Jonnyboy
25-01-2020, 07:30 PM
On my way through to Motherwell today I said to my brother that I hoped we’d win but given ‘Wells’ lofty league position and the fact that they were in good form, winning last time out at Pittodrie, that I’d settle for a draw. A draw it was and in truth it was a deserved point as I felt we made a good Motherwell side look decidedly average. Yes they had the bulk of possession but Rocky had only three important saves to make in the whole game whilst we struck the post and their keeper had one decent save from Horgan. I guess you could say I’m a glass half full sort of person as I focus on the positives of which there were a few.
Hearing the starting eleven caused me to raise my eyebrows a little. David Gray was missing due to illness so Tom James started at right back. Newell and Omeonga retained their places on the back of a good performance in the fightback against Hamilton with Allan and Hallberg benched and Slivka dropping out completely. It concerned me that James has had little in the way of match minutes of late and of course Motherwell had tricky and speedy wingers. Also, with Allan on the bench who would provide the creativity? In truth I think Scotty’s drop to the bench was merited given a few poor performances of late and so it would fall to Newell in particular to provide a spark in attack.
Hibs started the game on the front foot but our two central midfielders soon found it hard going against the three of Motherwell and it was the Steelmen providing the attacking football in the first phase of the match. James Scott on the wide left was giving Tom James a torrid time and the Hibs man was struggling to stop Scott from racing down the wing at will. In fairness he got little or no help from Boyle and it took a good fifteen minutes for Hibs to tweak things, allowing Omeonga to help James out.
An early effort from Scott flew high and wide of the Hibs goal whilst at the other end a superb through ball from Newall allowed a Boyle effort bit it had the sting taken out of it by a defenders foot and the home keeper collected easily. It was poor fare from both sides really although it could be argued that Motherwell’s hesitancy in getting the ball forward quickly was the result of a very compact defensive line by Hibs. There was little space in which they could play and whilst that made for dull football it kept Hibs very much in the game. Of late our defence has looked too easy to breach but not today.
A silly challenge right on the edge of our box gave Motherwell the chance to open the scoring but Jake Carroll’s shot, whilst fierce, brought a good parrying save from Marciano. Soon after, Allan Campbell had a shot from distance that flew well wide of a post. Doidge was then unlucky to see an effort sail over the bar and in truth, as a spectator, half time couldn’t come quick enough.
Hibs started the second half brightly and might have taken the lead but Horgan’s bullet shot was pushed out by Gillespie. The ball fell to Boyle who dinked a cross to the far post where Kamberi launched himself into a flying header but agonisingly, with Gillespie well beaten the ball struck the far post and bounced outwards, allowing a defender to clear.
The second half seemed more even although the hosts still had more of the ball they were doing very little with it. A Scott effort was saved by Marciano and then a promising break forward by Hibs was brought to a halt by Campbell clattering into Allan (on for Kamberi) from behind but referee Colin Steven simply waved away the appeals for a free kick. To be honest I thought the ref was having a stinker and he seemed to give a free kick every time a Motherwell player fell over.
Both sides tried manfully to create chances but passes were going astray or wrong decisions were being made and it seemed as though they could play until Monday and still not score a goal. A rare misplaced pass by Omeonga allowed Motherwell to break and when the ball reached substitute Manzinga his left foot rocket looked destined for the top corner but a glorious save by Marciano steered the ball on to the top of the bar and over.
The game was now petering out somewhat and Rocky saved again at his near post to deny Ndjoli and in all fairness to have lost a late goal would have been a bitter pill to swallow. To a man, Hibs fought their corner and fully deserved to take a point home from Lanarkshire.
The players
Marciano – Rocky made three crucial saves and one or two others. His save from Manzinga was top drawer and deserved the praise it received from the Motherwell manager in his post-match interview.
James – I kid you not when I say that ten minutes in I said to my brother that I’d sub James with Whittaker. The laddie was toiling against Scott but to be fair to him he probably got better as the game wore on and he received help in defending on that side.
