This is how it feels (Brora Rangers 071020)

[Jonnyboy]

Eight changes will have an impact on performance but tonight the impact seemed much heavier than I would have liked. Racing into an early lead and then allowing lower league opposition to enjoy good spells of possession must have baffled Jack Ross because it certainly baffled me. The fact that we needed to score a very late third goal to put some respectability into the result was pretty poor if truth be told.

It was always going to happen that the starting eleven would reflect the fact that those who had been warming the bench would get a chance to play. Jack Ross gave notice of this pre game and so there were no real surprises. Dylan Barnes and Stephen McGinn were given their debuts from the start with Kyle Magennis joining that group later on in proceedings. The back four consisted of the players who held those positions when we beat the Rangers 3-2 to win the Scottish Cup in May 2016 whilst Hallberg and Gullan occupied midfield and attack respectively. It looked to me like a 4-4-1-1 with Gullan up top and Mallan just behind him.

As far as Brora are concerned I confess I knew little or nothing about them other than they arrived as the reigning Highland League champions. Over the ninety minutes I felt they gave a good account of themselves and I have to add that I was impressed by a couple of their players. The lad MacRae who wore the 10 jersey was particularly noticeable and though he went off five minutes from the end I thought he was easily their best player. The other Brora man that caught my attention was their number 4 who defended well and looked both strong and composed in doing so.

As to Hibs, they started well and used the full width of the park to move the Brora players about and Gullan was unlucky not to score very early on, his right foot shot on the turn just going the wrong side of the post. The deadlock was broken after just eight minutes when a poor touch by centre half Nicolson allowed Stevie Mallan to nick the ball. A few strides took him to the edge of the box where he fired a low shot into the net past Malin’s outstretched left hand. Some four minutes later, Mallan struck again when a good ball down the left saw Hallberg in space and the midfielder looked up before delivering a perfectly weighted ball towards the edge of the box, allowing Stevie to guide a shot past the Brora keeper. Soon after, a header from Gullan looked destined for the top corner but just drifted wide.

Inexplicably, Hibs stopped playing at a decent tempo and just took their foot off the gas. This allowed Brora to settle and to their credit they began to get a decent foothold in the game. There were very few chances created by Hibs and Brora had yet to test Barnes in the home goal though the Hibs man had to look sharp in coming out smother the ball under pressure from MacLean.

When the half time break came along I fully expected Jack Ross to let his players know that taking the foot off the gas was in no way acceptable. He may have done that though it didn’t show and when Boyle replaced the injured Murphy just five minutes into the half I assumed his pace would trouble the Highland League outfit. In fact he was rarely given the ball and on the occasions that he was he was marked by two defenders.

Brora were enjoying more possession now and on the hour mark they pulled a goal back. Hanlon committed a foul around twenty yards out and Gillespie beat the wall and the keeper by rifling the ball into the bottom corner to Barnes’ left.

Possibly riled at conceding that goal, Jack Ross made two changes in replacing McGinn and Wright with Doidge and Magennis. The immediate impact of this was the moving of Gullan to a wide left position, where he looked more at home if truth be told whilst in his first few touches of the ball, Magennis offered two excellent long passes to find the foot of Gullan.

It was all so laboured from Hibs and the gutsy Brora players attacked at every opportunity with Hibs toothless even after the arrival of Kevin Nisbet. The part time players were feeling the pace now with cramp affecting two or three and they were replaced by fresh legs but with the clock close to ticking down the ninety a corner from Mallan found an unmarked Paul Hanlon in the box and the skipper turned a powerful header into the net.

Overall it was a frustratingly poor performance from Hibs who may well find that their next opponents Cove Rangers will be a tougher nut to crack.

The players

Barnes – The big keeper had one test to pass and he failed it miserably. Having set up his wall to cover the right half of his goal he then positioned himself in the centre of that goal and his poor positioning meant he had no chance of getting down to make a save.

Gray – SDG looked rusty early doors and knackered late on but he put a shift in physically and will feel pretty sore tomorrow.

