Jonnyboy
16-02-2020, 08:58 PM
Now that my fingers have finally thawed out I can set about offering up my thoughts on today’s game. I don’t recall ever being so cold at a game with the wind blowing straight at us in the Rugby Park stand. Imagine what it must have felt like to the players of both teams as they manfully tried to play the game in quite appalling windy conditions.
Unsurprisingly, Jack Ross went with the same starting eleven that had trounced Ross County 3-0 whilst Lewis Stevenson replaced Tom James on an otherwise unchanged bench. Prior to kick off, it was known that a positive result would serve to narrow the gap on Aberdeen and Livingston, both beaten earlier in the day.
To their credit, both sides went about their business in a positive way with Hibs having early half chances through Slivka and Newell whilst Killie threatened Rocky’s goal with a Brophy turn and shot and a Burke effort that flew wide. As suggested earlier the conditions were poor and a number of long passes either went astray or fell short of their target. Burke then infuriated me by running fifty yards to complain to the referee who had stopped the game after McNulty was caught flush in the face by the ball.
Martin Boyle seemed to be fair play in terms of fouling him and referee Alan Muir was more than lenient on a number of occasions whilst the whistler was more concerned with players trying to steal a yard or two at throw in’s.
As the half hour mark approached, a McNulty effort was blocked with the ball looking as though it might go out for a corner. Instead the wind kept the ball in play and that allowed Newell to retrieve it before slipping the ball to Docherty who cut inside and rifled home a stunning effort from the angle of the eighteen yard box. It was a brilliant strike and left Koprivec clawing at thin air as the ball flew past him.
Very quickly thereafter, Boyle broke free but his final ball was poor, hitting the first man as both Doidge and McNulty waited in the middle. It would be Boyle that played a pivotal role in the Killie equaliser just a couple of minutes later. A high ball in to the Hibs box was falling to Boyle to clear but his poor effort merely reached Dicker at the edge of the box and the Killie man quickly fed Hamalainen whose shot was deflected towards the unmarked Burke at the far post. The former Rangers man stooped low and headed into the unguarded net.
Hibs were stung by this reversal but soon recovered and right on the stroke of half time Boyle was once again crudely chopped down on the wide right shy line. When the resultant free kick arrived in the box McNulty seemed to get a touch before Adam Jackson knocked the ball beyond Koprivec to restore Hibernians’ lead.
In truth the second half seemed to consist mostly of Hibs clearing crosses into the box from corners, free kicks or indeed open play. There was a few occasions that Hibs broke free but the final pass always seemed to go astray and so a third goal never arrived. Stevenson, who had replaced the injured Newell right at the start of the half certainly had his work cut out as Killie repeatedly offered the ball to Burke and O’Donnell on their right hand side. Both of those Killie players are excellent crossers of the ball and I felt that Lewis could have done with a bit more support from his midfield to help neutralise that danger. It finally arrived about fifteen minutes from time when Horgan replaced Allan. In truth Horgan didn’t do much defending but his presence curtailed O’Donnell’s contribution significantly.
On the way home I was thinking long and hard about our win and I think a huge amount of credit must go to our oft maligned defence as they pretty much dealt with a barrage of high balls into the box. At times they were ably assisted by Doidge who is an excellent defender and who cleared many of the cross balls.
The players
Marciano – Rocky did well in the windy conditions and I was both stunned and delighted when he caught a cross one handed as Brophy waited to pounce. A couple of good saves in the second half contributed to his fine performance.
McGinn – The more I see Paul the more I like him. He defends very well, is good at reading the game and is not afraid to get forward when the chance arises. There’s nothing showy about him, just good honest defending.
Jackson – Adam was a tower of strength at the back and was rightly ‘miffed’ at the referee for awarding Brophy free kicks when in fact the Killie man was backing in and then toppling over. A second goal in two games adds to his all round game today.
Hanlon – My brother was away for a break in Italy and watched the game on BT Sport. He sent me a text at full time saying he thought Paul was man of the match because he handled both Kabamba and Brophy so well. I too thought Paul played well but he’s not my man of the match so sorry Bro.
