Jonnyboy
30-07-2019, 10:50 PM
The final warm up match prior to the commencement of league business against St. Mirren on Saturday saw English Premiership side Newcastle bring a very strong squad to Easter Road and it was the visitors who triumphed with a comfortable 3-1 win in front of a more than decent crowd including an impressive travelling support. It was a good workout for both sides but the gulf in quality was always apparent. Newcastle, who had their new £40m signing Joelinton leading the line, recovered from going a goal down to pretty much dominate the rest of the game. Just think about that for a moment – a signing that cost millions more than our whole club is worth and it was no surprise that he had an outstanding seventy minutes against a defence that struggled with his pace and movement.
The usual guessing game precluded announcement of the teams and Hibs fielded a starting eleven with a hatful of changes from that which started at Borough Briggs last time out. It was a first start for Slivka, newly recovered from injury whilst Scotty Allan and Josh Vela were amongst a host of substitutes on the bench. Newcastle fielded a very strong starting eleven and were soon on the front foot with both Hanlon and McGregor making last ditch challenges to deny Joelinton. For their part, Hibs played some decent stuff with Kamberi and Shaw linking well and it was Kamberi that provided the opening for Mallan to fire home around the ten minute mark. The build-up was good with Mackie and Newell making ground on the left. A cross was fired to the back post where Kamberi rose to head down and as the ball took a kind deflection off a defender, Mallan struck a left foot shot past Darlow in the Newcastle goal.
With Jonjo Shelvey pulling the strings in midfield, Newcastle were soon back on the attack and it didn’t take them long to equalise. Shelvey found Manquillo on the right and with Sean Mackie, who had a torrid night, caught out of position the ball was squared to Joelinton who shot home from close range. To their credit, Hibs tried to respond and clever play from Slivka saw Kamberi release Fraser Murray but the youngsters cross was easily mopped up before Newell saw an effort deflected over the bar.
At the other end, Rocky had two fine saves when a deflected shot hit Hanlon and was heading for the goal until Rocky dived to save and then when Manquillo was through one on one, he saved with his right leg at the expense of a corner.
The visitors were stronger and faster both physically and in speed of thought and for a while Hibs were chasing shadows. It was no real surprise then when they took the lead about ten minutes from the break. A ball had been delivered into the box and was only partially cleared allowing Longstaff to bullet a shot home through a tangle of legs and bodies. It was a sweet strike but disappointing that nobody had come out to close the lad down.
The second half started with Hecky having made seven substitutions whilst Steve Bruce went with the men that had finished the first half. They’d lost Matt Ritchie to injury after around ten minutes of the first half but had an able replacement in Rolando Aarons. The Newcastle man had faced Tom James in the first half with the Hibs man holding up well against him but now found himself up against Steven Whittaker who struggled at times with the pace and quick feet of the attacker.
Around the hour mark Joelinton should have punished Hibs when he raced clear but with substitute keeper Chris Maxwell closing him down he made a hash of things and the chance was gone. Whitty then saw an effort deflected wide for a corner but Hibs were offering little threat to the home defence. On 65 minutes there was a huge roar from the home support when Ryan Porteous replaced Daz in the centre of defence. After a lengthy injury absence he was a welcome sight back in the green and white.
It was Porteous who might have unwittingly helped Newcastle to score a third with about twenty minutes left. As he followed his man out to a wide right position in defending an over hit corner, a gap was left in the centre and when the cross came in from the left, Lascelles rose unchallenged to head past Maxwell. A few minutes later, Fraser Murray sent Oli Shaw clear on the right and the youngsters firm shot forced Darlow to dive full length and deflect the ball around the post for a corner.
The visitors were pretty much cruising towards the final whistle as Hibs found it difficult to retain any meaningful possession. Indeed the last chance of the game fell to Newcastle when a netbound header from Fernandez was headed off the line by Jamie Gullan. Spare a thought for young Josh Doig who came on to replace Mackie and was just in time to hear the final whistle.
The players
Rocky – Two wonderful first half saves kept the score down and he had no chance with either goal.
Tom – Faced both Matt Ritchie and Rolando Aarons for the first 45 minutes and I thought he did pretty well against them both.
Daz – I love the big fella but he struggled on the ground tonight against Joelinton. No shame in that given the strikers price tag.
Paul – At times, just like his team mates, he was chasing shadows.
Sean – I’m afraid to say that young Sean was very poor tonight, caught out of position too often and guilty of ball watching at times.
