Jonnyboy
03-08-2019, 06:48 PM
With progress in the Betfred Cup secured, Hibs moved on to the important business of trying to get off to a winning start by welcoming St. Mirren to Easter Road on the opening day. There was plenty of sunshine on Leith as the hosts took to the field with a line-up that included Steven Whittaker at left back and saw Sean Mackie having to be content with sitting on the bench alongside the likes of Darren McGregor as Jackson joined Hanlon in the middle of the Hibs back four. Hecky went with four of his summer signings with James at right back, the aforementioned Jackson and both Vela and Newell taking up midfield berths.
It was a bright enough start by the home team with the midfield trying to keep us on the front foot but St. Mirren, who came to sit deep and frustrate, weren’t really put under much pressure in a first half dominated by Hibs but victim to a lot of sloppy play and misplaced passes. At times there was clever interplay with the ball quickly passed between players but in truth that didn’t really happen often enough. We were slack in the middle and pretty ineffective out wide although Newell did help to set up a couple of half chances.
At the other end, when St. Mirren did venture forward they looked a threat and it took a fantastic last ditch block by Hanlon and an acrobatic one handed save from Rocky to deny the visitors the couple of chances they did make. A couple of questionable decisions by referee Euan Anderson seemed to raise the home crowd from a collective stupor as first Allan and then Horgan were victims of very poor tackles from behind. Anderson saw little wrong and didn’t award a free kick on either occasion. Having said that, I thought Vela risked a red when leading with his arm in an aerial challenge but Anderson produced a yellow.
Chances for Hibs were at a bit of a premium although Flo was unlucky when his effort was blocked at the last second to deny him hitting the target. Hanlon then saw a header drift wide and Mallan had the Saints keeper working but despite those few half chances Hibs were not overly impressive for long spells in that first half.
The St. Mirren outside left looked a real threat at times although for the most part, Tom James handled the challenge well enough. I’m not sure if that was the St. Mirren player guilty of a horrendous raking challenge down the back of James’ leg but the Hibs man struggled for a good few minutes and had to be replaced by Mackie on the stroke of half time. As the players trudged off for the break I reflected on whether any could be happy with their contribution so far and only two met that standard in my opinion, Rocky for his stunning save and the much maligned Steven Whittaker who was, for my money, the best in green and white by some distance.
The second half proved to be quite an improvement on the first from a Hibs perspective although there were periods when backwards and sideways passing had the crowd a little restless. When on the front foot, Hibs were unlucky not to take the lead when a Scott Allan shot from the angle of the box dipped over the visiting keeper but crashed back off the post before the home fans thought they’d witnessed the deadlock being broken. A clever Newell header beat the keeper but struck the post and although Kamberi was there to tap the ball home he was adjudged offside.
With around twenty minutes left a lovely pass from Allan found Kamberi in a shooting position. His effort was very well saved by Hladky but the ball fell to the feet of Doidge. The net was gaping, he was eight yards out but instead of striking the ball home he stood on it and lost control. Still Hibs pushed on and half chances came and went before the visitors had a golden chance to take the lead but McLoughlin headed wide when it looked easier to score. St Mirren almost made Hibs pay for their profligacy but once again Rocky pulled off a stunning one handed save to deny Magennis.
With the clock running down a lovely lay off by Doidge gave Scott Allan possession inside the Saints box. Scotty skipped past a challenge and then sent a lovely right foot drive under the goalkeeper and into the net. On the balance of play it was no more than Hibs deserved but they should really have added a second when Kamberi broke free on the left, drove to the by line and looked up before delivering the ball to the feet of Doidge some two yards from goal. It defies belief that the big fella missed but in trying to angle the ball away from the goalkeeper he managed instead to knock it miles wide of the empty net.
That set the nerves jangling a bit and during the four minutes of added time the visitors might just have secured an equaliser with Flynn and Obika both going close. Thankfully we were able to see the game out and secure a very welcome winning start to the league campaign.
The players
Rocky – It was a strange ninety minutes for Rocky as he had little to do beyond those fantastic acrobatic one handed saves.
Tom – Only played the first half and faced a tricky opponent but I thought that in the main he handed the challenge well.