Newell – Joe had a good first half, got yet another assist but had to go off early in the second. I read an interview he’d done with Scotland on Sunday and he explained he’s happy to be seen as a utility man and will play where asked to do so. Certainly his recent form has been excellent so I hope the injury doesn’t keep him out of the team.
Boyle – Martin was kicked upside down for most of the game and got little or no protection from the referee. Still, Boyler just gets up and gets on with it which is to his credit but that shocking attempted clearance cost us a goal. It’s hard to be too tough on him though as he had the Killie defence having to work hard right to the end.
Slivka – Fresh from a fine performance against Ross County, Viki wasn’t quite so prevalent in this game but like his midfield colleagues he had to witness the ball being punted high most of the time.
Docherty – For the second game in succession he wins my man of the match award, just pipping Jackson who ran him close. His goal was an absolute stunner and his overall play very impressive. He never looks hurried, rarely wastes a pass and has impressive amounts of energy.
Allan – Another game where Scotty so nearly got his range right but to be fair to him it’s difficult making a perfect pass when playing in a gale force wind.
Doidge – Most of Christian’s good work today came inside our own eighteen yard area with his frequent headed clearances helping ease the pressure.
McNulty – Marc took a sore one to the face early doors and I’m not sure if that affected him but I thought he was largely anonymous. I suppose that may seem harsh given that he got very little service.
Stevenson – Got virtually the whole second half and as stated earlier he was often faced with both Burke and O’Donnell so that when he went to tackle one the other was unmarked and able to get a cross in. That was something that was very obvious and for my money took too long to be addressed.
Omeonga – Steph got the last fifteen minutes but was hardly involved as Killie kept going long and as a result the ball flew over Steph’s head most of the time.
Horgan – Served one purpose in helping negate the threat of O’Donnell but his forward play was sketchy at best.
Jack Ross – Other than the fact that I felt it took too long to address the problem on the left side of our defence I thought Jack got it right again today and he must surely be enthused that we are now only five points off third place.
The fans – A good turnout given the day the time and the weather.
Referee – Alan Muir was far too tolerant of Killie players crunching into Martin Boyle every five minutes. His general display was poor as was the display of the assistant on the side opposite the main stand. She was literally a foot away from the ball when it clearly went out for a Hibs throw but missed it completely.
Unsurprisingly, Jack Ross went with the same starting eleven that had trounced Ross County 3-0 whilst Lewis Stevenson replaced Tom James on an otherwise unchanged bench. Prior to kick off, it was known that a positive result would serve to narrow the gap on Aberdeen and Livingston, both beaten earlier in the day.
To their credit, both sides went about their business in a positive way with Hibs having early half chances through Slivka and Newell whilst Killie threatened Rocky’s goal with a Brophy turn and shot and a Burke effort that flew wide. As suggested earlier the conditions were poor and a number of long passes either went astray or fell short of their target. Burke then infuriated me by running fifty yards to complain to the referee who had stopped the game after McNulty was caught flush in the face by the ball.
Martin Boyle seemed to be fair play in terms of fouling him and referee Alan Muir was more than lenient on a number of occasions whilst the whistler was more concerned with players trying to steal a yard or two at throw in’s.
As the half hour mark approached, a McNulty effort was blocked with the ball looking as though it might go out for a corner. Instead the wind kept the ball in play and that allowed Newell to retrieve it before slipping the ball to Docherty who cut inside and rifled home a stunning effort from the angle of the eighteen yard box. It was a brilliant strike and left Koprivec clawing at thin air as the ball flew past him.
Very quickly thereafter, Boyle broke free but his final ball was poor, hitting the first man as both Doidge and McNulty waited in the middle. It would be Boyle that played a pivotal role in the Killie equaliser just a couple of minutes later. A high ball in to the Hibs box was falling to Boyle to clear but his poor effort merely reached Dicker at the edge of the box and the Killie man quickly fed Hamalainen whose shot was deflected towards the unmarked Burke at the far post. The former Rangers man stooped low and headed into the unguarded net.
Hibs were stung by this reversal but soon recovered and right on the stroke of half time Boyle was once again crudely chopped down on the wide right shy line. When the resultant free kick arrived in the box McNulty seemed to get a touch before Adam Jackson knocked the ball beyond Koprivec to restore Hibernians’ lead.