Viki – It was good to see him back and I thought he looked quite sharp.
Stevie – Struggled against Shelvey who simply sits in midfield, Scott Brown like and links everything together.
Fraser – I’m always impressed by Fraser and I was again tonight. One pass in particular stays in my mind when he threaded the ball beyond the full back for Oli to break free. It’s interesting that Fraser survived the half time ‘cull’ so he was clearly doing something right.
Joe – Once again he showed up well in patches and if he keeps developing those patches into longer ones he’ll do just fine.
Flo – I thought he was right up for it tonight, perhaps hoping to impress Steve Bruce although I’m not sure he’d displace Joelinton in the Newcastle attack!
Oli – Once again things just didn’t go quite right for the laddie and it’s a shame that there seems to be a growing audible gasp when he doesn’t quite get things right.
Chris – The visitors had lots of possession but Maxwell looked good under pressure, took crosses out of the air and was very vocal. I wonder if he heard the Newcastle fans singing “Are you a man or a woman” thanks to his man bun!
Whitty – Given a bit of a torrid time by his opposite number and might have done better at the third goal as he was out of position, causing Ryan to have to cover.
Adam – I thought Porteous had knocked him out when clearing a ball that flew at rocket speed towards Jackson’s head. As I’ve said before, I think he’s a decent centre half.
Ryan – Brilliant to see the laddie back but he’ll need more minutes on the park to regain his sharpness of movement and thought.
Daryl – Sad to say that he was pretty much anonymous for the 45 minutes he played.
Scotty – Not as influential as I’d have liked him to be but I enjoyed his wee tit for tat with Shelvey.
Josh V – Does the simple things really well and I reckon he’s going to be a big player for us in the months ahead.
Doidge – Apart from a bizarre decision to try and punch the ball into the net he didn’t really get much of a chance to shine.
Hammer – A fantastic headed clearance off his own goal line was his highlight but given the chance I’m sure he could become a regular first team squad member.
Josh C – Got little time to do much of anything although there’s certainly nothing wrong with his willingness and work rate.
Josh D – Poor laddie got all of thirty seconds.
Hecky – Knows now that the squad rotation needs to ease off considerably as the real stuff starts on Saturday.
The fans – I was pleasantly surprised at the number of Hibs fans tonight as I honestly thought we’d struggle to reach 5,000. The Newcastle fans were noisy and supportive although I never had them down as Geordie Huns!
John Beaton – An easy game for him to referee but he still managed a couple of truly baffling decisions.
The usual guessing game precluded announcement of the teams and Hibs fielded a starting eleven with a hatful of changes from that which started at Borough Briggs last time out. It was a first start for Slivka, newly recovered from injury whilst Scotty Allan and Josh Vela were amongst a host of substitutes on the bench. Newcastle fielded a very strong starting eleven and were soon on the front foot with both Hanlon and McGregor making last ditch challenges to deny Joelinton. For their part, Hibs played some decent stuff with Kamberi and Shaw linking well and it was Kamberi that provided the opening for Mallan to fire home around the ten minute mark. The build-up was good with Mackie and Newell making ground on the left. A cross was fired to the back post where Kamberi rose to head down and as the ball took a kind deflection off a defender, Mallan struck a left foot shot past Darlow in the Newcastle goal.
With Jonjo Shelvey pulling the strings in midfield, Newcastle were soon back on the attack and it didn’t take them long to equalise. Shelvey found Manquillo on the right and with Sean Mackie, who had a torrid night, caught out of position the ball was squared to Joelinton who shot home from close range. To their credit, Hibs tried to respond and clever play from Slivka saw Kamberi release Fraser Murray but the youngsters cross was easily mopped up before Newell saw an effort deflected over the bar.
At the other end, Rocky had two fine saves when a deflected shot hit Hanlon and was heading for the goal until Rocky dived to save and then when Manquillo was through one on one, he saved with his right leg at the expense of a corner.
The visitors were stronger and faster both physically and in speed of thought and for a while Hibs were chasing shadows. It was no real surprise then when they took the lead about ten minutes from the break. A ball had been delivered into the box and was only partially cleared allowing Longstaff to bullet a shot home through a tangle of legs and bodies. It was a sweet strike but disappointing that nobody had come out to close the lad down.
