Malonga wins Bulgarian Cup

[Tambo]

Former Hibs striker Dominique Malonga played a crucial role to help Lokomotiv Plovdiv win the Bulgarian Cup last night.

The 31-year-old – a cult hero during his time at Easter Road – held his nerve to score in the penalty shoot-out after the match against CSKA Sofia ended in a goalless draw after regulation and extra-time.

Malonga, who joined Bruno Akrapovic's side in March, was introduced as a substitute in the 110th minute of the final, which was played in front of 12,000 fans at Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia.

Congratulations will always remember the screamer vs raith and the mazy run vs Aberdeen.

[HendoDelivered]

Dom “I don’t care about The Rangers” Malonga. What a guy. Welcome back down ER way anytime :agree:

[cabbageandribs1875]

Doo Doo Doo
Dominic Malonga

[Scouse Hibee]

Aberdeen goal up there as one of the best goals I have seen.

[Since452]

Aberdeen goal up there as one of the best goals I have seen.

Agreed. Capable of the sublime and the rediculous

[Broken Gnome]

That's righted the only wrong of 2016.

[Since452]

That's righted the only wrong of 2016.

Hear hear

[we are hibs]

I love the man.



No doubt he was infuriating at times (shooting while 3 on 1 v hearts at easter road) but his moments of class and brilliance outweighted the rest. One of the coolest men to grace Leith.

[hibee_girl]

Aberdeen goal up there as one of the best goals I have seen.

:agree:

[jacomo]

Dom “I don’t care about The Rangers” Malonga. What a guy. Welcome back down ER way anytime :agree:


:agree:

[Garibaldis]

Was sad to see him go. He scored some great goals for us.

[Cheshire Hibby]

Aberdeen goal up there as one of the best goals I have seen.

It was worth the 460 mile round trip I did that night. Unexpected but a great goal to witness.

[Stokesy's on fire]

Will never forget Aberdeen Vs Dom Malonga!

[Roxyhibee]

Will never forget Aberdeen Vs Dom Malonga!

And I’ll never forget hearing that constant er$3 hole Richard Gordon on the radio going home nearly sobbin with fury “I mean, who is Dominique Malonga.? - never even heard of him”

[Scott Allan Key]

Aberdeen goal up there as one of the best goals I have seen.Snap! By any team, 'twas a World Cup goal.

Sent from my LYA-L09 using Tapatalk

[Since452]

Arguably my favourite Hibs player of the last 10 years. Could only laugh when he tripped over the ball, lay on the ground for a while before getting up and casually walking back to join play. Mainly because you knew he could win a game with a moment of brilliance.

[Oranje39]

Well done Dom!

Miss him every day.

[Tambo]

Aberdeen goal up there as one of the best goals I have seen.

Not a bad pass aswell from mcginn.

[StirlingHibee]

Loved him. Remember his injury time winning goal against Queen of the South - place went nuts! A poor man's Cantona but he was our Cantona!!

[hibsbollah]

Arguably my favourite Hibs player of the last 10 years

Same here. Aberdeen goal, what a night.

[heretoday]

Malonga! Come back to Easter Road!

We badly need a character in the team.

[660]

Agreed. Capable of the sublime and the rediculous

What exactly did he do that was ridiculous?

[The Modfather]

What exactly did he do that was ridiculous?

That shot against Hearts that’s probably still in the air now, when 2 on 1 and just had to roll Farid in.

[The 90+2]

That shot against Hearts that’s probably still in the air now, when 2 on 1 and just had to roll Farid in.

Only game against hearts Farid played in he scored and we won?

[Garibaldis]

Only game against hearts Farid played in he scored and we won?

Was also that game at Tynie where he scored a beauty, Liam Craig missed a penalty and we lost.

[The 90+2]

Was also that game at Tynie where he scored a beauty, Liam Craig missed a penalty and we lost.

Oh aye forgot he got snookered for the year right after that. How on earth we didn’t win that game mate.

[Since452]

Was also that game at Tynie where he scored a beauty, Liam Craig missed a penalty and we lost.

Pretty sure they didn't beat us for three years (9 games) after that

[Since452]

What exactly did he do that was ridiculous?