In truth the second half seemed to consist mostly of Hibs clearing crosses into the box from corners, free kicks or indeed open play. There was a few occasions that Hibs broke free but the final pass always seemed to go astray and so a third goal never arrived. Stevenson, who had replaced the injured Newell right at the start of the half certainly had his work cut out as Killie repeatedly offered the ball to Burke and O’Donnell on their right hand side. Both of those Killie players are excellent crossers of the ball and I felt that Lewis could have done with a bit more support from his midfield to help neutralise that danger. It finally arrived about fifteen minutes from time when Horgan replaced Allan. In truth Horgan didn’t do much defending but his presence curtailed O’Donnell’s contribution significantly.
On the way home I was thinking long and hard about our win and I think a huge amount of credit must go to our oft maligned defence as they pretty much dealt with a barrage of high balls into the box. At times they were ably assisted by Doidge who is an excellent defender and who cleared many of the cross balls.
The players
Marciano – Rocky did well in the windy conditions and I was both stunned and delighted when he caught a cross one handed as Brophy waited to pounce. A couple of good saves in the second half contributed to his fine performance.
McGinn – The more I see Paul the more I like him. He defends very well, is good at reading the game and is not afraid to get forward when the chance arises. There’s nothing showy about him, just good honest defending.
Jackson – Adam was a tower of strength at the back and was rightly ‘miffed’ at the referee for awarding Brophy free kicks when in fact the Killie man was backing in and then toppling over. A second goal in two games adds to his all round game today.
Hanlon – My brother was away for a break in Italy and watched the game on BT Sport. He sent me a text at full time saying he thought Paul was man of the match because he handled both Kabamba and Brophy so well. I too thought Paul played well but he’s not my man of the match so sorry Bro.
Newell – Joe had a good first half, got yet another assist but had to go off early in the second. I read an interview he’d done with Scotland on Sunday and he explained he’s happy to be seen as a utility man and will play where asked to do so. Certainly his recent form has been excellent so I hope the injury doesn’t keep him out of the team.
Boyle – Martin was kicked upside down for most of the game and got little or no protection from the referee. Still, Boyler just gets up and gets on with it which is to his credit but that shocking attempted clearance cost us a goal. It’s hard to be too tough on him though as he had the Killie defence having to work hard right to the end.
Slivka – Fresh from a fine performance against Ross County, Viki wasn’t quite so prevalent in this game but like his midfield colleagues he had to witness the ball being punted high most of the time.
Docherty – For the second game in succession he wins my man of the match award, just pipping Jackson who ran him close. His goal was an absolute stunner and his overall play very impressive. He never looks hurried, rarely wastes a pass and has impressive amounts of energy.
Allan – Another game where Scotty so nearly got his range right but to be fair to him it’s difficult making a perfect pass when playing in a gale force wind.
Doidge – Most of Christian’s good work today came inside our own eighteen yard area with his frequent headed clearances helping ease the pressure.
McNulty – Marc took a sore one to the face early doors and I’m not sure if that affected him but I thought he was largely anonymous. I suppose that may seem harsh given that he got very little service.
Stevenson – Got virtually the whole second half and as stated earlier he was often faced with both Burke and O’Donnell so that when he went to tackle one the other was unmarked and able to get a cross in. That was something that was very obvious and for my money took too long to be addressed.
Omeonga – Steph got the last fifteen minutes but was hardly involved as Killie kept going long and as a result the ball flew over Steph’s head most of the time.
Horgan – Served one purpose in helping negate the threat of O’Donnell but his forward play was sketchy at best.
Jack Ross – Other than the fact that I felt it took too long to address the problem on the left side of our defence I thought Jack got it right again today and he must surely be enthused that we are now only five points off third place.
The fans – A good turnout given the day the time and the weather.
Referee – Alan Muir was far too tolerant of Killie players crunching into Martin Boyle every five minutes. His general display was poor as was the display of the assistant on the side opposite the main stand. She was literally a foot away from the ball when it clearly went out for a Hibs throw but missed it completely.