The second half started with Hecky having made seven substitutions whilst Steve Bruce went with the men that had finished the first half. They’d lost Matt Ritchie to injury after around ten minutes of the first half but had an able replacement in Rolando Aarons. The Newcastle man had faced Tom James in the first half with the Hibs man holding up well against him but now found himself up against Steven Whittaker who struggled at times with the pace and quick feet of the attacker.
Around the hour mark Joelinton should have punished Hibs when he raced clear but with substitute keeper Chris Maxwell closing him down he made a hash of things and the chance was gone. Whitty then saw an effort deflected wide for a corner but Hibs were offering little threat to the home defence. On 65 minutes there was a huge roar from the home support when Ryan Porteous replaced Daz in the centre of defence. After a lengthy injury absence he was a welcome sight back in the green and white.
It was Porteous who might have unwittingly helped Newcastle to score a third with about twenty minutes left. As he followed his man out to a wide right position in defending an over hit corner, a gap was left in the centre and when the cross came in from the left, Lascelles rose unchallenged to head past Maxwell. A few minutes later, Fraser Murray sent Oli Shaw clear on the right and the youngsters firm shot forced Darlow to dive full length and deflect the ball around the post for a corner.
The visitors were pretty much cruising towards the final whistle as Hibs found it difficult to retain any meaningful possession. Indeed the last chance of the game fell to Newcastle when a netbound header from Fernandez was headed off the line by Jamie Gullan. Spare a thought for young Josh Doig who came on to replace Mackie and was just in time to hear the final whistle.
The players
Rocky – Two wonderful first half saves kept the score down and he had no chance with either goal.
Tom – Faced both Matt Ritchie and Rolando Aarons for the first 45 minutes and I thought he did pretty well against them both.
Daz – I love the big fella but he struggled on the ground tonight against Joelinton. No shame in that given the strikers price tag.
Paul – At times, just like his team mates, he was chasing shadows.
Sean – I’m afraid to say that young Sean was very poor tonight, caught out of position too often and guilty of ball watching at times.
Viki – It was good to see him back and I thought he looked quite sharp.
Stevie – Struggled against Shelvey who simply sits in midfield, Scott Brown like and links everything together.
Fraser – I’m always impressed by Fraser and I was again tonight. One pass in particular stays in my mind when he threaded the ball beyond the full back for Oli to break free. It’s interesting that Fraser survived the half time ‘cull’ so he was clearly doing something right.
Joe – Once again he showed up well in patches and if he keeps developing those patches into longer ones he’ll do just fine.
Flo – I thought he was right up for it tonight, perhaps hoping to impress Steve Bruce although I’m not sure he’d displace Joelinton in the Newcastle attack!
Oli – Once again things just didn’t go quite right for the laddie and it’s a shame that there seems to be a growing audible gasp when he doesn’t quite get things right.
Chris – The visitors had lots of possession but Maxwell looked good under pressure, took crosses out of the air and was very vocal. I wonder if he heard the Newcastle fans singing “Are you a man or a woman” thanks to his man bun!
Whitty – Given a bit of a torrid time by his opposite number and might have done better at the third goal as he was out of position, causing Ryan to have to cover.
Adam – I thought Porteous had knocked him out when clearing a ball that flew at rocket speed towards Jackson’s head. As I’ve said before, I think he’s a decent centre half.
Ryan – Brilliant to see the laddie back but he’ll need more minutes on the park to regain his sharpness of movement and thought.
Daryl – Sad to say that he was pretty much anonymous for the 45 minutes he played.
Scotty – Not as influential as I’d have liked him to be but I enjoyed his wee tit for tat with Shelvey.
Josh V – Does the simple things really well and I reckon he’s going to be a big player for us in the months ahead.
Doidge – Apart from a bizarre decision to try and punch the ball into the net he didn’t really get much of a chance to shine.
Hammer – A fantastic headed clearance off his own goal line was his highlight but given the chance I’m sure he could become a regular first team squad member.
Josh C – Got little time to do much of anything although there’s certainly nothing wrong with his willingness and work rate.
Josh D – Poor laddie got all of thirty seconds.
Hecky – Knows now that the squad rotation needs to ease off considerably as the real stuff starts on Saturday.
The fans – I was pleasantly surprised at the number of Hibs fans tonight as I honestly thought we’d struggle to reach 5,000. The Newcastle fans were noisy and supportive although I never had them down as Geordie Huns!
John Beaton – An easy game for him to referee but he still managed a couple of truly baffling decisions.