Fell over his own legs quite often

[Garibaldis]

Oh aye forgot he got snookered for the year right after that. How on earth we didn’t win that game mate.

If Craig had scored I think we would have saw the game out. As another posted mentioned, our record was great after that.

[hibbydog]

People got frustrated with his perceived work rate. He was too smart for that. He used to carefully watch what was going on and drift into wee pockets of space. Very clever player with shed loads of skill.

A class act

[Sammy7nil]

People got frustrated with his perceived work rate. He was too smart for that. He used to carefully watch what was going on and drift into wee pockets of space. Very clever player with shed loads of skill.

A class act

They above is code for poor work rate :wink:

He was frustrating as you knew he was capable of so much. Good player and sad to see him go.

[Andy74]

Fell over his own legs quite often

Which is just total nonsense of course.

[Since452]

Which is just total nonsense of course.

It's not really. He was forever on the deck

[Scouse Hibee]

Fell over his own legs quite often

Quite often aye?

[Northernhibee]

His goal against Raith in our cup run was fabulous, remember him scoring a hat trick and a similar screamer against Dumbarton too.

He had skill in abundance, if not always consistency. A tough player to dislike.

[Tambo]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=r26BaE8Hl3E

[Glory Lurker]

I love the guy. Even when he was frustrating you knew he could makeup for it, and he did so many times. He was entertainment.

[Fergos]

DMs goal vs Aberdeen was a stunner, one of the best Ive seen at ER.

Funny thing about it, his first touch from JMs out ball was poor, wonder if he would have scored if he had taken a cleaner first touch.

Loved the big guy.

GGTTH

[Broken Gnome]

Can't fault a work rate that took Hibs from nearing one of their lowest ever ebbs on his debut, to eventually one of their finest ever wins.

[Saint Hibee]

He still doesn’t care about “ze Rangers”

[wallpaperman]

Had no idea he was in Bulgaria.

Plovdiv is absolutely stunning, has the most magnificent Roman amphitheatre, so we’ll preserved that they stage occasional concerts there. Nice place to live for a period.

Well done Dom.

[Brummie_Hibs]

More tears dripping down from some Bulgarian balconies.

[The 90+2]

Had no idea he was in Bulgaria.

Plovdiv is absolutely stunning, has the most magnificent Roman amphitheatre, so we’ll preserved that they stage occasional concerts there. Nice place to live for a period.

Well done Dom.

I’ve a romantic notion he turns up in a city where he’s needed the fans love him then strolls off in the sunset to another place after a year.

[wallpaperman]

Found the match on YouTube. Dom slotted away the 4th penalty (they went 5 for 5), quite a pressure moment even though they held the advantage at that point.

[Glory Lurker]

I’ve a romantic notion he turns up in a city where he’s needed the fans love him then strolls off in the sunset to another place after a year.

The Littlest Hobo?????

[Mibbes Aye]

Had no idea he was in Bulgaria.

Plovdiv is absolutely stunning, has the most magnificent Roman amphitheatre, so we’ll preserved that they stage occasional concerts there. Nice place to live for a period.

Well done Dom.

Plovdiv is exceptional. I loved the amphitheater other than getting struck by vertigo when emerging into it. Beautiful churches and quirky restaurants.

Might have this wrong, but I understand Plovdiv is seen to be the oldest continuously habited large human settlement in Europe

[Mibbes Aye]

The Littlest Hobo?????

“Maybe tomorrow Dom will want to settle down
Until tomorrow, he’ll just keep moving on”

[wallpaperman]

I’ve a romantic notion he turns up in a city where he’s needed the fans love him then strolls off in the sunset to another place after a year.

He should be a hero in the city, though no secret that racism can be a problem in Bulgarian football.

When we were in Sofia we wandered down to the National stadium which wasn’t far from our hotel. CSKA (Plovdiv’s opponents) had a wee club shop, which I think might have been fan run, in the parkland next to the stadium and to say some of the stickers and T-shirts were a wee bit non-pc, would be a massive understatement.

On the whole, found Bulgarian folk to be friendly, many speak good English, especially the younger generation.

[Billy Whizz]

I don’t think he was the easiest player to manage
Great skills, but I’ve heard a few stories about his dressing room explosions

Maybe why his skill hasn’t reached, where his career should have gone

[The 90+2]

He should be a hero in the city, though no secret that racism can be a problem in Bulgarian football.