Jackson – Big Adam looked assured throughout and was immense in the air in defending crosses into the box. He likes a crossfield pass though!
Hanlon – Like Jackson he was solid enough and never really looked troubled.
Stevenson – I counted three crucial interceptions and two blocks in the first half alone so there are no complaints from me about his performance today.
Boyle – Squirrel was strangely subdued and even when he got the ball in some space he seemed to have trouble controlling it. On the positive side his dinked cross to Kamberi at the back post was superb.
Omeonga – Steph was booked quite early on but didn’t let that stop him from making crucial challenges for the rest of the game. He will I am sure benefit enormously from getting that ninety minutes under his belt.
Newell – Without having quite the same impact as last time out against Hamilton I thought Joe put in an enormous amount of work today. He is I feel a very clever footballer and today he wins my man of the match award.
Horgan – Daryl was very good and seemed better at actually challenging for a ball rather than pulling up at the last second. His shot was swerving and Gillespie made a decent save to deny him.
Kamberi – Flo is so frustrating. Invariably his first touch is poor and invariably he’ll take the ball in and then try to beat his man rather than looking up to find a team mate.
Doidge – With Flo off the pace, Doidge had it all to do and he stuck to his task manfully. The amount of physical effort he puts in is impressive and on one occasion today he was in the left back position stopping a Motherwell cross into the box.
Allan – Took a few minutes to get going but put plenty of effort into his play. The time he was hacked down from behind and the challenge went unpunished must frustrate him enormously as it’s the kind of treatment that’s becoming the norm.
Gullan – It was good to see Hammer getting some game time and he did his bit in helping secure the point.
Jack Ross – I’m told he was yellow carded following his reaction to the Motherwell players and bench screaming for a second yellow to Omeonga. As to the game I guess he’ll accept the point we won and focus now on the cup replay.
Referee – I think this is Colin Steven’s first season in the top league and he looks like he deserved his promotion because, like his new colleagues, he was utterly rank.
The fans – It was a good turnout and supportive throughout. As an aside the Motherwell fans deserve 10/10 for their efforts although the guy with the megaphone must have to read the match report as he never looks at the game!
Hearing the starting eleven caused me to raise my eyebrows a little. David Gray was missing due to illness so Tom James started at right back. Newell and Omeonga retained their places on the back of a good performance in the fightback against Hamilton with Allan and Hallberg benched and Slivka dropping out completely. It concerned me that James has had little in the way of match minutes of late and of course Motherwell had tricky and speedy wingers. Also, with Allan on the bench who would provide the creativity? In truth I think Scotty’s drop to the bench was merited given a few poor performances of late and so it would fall to Newell in particular to provide a spark in attack.
Hibs started the game on the front foot but our two central midfielders soon found it hard going against the three of Motherwell and it was the Steelmen providing the attacking football in the first phase of the match. James Scott on the wide left was giving Tom James a torrid time and the Hibs man was struggling to stop Scott from racing down the wing at will. In fairness he got little or no help from Boyle and it took a good fifteen minutes for Hibs to tweak things, allowing Omeonga to help James out.
An early effort from Scott flew high and wide of the Hibs goal whilst at the other end a superb through ball from Newall allowed a Boyle effort bit it had the sting taken out of it by a defenders foot and the home keeper collected easily. It was poor fare from both sides really although it could be argued that Motherwell’s hesitancy in getting the ball forward quickly was the result of a very compact defensive line by Hibs. There was little space in which they could play and whilst that made for dull football it kept Hibs very much in the game. Of late our defence has looked too easy to breach but not today.
A silly challenge right on the edge of our box gave Motherwell the chance to open the scoring but Jake Carroll’s shot, whilst fierce, brought a good parrying save from Marciano. Soon after, Allan Campbell had a shot from distance that flew well wide of a post. Doidge was then unlucky to see an effort sail over the bar and in truth, as a spectator, half time couldn’t come quick enough.