Adam – Rarely troubled if truth be told and if I have a gripe it’s that his distribution, when he’s not going sideways to Hanlon, is not the best.
Paul – Was doing just fine until Obika came on and he had to adjust accordingly to deny the speed merchant. He did though and that’s a plus.
Whitty – I’m aware that a significant number of people have written Steven off and argue that he’s not good enough to play in our first eleven and so it gives me enormous pleasure to adjudge him as my man of the match by some distance. I spotted maybe two instances when he got it wrong and said to my mate that I’d no doubt they’d be focussed on by his critics.
Daryl – I’m equally aware that a significant number of people think Daryl’s is a name that should be amongst the first on the team sheet. Sad to say, I disagree. His positives are too few and far between for me and frankly I thought he was very poor today and not for the first time this season.
Stevie – I still think he sits too deep. Vela is there to be the ball carrier and we don’t need a second in Mallan. A large part of his game is his goal threat but playing him so deep tends to negate that threat. Poor in the first half he improved in the second but someone needs to tell him it shouldn’t always be him that hits free kicks at goal.
Josh – I like the lad but felt he was a bit sloppy with his passing today and seemed to get closed down rather easily.
Scotty – His goal was superbly made and taken and there were numerous glimpses of the Scotty we love but I thought he was anonymous for lengthy periods and because of that and his frustration he tried too often to make the killer pass when a shot at goal was on.
Joe – The more I see him the more I like him. He’s a very clever footballer with great feet and although my pal says Joe is too languid at times, I see it as him conserving energy he doesn’t really need to expend.
Flo – Not so long ago he was being branded as lazy but there was no evidence of that today. Indeed, during time added on when St. Mirren flooded forward it was Flo that got in a telling challenge in the left back position. I also think he’s taking on board the advice of his coaches to link play better than he has done in the past.
Sean – I expect Sean would have been disappointed not to have made the starting eleven but he got the whole second half and did well enough in my view.
Doidge – Two shocking misses that he’ll likely have nightmares about but credit where it’s due in setting Scotty up for the winner.
Viki – I know he didn’t play in the same position but for me he was far more careful in possession on the ball than Horgan, whom he replaced.
Hecky – I actually heard his post-match interview and he accepted we were poor in the first half but bucked our ideas up in the second and crucially kept going right to the end.
Referee Euan Anderson – The usual assortment of baffling decisions.
The fans – Good turnout from Paisley, fantastic turnout in the home stands but once again it was like a morgue at times.
It was a bright enough start by the home team with the midfield trying to keep us on the front foot but St. Mirren, who came to sit deep and frustrate, weren’t really put under much pressure in a first half dominated by Hibs but victim to a lot of sloppy play and misplaced passes. At times there was clever interplay with the ball quickly passed between players but in truth that didn’t really happen often enough. We were slack in the middle and pretty ineffective out wide although Newell did help to set up a couple of half chances.
At the other end, when St. Mirren did venture forward they looked a threat and it took a fantastic last ditch block by Hanlon and an acrobatic one handed save from Rocky to deny the visitors the couple of chances they did make. A couple of questionable decisions by referee Euan Anderson seemed to raise the home crowd from a collective stupor as first Allan and then Horgan were victims of very poor tackles from behind. Anderson saw little wrong and didn’t award a free kick on either occasion. Having said that, I thought Vela risked a red when leading with his arm in an aerial challenge but Anderson produced a yellow.
Chances for Hibs were at a bit of a premium although Flo was unlucky when his effort was blocked at the last second to deny him hitting the target. Hanlon then saw a header drift wide and Mallan had the Saints keeper working but despite those few half chances Hibs were not overly impressive for long spells in that first half.
The St. Mirren outside left looked a real threat at times although for the most part, Tom James handled the challenge well enough. I’m not sure if that was the St. Mirren player guilty of a horrendous raking challenge down the back of James’ leg but the Hibs man struggled for a good few minutes and had to be replaced by Mackie on the stroke of half time. As the players trudged off for the break I reflected on whether any could be happy with their contribution so far and only two met that standard in my opinion, Rocky for his stunning save and the much maligned Steven Whittaker who was, for my money, the best in green and white by some distance.
