause for thought in how to deal with the changes. Agyepong fired straight at McGregor and then sent a cracking pass down the Hibs right which Kamberi raced on to before sending a low cross into the area that had too much on it with McNulty unable to make any contact.
Both sides made further changes with Murray on for Milligan and Morelos on for Defoe. Hibs were more involved now but it still took 82 minutes before they won their first corner with Daz heading Mallan’s cross wide of the target. With full time looming, Kamberi missed a glorious chance to equalise when Murray’s cross found him in the box but the big striker side footed his effort straight at McGregor and the keeper reacted quickly to make the save. Moments later the keeper was involved again when he took exception to McNulty standing on the 18 yard line in the hope of putting the keeper off when kicking from hand. The keeper got the ball away but seemed to lash out at McNulty. Madden was in centre field but his assistant spotted the incident and must have advised the whistler who approached McNulty and McGregor flashing first a yellow and then a red. Confusion reigned until it became clear that McNulty was being booked, presumably for obstruction as he’d made no contact with the keeper and then McGregor was shown a straight red.
After the predictable hullaballoo had quietened down, McCrorie had to go in goals because the Rangers had used all three subs. It was an opportunity for Hibs to put the lad under pressure but frustratingly they failed to do that and the game fizzled out.
The players
Rocky – Made a quite wonderful late save from Morelos but had absolutely no chance with the goal.
SDG – Put in a sterling and typical David Gray performance in both defending well and getting at the Rangers rearguard in an attacking sense. This was a real captain’s performance and SDG wins my man of the match award.
Daz – It’s no secret that he likes playing against his former employers and I felt he went about his duties well enough. For such a good header of the ball though, I think he should be offering a bigger threat at our corners and free kicks.
Paul – Once again his reading of the game was impressive although it’s fair to say that late on he had some problems dealing with the movement and physicality of Morelos.
Lewis – The wee man was excellent and pushed SDG for my man of the match award. It’s significant to me that he was often left marking both Tavernier and Arfield when his midfield cover went AWOL.
Daryl – Pretty anonymous for large parts of the game I felt he was often weak in the tackle and too slow in getting the ball forward. He’s had better games.
Ryan – I was surprised to see Ryan named in the starting eleven given his lack of minutes after returning from injury but I felt he started the game well before tiredness finally caused him to make way.
Millsy – Being a defensive midfielder is not only about covering your back four. It’s also about winning the ball and ensuring retention and that often means a backwards pass. Millsy was getting pelters for doing that today but for the most part unfairly in my view.
Stevie – Buzzed around and got stuck in when required. Had to take one for the team when Milligan’s stray pass would have sent Arfield through on goal had Stevie not tripped him.
Stephane – As good as he was in the Derby, he was pretty poor today. I thought a big part of his job was to stop Tavernier bombing down the right and delivering crosses. Sadly, Stephane was often posted missing in that regard.
Sparky – Another blank for our loanee but to be fair he was on a hiding to nothing when up front on his own. Got more involved when Flo joined him but still couldn’t engineer a shot on goal.
Thomas – I thought he’d be deployed wide and get served with balls over the top for him to use his pace. He started wide but soon drifted into a central position and was unable to use his biggest asset as a result.
Flo – I thought that, at times, he made a positive impact when he replaced Gauld but it seems to me he still struggles with the absolute basics of ball control and let’s face it he should have burst the net with that late opportunity.
Fraser – I thought he showed well during his brief time on the park. Was involved in the cross for Kamberi’s miss and just failed to connect properly with a late diving header.
Hecky – I’ve no idea what his take was on today’s performance but he is partially to blame for my frustration and disappointment. The Rangers are no great shakes but instead of having a go at them from the off we seemed happy to sit and let them bring the game to us.
The fans – A good turnout and a noisy bunch we were although I still cringe when the ‘Stokesy’s Da’ ditty is aired as it was today on numerous occasions.
Bobby Madden – I thought he refereed the game quite well. Mallan’s was a definite yellow; I couldn’t see the offence that brought Millsy his and I’m baffled as to why Sparky was booked for just standing there? He gets bonus points from me though for having the balls to dismiss Mr Angry.