When we were in Sofia we wandered down to the National stadium which wasn’t far from our hotel. CSKA (Plovdiv’s opponents) had a wee club shop, which I think might have been fan run, in the parkland next to the stadium and to say some of the stickers and T-shirts were a wee bit non-pc, would be a massive understatement.

On the whole, found Bulgarian folk to be friendly, many speak good English, especially the younger generation.

👍 thanks for sharing.

[The 90+2]

The Littlest Hobo?????

:greengrin he even has his wee backpack.

[Mibbes Aye]

He should be a hero in the city, though no secret that racism can be a problem in Bulgarian football.

When we were in Sofia we wandered down to the National stadium which wasn’t far from our hotel. CSKA (Plovdiv’s opponents) had a wee club shop, which I think might have been fan run, in the parkland next to the stadium and to say some of the stickers and T-shirts were a wee bit non-pc, would be a massive understatement.

On the whole, found Bulgarian folk to be friendly, many speak good English, especially the younger generation.

This is maybe off-topic but there is residual affection for the U.K. in Bulgaria.

During the 19th century and for a long time previous, Bulgaria was controlled by the Ottoman Empire. The Bulgars had an uprising which resulted in brutal suppression. William Gladstone made it a key part of his politicking, and if IIRC won the second of his four terms as prime minister as a big consequence. It was a critical component of liberal politics emerging in the nineteenth century.

Again, I am not certain, but I believe that any Bulgarian town or municipality over a certain size - 10,000 or 25,000 - is required to name a street after Gladstone

[Glory Lurker]

This is maybe off-topic but there is residual affection for the U.K. in Bulgaria.

During the 19th century and for a long time previous, Bulgaria was controlled by the Ottoman Empire. The Bulgars had an uprising which resulted in brutal suppression. William Gladstone made it a key part of his politicking, and if IIRC won the second of his four terms as prime minister as a big consequence. It was a critical component of liberal politics emerging in the nineteenth century.

Again, I am not certain, but I believe that any Bulgarian town or municipality over a certain size - 10,000 or 25,000 - is required to name a street after Gladstone

Wow. Different world now, but imagine going in to am election these days with "justice for Bulgaria" one of your main policies! Poor wee Nige would pass out.

I imagine there was a strategic benefit to us in anything that weakened the Ottoman empire, though, so I'd guess it wasn't just out of altruism.

I genuinely think Dom knows all about it and could lecture for hours on it. If he could be bothered.

[jacomo]

DMs goal vs Aberdeen was a stunner, one of the best Ive seen at ER.

Funny thing about it, his first touch from JMs out ball was poor, wonder if he would have scored if he had taken a cleaner first touch.

Loved the big guy.

GGTTH


I absolutely love big Dom but - just to be controversial - I have never rated that goal *that* highly from a technical point of view. Maybe I need to see it again.

[The 90+2]

I absolutely love big Dom but - just to be controversial - I have never rated that goal *that* highly from a technical point of view. Maybe I need to see it again.

https://youtu.be/0uJ-zopNKVU

People seem to forget JC scored a belter too.

[Glory Lurker]

I absolutely love big Dom but - just to be controversial - I have never rated that goal *that* highly from a technical point of view. Maybe I need to see it again.

No idea of course if this is your thinking, but I've seen folk say it's all down to the dons guys no putting a foot in. I think the answer to that is in his run to the East after it went in - he's got a low centre of gravity and the defenders knew, as they retreated, that going in would just give him a route clear. That's what happened to the goalie!

I think part of what makes the goal so special is how special that night was. I put a thread up a month or so about it. We were struggling (some disagree with that :-)), and they were top of the league. Jase scored a stunner, but even though we were matching them there was that fear form would prevail. I think sealing that game gave a lot of folk, myself included, a bit of belief that there was hope for the season after all. That it was sealed by a half-pitch mazy made the reaction ecstatic. That has maybe informed opinion of how good a goal it was, but I reckon it was a stunner!

[oneone73]

No idea of course if this is your thinking, but I've seen folk say it's all down to the dons guys no putting a foot in. I think the answer to that is in his run to the East after it went in - he's got a low centre of gravity and the defenders knew, as they retreated, that going in would just give him a route clear. That's what happened to the goalie!