The second half proved to be quite an improvement on the first from a Hibs perspective although there were periods when backwards and sideways passing had the crowd a little restless. When on the front foot, Hibs were unlucky not to take the lead when a Scott Allan shot from the angle of the box dipped over the visiting keeper but crashed back off the post before the home fans thought they’d witnessed the deadlock being broken. A clever Newell header beat the keeper but struck the post and although Kamberi was there to tap the ball home he was adjudged offside.
With around twenty minutes left a lovely pass from Allan found Kamberi in a shooting position. His effort was very well saved by Hladky but the ball fell to the feet of Doidge. The net was gaping, he was eight yards out but instead of striking the ball home he stood on it and lost control. Still Hibs pushed on and half chances came and went before the visitors had a golden chance to take the lead but McLoughlin headed wide when it looked easier to score. St Mirren almost made Hibs pay for their profligacy but once again Rocky pulled off a stunning one handed save to deny Magennis.
With the clock running down a lovely lay off by Doidge gave Scott Allan possession inside the Saints box. Scotty skipped past a challenge and then sent a lovely right foot drive under the goalkeeper and into the net. On the balance of play it was no more than Hibs deserved but they should really have added a second when Kamberi broke free on the left, drove to the by line and looked up before delivering the ball to the feet of Doidge some two yards from goal. It defies belief that the big fella missed but in trying to angle the ball away from the goalkeeper he managed instead to knock it miles wide of the empty net.
That set the nerves jangling a bit and during the four minutes of added time the visitors might just have secured an equaliser with Flynn and Obika both going close. Thankfully we were able to see the game out and secure a very welcome winning start to the league campaign.
The players
Rocky – It was a strange ninety minutes for Rocky as he had little to do beyond those fantastic acrobatic one handed saves.
Tom – Only played the first half and faced a tricky opponent but I thought that in the main he handed the challenge well.
Adam – Rarely troubled if truth be told and if I have a gripe it’s that his distribution, when he’s not going sideways to Hanlon, is not the best.
Paul – Was doing just fine until Obika came on and he had to adjust accordingly to deny the speed merchant. He did though and that’s a plus.
Whitty – I’m aware that a significant number of people have written Steven off and argue that he’s not good enough to play in our first eleven and so it gives me enormous pleasure to adjudge him as my man of the match by some distance. I spotted maybe two instances when he got it wrong and said to my mate that I’d no doubt they’d be focussed on by his critics.
Daryl – I’m equally aware that a significant number of people think Daryl’s is a name that should be amongst the first on the team sheet. Sad to say, I disagree. His positives are too few and far between for me and frankly I thought he was very poor today and not for the first time this season.
Stevie – I still think he sits too deep. Vela is there to be the ball carrier and we don’t need a second in Mallan. A large part of his game is his goal threat but playing him so deep tends to negate that threat. Poor in the first half he improved in the second but someone needs to tell him it shouldn’t always be him that hits free kicks at goal.
Josh – I like the lad but felt he was a bit sloppy with his passing today and seemed to get closed down rather easily.
Scotty – His goal was superbly made and taken and there were numerous glimpses of the Scotty we love but I thought he was anonymous for lengthy periods and because of that and his frustration he tried too often to make the killer pass when a shot at goal was on.
Joe – The more I see him the more I like him. He’s a very clever footballer with great feet and although my pal says Joe is too languid at times, I see it as him conserving energy he doesn’t really need to expend.
Flo – Not so long ago he was being branded as lazy but there was no evidence of that today. Indeed, during time added on when St. Mirren flooded forward it was Flo that got in a telling challenge in the left back position. I also think he’s taking on board the advice of his coaches to link play better than he has done in the past.
Sean – I expect Sean would have been disappointed not to have made the starting eleven but he got the whole second half and did well enough in my view.
Doidge – Two shocking misses that he’ll likely have nightmares about but credit where it’s due in setting Scotty up for the winner.
Viki – I know he didn’t play in the same position but for me he was far more careful in possession on the ball than Horgan, whom he replaced.
Hecky – I actually heard his post-match interview and he accepted we were poor in the first half but bucked our ideas up in the second and crucially kept going right to the end.
Referee Euan Anderson – The usual assortment of baffling decisions.
The fans – Good turnout from Paisley, fantastic turnout in the home stands but once again it was like a morgue at times.