McGregor – Like SDG he looked ring rusty but he hasn’t lost any of his physicality – just ask the Brora strikers.

Hanlon – Popped up with another late goal, a habit that I hope becomes the norm. Paul defended well enough and as usual his reading of the play was very good.

Stevenson – Wee Lewis had a decent game and provided some decent crosses, especially in the first half.

Wright – A very disappointing performance from him I thought. Wayward passes; too many poor decisions taken so I wasn’t surprised when he got hooked on the hour.

Hallberg – I thought he played further forward than he has been and his pass to Mallan for the second goal was spot on but overall he didn’t really stand out in my opinion.

McGinn – I thought he started the game brightly and offered good cover to the back four but he was clearly feeling the pain and was rightly subbed after an hour.

Murphy – Jamie was quieter tonight and struggled to create anything of note. I hope his substitution was purely a precaution.

Mallan – Stevie seemed to pop up everywhere and took both goals well. He was always available for a pass and even showed his doubters that he can in fact track back, tackle and win the odd headed duel, winning my man of the match award.

Gullan – I really hope this isn’t a chance lost for the lad as he must have fancied he’d get on the score sheet. To be honest I think he was trying too hard at times.

Boyle – Hardly saw much of the ball but when he did and he escaped his markers he offered some decent passes into the box.

Doidge – The big fella seems to have gone off the boil a bit. His first touch was poor and his movement nowhere near as impressive as it usually is.

Magennis – A decent start to his Hibs career I thought. A few good passes and his work rate was fine too.

Nisbet – The prolific version of Kev was absent tonight; not that he got much of a chance to add to his goal tally.

Referee – I never thought I’d ever use the following words – Alan Muir had a good game and let the play flow.

Jack Ross – I haven’t heard or read any comments but I hope he made it clear that the performance was way short of being acceptable.

[CMurdoch]

A terrible watch after the initial 15 minutes when we scored two goals.
As per the Hamilton game we completely shut down after going 2-0 up and proceeded to push the ball about the pitch slowly and predictably for the rest of the match.

Bright spot - Magennis looked good when he came on in his first action since returning from an injury sustained in January. I note he has taken on McGinns old number. A great addition. Fingers crossed he can avoid serious injury.

Weird - how bad was Drey Wright? A good player but my god he had a stinker tonight. Seemed like he could get nothing right.

Down sides - no player made a bid for a starting berth in the league team. Gullan at least tried to make an impression and as you say did better when he switched to the left wing. Murphy injury. Should have been wrapped up in cotton wool after his last performance and not risked in a 2nds game like tonight. Hope he is ok.

Overall - Hibs need to get out of the bad habit they have developed of turning the burners off at 2-0. They need to play with tempo for the whole game to prevent the opposition from finding their feet. No tempo is no use.

[RitchieHibs]

Great review. I especially think you nailed it spot on with Stevie Mallan.

He's such an honest player. Never hides, always willing to show for the ball and tries to put us on the front foot. He never shirks. Has some off days but one thing no one can accuse Stevie Mallan of is hiding. Gives his all.

[MWHIBBIES]

Great review. I especially think you nailed it spot on with Stevie Mallan.

He's such an honest player. Never hides, always willing to show for the ball and tries to put us on the front foot. He never shirks. Has some off days but one thing no one can accuse Stevie Mallan of is hiding. Gives his all.

Shouldn't that be the minimum, though?

[Ronniekirk]

Agree re Wright For me the jury is still out on how good an asset he may be
The sons half was a bore fest
Let’s hope they were saving themselves for the Cove game


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[NAE NOOKIE]

Cant add much to that assessment, pretty well spot on from what I saw.

If Drey Wright recorded that game the first thing he will have done when he got home was delete it, he was honking. Same with Barnes, how can he set up a wall to cover one side and then still get beaten at the side he was supposed to be covering with a pretty well uninterrupted view of the shot, it looked even worse from behind the goals.