I think part of what makes the goal so special is how special that night was. I put a thread up a month or so about it. We were struggling (some disagree with that :-)), and they were top of the league. Jase scored a stunner, but even though we were matching them there was that fear form would prevail. I think sealing that game gave a lot of folk, myself included, a bit of belief that there was hope for the season after all. That it was sealed by a half-pitch mazy made the reaction ecstatic. That has maybe informed opinion of how good a goal it was, but I reckon it was a stunner!

The Sheep were undefeated at that point iirc - as well as being a division above us, of course. Great night

[hibsbollah]

The Sheep were undefeated at that point iirc - as well as being a division above us, of course. Great night

:agree: They were being talked up for a genuine challenge to Celtic that season. What made the night so special was there just seemed to be crackling atmosphere from kickoff, we were second best for the first half but gradually got into the game and it was genuinely nerve wracking. Then Jason scores that cracker falling backwards, the crowd gets louder and louder, we’re holding on well and then Malonga does his thing and the place goes mental. My sons first night game, we still talk about it a lot.

[Mibbes Aye]

Wow. Different world now, but imagine going in to am election these days with "justice for Bulgaria" one of your main policies! Poor wee Nige would pass out.

I imagine there was a strategic benefit to us in anything that weakened the Ottoman empire, though, so I'd guess it wasn't just out of altruism.

I genuinely think Dom knows all about it and could lecture for hours on it. If he could be bothered.

Definitely somewhat strategic - Disraeli was wedded to support of the Ottomans as a bulwark against Russia, especially in the aftermath of the Crimean War. In those times, like now, we had power blocs - the Austro-Hingarians, the Prussian/Germans, the Russians, the French and the Ottomans and it was a big massive game of Risk and before you knew it, it was 1914 and everything kicked off!

I think there was another element though and this will cause problems for some posters on here. Gladstone's interventions on Bulgaria, particularly when he stood for Parliament in the Midlothian constituency, were very much akin to Tony Blair's Chicago speech. They promoted a dotrine of liberal interventionism to promote self-determination, and the agreement that it was acceptable for liberal democracies to use military force in the face of oppression or genocide.

History has an awful habit of just repeating itself.

[hibsbollah]

Definitely somewhat strategic - Disraeli was wedded to support of the Ottomans as a bulwark against Russia, especially in the aftermath of the Crimean War. In those times, like now, we had power blocs - the Austro-Hingarians, the Prussian/Germans, the Russians, the French and the Ottomans and it was a big massive game of Risk and before you knew it, it was 1914 and everything kicked off!

I think there was another element though and this will cause problems for some posters on here. Gladstone's interventions on Bulgaria, particularly when he stood for Parliament in the Midlothian constituency, were very much akin to Tony Blair's Chicago speech. They promoted a dotrine of liberal interventionism to promote self-determination, and the agreement that it was acceptable for liberal democracies to use military force in the face of oppression or genocide.

History has an awful habit of just repeating itself.

That is certainly Malonga’s view on the subject:agree:

[Green Manalishi]

I didnt know he was in Bulgaria. These guys do some travelling to make a living in the game. Apart from John Ingles i wonder if any other Scottish player has played in Eastern Europe. Not including Russia in that

[Mibbes Aye]

That is certainly Malonga’s view on the subject:agree:

Once he gets started on it there is no stopping him. Especially if he has a drink in him. Two hours of ranting from him one night in The Persevere.

Mind you it was nothing compared to when you bring up the Corn Laws Repeal.

[Mibbes Aye]

I didnt know he was in Bulgaria. These guys do some travelling to make a living in the game. Apart from John Ingles i wonder if any other Scottish player has played in Eastern Europe. Not including Russia in that

Craig Thomson. It feels sordid just typing his name.

I have a suspicion that some Scots coached or managed in the likes of Hungary between the two world wars but can’t remember and am too lazy to check, :greengrin

[jacomo]

https://youtu.be/0uJ-zopNKVU

People seem to forget JC scored a belter too.


Ok fair play, it’s better than I remember :wink:

I remember thinking at the time that 3 Aberdeen players just stand off him and let him run... but that we shimmy before the finish is quality.