Hibs started the second half brightly and might have taken the lead but Horgan’s bullet shot was pushed out by Gillespie. The ball fell to Boyle who dinked a cross to the far post where Kamberi launched himself into a flying header but agonisingly, with Gillespie well beaten the ball struck the far post and bounced outwards, allowing a defender to clear.
The second half seemed more even although the hosts still had more of the ball they were doing very little with it. A Scott effort was saved by Marciano and then a promising break forward by Hibs was brought to a halt by Campbell clattering into Allan (on for Kamberi) from behind but referee Colin Steven simply waved away the appeals for a free kick. To be honest I thought the ref was having a stinker and he seemed to give a free kick every time a Motherwell player fell over.
Both sides tried manfully to create chances but passes were going astray or wrong decisions were being made and it seemed as though they could play until Monday and still not score a goal. A rare misplaced pass by Omeonga allowed Motherwell to break and when the ball reached substitute Manzinga his left foot rocket looked destined for the top corner but a glorious save by Marciano steered the ball on to the top of the bar and over.
The game was now petering out somewhat and Rocky saved again at his near post to deny Ndjoli and in all fairness to have lost a late goal would have been a bitter pill to swallow. To a man, Hibs fought their corner and fully deserved to take a point home from Lanarkshire.
The players
Marciano – Rocky made three crucial saves and one or two others. His save from Manzinga was top drawer and deserved the praise it received from the Motherwell manager in his post-match interview.
James – I kid you not when I say that ten minutes in I said to my brother that I’d sub James with Whittaker. The laddie was toiling against Scott but to be fair to him he probably got better as the game wore on and he received help in defending on that side.
Jackson – Big Adam looked assured throughout and was immense in the air in defending crosses into the box. He likes a crossfield pass though!
Hanlon – Like Jackson he was solid enough and never really looked troubled.
Stevenson – I counted three crucial interceptions and two blocks in the first half alone so there are no complaints from me about his performance today.
Boyle – Squirrel was strangely subdued and even when he got the ball in some space he seemed to have trouble controlling it. On the positive side his dinked cross to Kamberi at the back post was superb.
Omeonga – Steph was booked quite early on but didn’t let that stop him from making crucial challenges for the rest of the game. He will I am sure benefit enormously from getting that ninety minutes under his belt.
Newell – Without having quite the same impact as last time out against Hamilton I thought Joe put in an enormous amount of work today. He is I feel a very clever footballer and today he wins my man of the match award.
Horgan – Daryl was very good and seemed better at actually challenging for a ball rather than pulling up at the last second. His shot was swerving and Gillespie made a decent save to deny him.
Kamberi – Flo is so frustrating. Invariably his first touch is poor and invariably he’ll take the ball in and then try to beat his man rather than looking up to find a team mate.
Doidge – With Flo off the pace, Doidge had it all to do and he stuck to his task manfully. The amount of physical effort he puts in is impressive and on one occasion today he was in the left back position stopping a Motherwell cross into the box.
Allan – Took a few minutes to get going but put plenty of effort into his play. The time he was hacked down from behind and the challenge went unpunished must frustrate him enormously as it’s the kind of treatment that’s becoming the norm.
Gullan – It was good to see Hammer getting some game time and he did his bit in helping secure the point.
Jack Ross – I’m told he was yellow carded following his reaction to the Motherwell players and bench screaming for a second yellow to Omeonga. As to the game I guess he’ll accept the point we won and focus now on the cup replay.
Referee – I think this is Colin Steven’s first season in the top league and he looks like he deserved his promotion because, like his new colleagues, he was utterly rank.
The fans – It was a good turnout and supportive throughout. As an aside the Motherwell fans deserve 10/10 for their efforts although the guy with the megaphone must have to read the match report as he never looks at the game!