If any of the fringe players started that game hoping to put themselves into the managers thoughts they failed miserably with the exception of Mallan who at least did what he is supposed to do and looked interested. I did feel a wee bit sorry for Gullan who tried hard and could hardly believe it when the keeper made an excellent save after he had beaten 3 men to fashion an opening. Magennis and McGinn played ok and like some others can be given a bit of leeway because of lack of game time they've had.

The bottom line is that it was a poor team performance and after that game there isn't a regular starter who will go to bed tonight worried about competition for their place, which is pretty disappointing from the point of view of the manager, not to mention the fans watching.

[Since452]

Hamstring injury for Murphy. Will miss next two games at least

[Unseen work]

I can’t believe some of the moaning going on by fans after this game.

We won 3-1 and had only 2 regular starters playing, the rest of the squad have barely played in 7 months and yet to play with each other.

McGinn
Magennis
Gray
McGregor
Gullan
Barnes


For those players it’s near enough their first competitive game/start since January/February time.

Was it brilliant? No. But we were 2-0 up within 15 minutes and whilst fans might not like hearing it you take your foot off the gas and just want to see the game through unscathed for the majority of them.

We go again on Saturday against Cove who will be a harder challenge.

Team against Cove;

........................Barnes...........

.........McGinn.....McGregor.....Hanlon.....

Boyle........Magennis......Hallberg/McGinn..........Wright......

........................Mallan..............

...............Nisbet...........Gullan

[JohnM1875]

I can’t believe some of the moaning going on by fans after this game.

We won 3-1 and had only 2 regular starters playing, the rest of the squad have barely played in 7 months and yet to play with each other.

McGinn
Magennis
Gray
McGregor
Gullan
Barnes


For those players it’s near enough their first competitive game/start since January/February time.

Was it brilliant? No. But we were 2-0 up within 15 minutes and whilst fans might not like hearing it you take your foot off the gas and just want to see the game through unscathed for the majority of them.

We go again on Saturday against Cove who will be a harder challenge.

Team against Cove;

........................Barnes...........

.........McGinn.....McGregor.....Hanlon.....

Boyle........Magennis......Hallberg/McGinn..........Wright......

........................Mallan..............

...............Nisbet...........Gullan

It was against Brora Rangers. Who have had something like, two games themselves since March.

The performance was absolutely honking.

I expected players to put on a performance and show they should be getting first team football. Only Mallan did that tonight. And Magennis looked decent enough all things considered.

[BILLYHIBS]

Brilliant as usual Jonnyboy

Drey Wright well short of HIBS class but did me favour scoring against Der Hun :greengrin

We need to forget about third choice Championship goalkeepers we are better than that

Hope I am wrong but starting to fear for Jamie Gullan

Stevie Mallan MOM by a country mile

Maginnis looks as though he could be a player

Well done!

[DaveF]

Brilliant as usual Jonnyboy

Drey Wright well short of HIBS class but did me favour scoring against Der Hun :greengrin

We need to forget about third choice Championship goalkeepers we are better than that

Hope I am wrong but starting to fear for Jamie Gullan

Stevie Mallan MOM by a country mile

Maginnis looks as though he could be a player

Well done!

Why fear for Gullan based on that? He made good runs, got onto good positions and was unlucky not to score. He also played up top on his own with terrible service for all but the opening 15mins and when moved to the left was quite good I thought.

The ones to fear for are Hallberg and Wright who should have dominated that game but did nothing of the sort.

[happiehibbie]

Posted this here as i feel its match related

Whats the thoughts on the commentary for the game. I think it lacks enthusiasm. full of old fashioned remarks. " the melting pot" was used a couple of times. wrong names being used one example Mallan when it was Halberg was one of the few. I dont have an issue with Cliff however we're all paying top dollar for a service and it needs to have substance and do his homework to fill content. usuing the words "former names team player" I think I counted it about six times last night a good few on Saturday. Cliff is better than this he also has a bigger audience. As for Tam McManus deary dear :)

[JimBHibees]

Posted this here as i feel its match related

Whats the thoughts on the commentary for the game. I think it lacks enthusiasm. full of old fashioned remarks. " the melting pot" was used a couple of times. wrong names being used one example Mallan when it was Halberg was one of the few. I dont have an issue with Cliff however we're all paying top dollar for a service and it needs to have substance and do his homework to fill content. usuing the words "former names team player" I think I counted it about six times last night a good few on Saturday. Cliff is better than this he also has a bigger audience. As for Tam McManus deary dear :)

Actually think they are both very good. Enthusiastic and knowledgeable

[JimBHibees]

Why fear for Gullan based on that? He made good runs, got onto good positions and was unlucky not to score. He also played up top on his own with terrible service for all but the opening 15mins and when moved to the left was quite good I thought.

The ones to fear for are Hallberg and Wright who should have dominated that game but did nothing of the sort.

Would have liked to have seen Gullan with a partner for some of that game. Really good run and shot near the end

[Hibernian Verse]

Actually think they are both very good. Enthusiastic and knowledgeable

McManus is more enthusiastic, but I ended up turning the commentary off and putting Spotify on the laptop before I heard "former St Mirren man...former Rangers man..." yet again. David Tanner is really good at hosting, but the commentary during the game leaves a lot to be desired when you consider that most of us are paying £360 for PPV.

It is better than Andy Walker, though.

[BILLYHIBS]

Why fear for Gullan based on that? He made good runs, got onto good positions and was unlucky not to score. He also played up top on his own with terrible service for all but the opening 15mins and when moved to the left was quite good I thought.

The ones to fear for are Hallberg and Wright who should have dominated that game but did nothing of the sort.
Agree but found myself shaking my head and thinking “ nut ...he is not gonna make it” watching him choose the wrong option and running down channels shown to him by the defender - missed a couple of half chances and his end product was usually poor ......better once he started cutting inside toward the end of the game

In my minds eye he was up there with Kevin Nisbet and I never really thought of him as a left winger as I say I hope I am wrong I want him to succeed just my observation maybes as Jonnyboy says he was trying too hard at least he looked as though he wanted to be there

A goal would do him the world of good here’s hoping !

[Keith_M]

All I can say on last night's games is, "thanks god that's over with".

[HH81]

I paid for the game and fell asleep on the couch.

[jacomo]

Thanks again for the comprehensive and timely match report JB, always worth a read.

However, I can't agree with the criticism here and last night. It was hardly a sparkling performance but were it not for conceding that free kick (I think Dillon Barnes should be kicking himself, really poor from him imo) there really was nothing to it.

I like the look of Jamie Gullan, good to see Kyle Magennis in a Hibs shirt and I think he will be some player.

6/10 performances elsewhere but our squad will be fitter and sharper now.

Even a team like Liverpool can't make 8 changes without a significant drop off in performance.

[scoopyboy]

My conclusion from last night was that it was hard to draw many conclusions:greengrin

Kinda feel for Gullan. Ideally he would have got a chance playing in place of Kevin Nisbet, ie into a settled team and not one just thrown together.

We got the kind of performance you would expect given players haven't had game time and the team bore no resemblance on anything we have fielded this season.

[The Harp Awakes]

A very accurate assessment JB.

What disappointed me most about Wright's performance was that he didn't seem to have the confidence to take on his man when he was on the ball.

If he's not going to do it against lower league opposition, it doesn't auger well for games against PL teams.

[The 90+2]

Mallan was brilliant. Great to see Daz and Sir Dave back too.

Big Doidge his arse off against anyone. Perfect attitude.

[Since452]

Mallan was brilliant. Great to see Daz and Sir Dave back too.

Big Doidge his arse off against anyone. Perfect attitude.

Can't say that about Mallan on here you should know better

[The 90+2]

Can't say that about Mallan on here you should know better

Dinnae get me started mate - I’m one of the usual suspects afterall 😂

[Since452]

Dinnae get me started mate - I’m one of the usual suspects afterall 😂

He didn't score a hattrick so should really be trying to move him on in January. Ah that's better.

[B.H.F.C]

A very accurate assessment JB.

What disappointed me most about Wright's performance was that he didn't seem to have the confidence to take on his man when he was on the ball.

If he's not going to do it against lower league opposition, it doesn't auger well for games against PL teams.

Wright has never, to me, really looked like he is going to take players on. He seems to play very safe and is content to just pass the ball inside.

[matty_f]

Brilliant as usual Jonnyboy

Drey Wright well short of HIBS class but did me favour scoring against Der Hun :greengrin

We need to forget about third choice Championship goalkeepers we are better than that

Hope I am wrong but starting to fear for Jamie Gullan

Stevie Mallan MOM by a country mile

Maginnis looks as though he could be a player

Well done!

It's early days for Wright, I remember many, many folk saying similar about Newell and Doidge last season.

[bigwheel]

It's early days for Wright, I remember many, many folk saying similar about Newell and Doidge last season.

Agree completely...he’s not hiding , even when it’s not going for him - much like Doidge last year ..he’s also coming back after a long injury lay off last season. Give him time , think he will come good .

[BILLYHIBS]

It's early days for Wright, I remember many, many folk saying similar about Newell and Doidge last season.
Hmmm!

I thought Wright was particularly poor last night but prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt

Onwards and upwards

[Greenbeard]

A terrible watch after the initial 15 minutes when we scored two goals.
As per the Hamilton game we completely shut down after going 2-0 up and proceeded to push the ball about the pitch slowly and predictably for the rest of the match.

Bright spot - Magennis looked good when he came on in his first action since returning from an injury sustained in January. I note he has taken on McGinns old number. A great addition. Fingers crossed he can avoid serious injury.

Weird - how bad was Drey Wright? A good player but my god he had a stinker tonight. Seemed like he could get nothing right.

Down sides - no player made a bid for a starting berth in the league team. Gullan at least tried to make an impression and as you say did better when he switched to the left wing. Murphy injury. Should have been wrapped up in cotton wool after his last performance and not risked in a 2nds game like tonight. Hope he is ok.

Overall - Hibs need to get out of the bad habit they have developed of turning the burners off at 2-0. They need to play with tempo for the whole game to prevent the opposition from finding their feet. No tempo is no use.
Judging by the Hamilton game even a 3-0 lead shouldn't lead to the burners being turned off.

[Greenbeard]

Posted this here as i feel its match related

Whats the thoughts on the commentary for the game. I think it lacks enthusiasm. full of old fashioned remarks. " the melting pot" was used a couple of times. wrong names being used one example Mallan when it was Halberg was one of the few. I dont have an issue with Cliff however we're all paying top dollar for a service and it needs to have substance and do his homework to fill content. usuing the words "former names team player" I think I counted it about six times last night a good few on Saturday. Cliff is better than this he also has a bigger audience. As for Tam McManus deary dear :)
Have said it before but no matter how admirable Cliff is, his is a commentary for tv and is really poor as an audio only commentary for domestic Hibs TV subscribers. Not only does it lack enthusiasm, he doesn't paint a decent enough picture of what is happening or where play is. Sorry Cliff.

[brog]

Thanks as ever John. I remain unconvinced by Wright & Murphy, who I like, was as bad last night as he was good last Friday. Hallberg is my main frustration though, he showed what he can do with his excellent assist but he spent the rest of the game going backwards, quite often literally! I have great faith in Jamie Gullan & I thought he did well last night. His run at the end deserved a goal & he never hid. He often played off the left for the development team & I think he would do a great job there in a front 3. After all, if Aubameyang can do it from wide left, then so can Jamie!

[RitchieHibs]

Shouldn't that be the minimum, though?

Your correct of course, however, the number of players down considerable number of years of watching Hibs I've seen who go into their shells when their not on form or had fans on their back has been more than a few. Confidence is key for some players and when things aren't going too well for them it can really affect their mental state of mind and it begins a downward spiral. Stevie Mallan despite being dropped and heavily criticiced by some has come back looking very sharp and raring to go. It shows he's strong mentally, focused and desperate to get back into the first team. Good on him.

[Iggy Pope]

Have said it before but no matter how admirable Cliff is, his is a commentary for tv and is really poor as an audio only commentary for domestic Hibs TV subscribers. Not only does it lack enthusiasm, he doesn't paint a decent enough picture of what is happening or where play is. Sorry Cliff.

He rather enjoys squeezing a reference to Yannick Zambernardi in to the discussion though.

[EI255]

Eight changes will have an impact on performance but tonight the impact seemed much heavier than I would have liked. Racing into an early lead and then allowing lower league opposition to enjoy good spells of possession must have baffled Jack Ross because it certainly baffled me. The fact that we needed to score a very late third goal to put some respectability into the result was pretty poor if truth be told.

It was always going to happen that the starting eleven would reflect the fact that those who had been warming the bench would get a chance to play. Jack Ross gave notice of this pre game and so there were no real surprises. Dylan Barnes and Stephen McGinn were given their debuts from the start with Kyle Magennis joining that group later on in proceedings. The back four consisted of the players who held those positions when we beat the Rangers 3-2 to win the Scottish Cup in May 2016 whilst Hallberg and Gullan occupied midfield and attack respectively. It looked to me like a 4-4-1-1 with Gullan up top and Mallan just behind him.

As far as Brora are concerned I confess I knew little or nothing about them other than they arrived as the reigning Highland League champions. Over the ninety minutes I felt they gave a good account of themselves and I have to add that I was impressed by a couple of their players. The lad MacRae who wore the 10 jersey was particularly noticeable and though he went off five minutes from the end I thought he was easily their best player. The other Brora man that caught my attention was their number 4 who defended well and looked both strong and composed in doing so.

As to Hibs, they started well and used the full width of the park to move the Brora players about and Gullan was unlucky not to score very early on, his right foot shot on the turn just going the wrong side of the post. The deadlock was broken after just eight minutes when a poor touch by centre half Nicolson allowed Stevie Mallan to nick the ball. A few strides took him to the edge of the box where he fired a low shot into the net past Malin’s outstretched left hand. Some four minutes later, Mallan struck again when a good ball down the left saw Hallberg in space and the midfielder looked up before delivering a perfectly weighted ball towards the edge of the box, allowing Stevie to guide a shot past the Brora keeper. Soon after, a header from Gullan looked destined for the top corner but just drifted wide.

Inexplicably, Hibs stopped playing at a decent tempo and just took their foot off the gas. This allowed Brora to settle and to their credit they began to get a decent foothold in the game. There were very few chances created by Hibs and Brora had yet to test Barnes in the home goal though the Hibs man had to look sharp in coming out smother the ball under pressure from MacLean.

When the half time break came along I fully expected Jack Ross to let his players know that taking the foot off the gas was in no way acceptable. He may have done that though it didn’t show and when Boyle replaced the injured Murphy just five minutes into the half I assumed his pace would trouble the Highland League outfit. In fact he was rarely given the ball and on the occasions that he was he was marked by two defenders.

Brora were enjoying more possession now and on the hour mark they pulled a goal back. Hanlon committed a foul around twenty yards out and Gillespie beat the wall and the keeper by rifling the ball into the bottom corner to Barnes’ left.

Possibly riled at conceding that goal, Jack Ross made two changes in replacing McGinn and Wright with Doidge and Magennis. The immediate impact of this was the moving of Gullan to a wide left position, where he looked more at home if truth be told whilst in his first few touches of the ball, Magennis offered two excellent long passes to find the foot of Gullan.

It was all so laboured from Hibs and the gutsy Brora players attacked at every opportunity with Hibs toothless even after the arrival of Kevin Nisbet. The part time players were feeling the pace now with cramp affecting two or three and they were replaced by fresh legs but with the clock close to ticking down the ninety a corner from Mallan found an unmarked Paul Hanlon in the box and the skipper turned a powerful header into the net.

Overall it was a frustratingly poor performance from Hibs who may well find that their next opponents Cove Rangers will be a tougher nut to crack.

The players

Barnes – The big keeper had one test to pass and he failed it miserably. Having set up his wall to cover the right half of his goal he then positioned himself in the centre of that goal and his poor positioning meant he had no chance of getting down to make a save.

Gray – SDG looked rusty early doors and knackered late on but he put a shift in physically and will feel pretty sore tomorrow.

McGregor – Like SDG he looked ring rusty but he hasn’t lost any of his physicality – just ask the Brora strikers.

Hanlon – Popped up with another late goal, a habit that I hope becomes the norm. Paul defended well enough and as usual his reading of the play was very good.

Stevenson – Wee Lewis had a decent game and provided some decent crosses, especially in the first half.

Wright – A very disappointing performance from him I thought. Wayward passes; too many poor decisions taken so I wasn’t surprised when he got hooked on the hour.

Hallberg – I thought he played further forward than he has been and his pass to Mallan for the second goal was spot on but overall he didn’t really stand out in my opinion.

McGinn – I thought he started the game brightly and offered good cover to the back four but he was clearly feeling the pain and was rightly subbed after an hour.

Murphy – Jamie was quieter tonight and struggled to create anything of note. I hope his substitution was purely a precaution.

Mallan – Stevie seemed to pop up everywhere and took both goals well. He was always available for a pass and even showed his doubters that he can in fact track back, tackle and win the odd headed duel, winning my man of the match award.

Gullan – I really hope this isn’t a chance lost for the lad as he must have fancied he’d get on the score sheet. To be honest I think he was trying too hard at times.

Boyle – Hardly saw much of the ball but when he did and he escaped his markers he offered some decent passes into the box.

Doidge – The big fella seems to have gone off the boil a bit. His first touch was poor and his movement nowhere near as impressive as it usually is.

Magennis – A decent start to his Hibs career I thought. A few good passes and his work rate was fine too.

Nisbet – The prolific version of Kev was absent tonight; not that he got much of a chance to add to his goal tally.

Referee – I never thought I’d ever use the following words – Alan Muir had a good game and let the play flow.

Jack Ross – I haven’t heard or read any comments but I hope he made it clear that the performance was way short of being acceptable.Still it's a long drive back up north after any defeat, no matter the opposition [emoji16]

GGTTH

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[erin go bragh]

Only Mallan and Magennis can take anything positive out of that game .
Just shows you can’t make that many changes and expect a positive performance.

[ancient hibee]

It was a mistake to play Gullan on his own upfront although he tried his best and did plenty of running. He deserved a goal when he cut into the box.It was an excellent save.
It was disappointing that until Boyle came on nobody was able to burst past an opponent.Mallan played well and Hallberg was better than he has been but we seemed to lack anyone who could pull out a really good pass or draw a defender out.Hallberg’s assist was good.He looked up and put it on the right spot.It was the exception.Allowing for their lack of games,as the back four pushed the ball back and forward getting nowhere,It was like turning the clock back a couple of years and was as dreadful to watch now as it was then.Also notable was the lack of pressure from the defence when Brora came forward.
It seems to me that we should use these games to give fringe players a chance but we should try and play in the same style as the first choice eleven.

[Smartie]

I’ve seen a lot of criticism of individuals from last night but I didn’t think any of them were all that bad - even Wright. Hallberg was the pick of the bunch for me, I’m mystified by his personal criticism, and the CB’s didn’t do much wrong.

As a team though they were much less than the sum of the parts and I thought over the piece, after a very good start we were absolutely awful.

We were hopelessly disjointed - fullbacks not offering anything in an attacking sense, Gullan always isolated and we never looked comfortable or confident in possession.

I see Jonnyboy giving Mallan praise for “popping up everywhere” - I thought that was a huge part of our problems. When he popped up in the right place he showed what he was capable of. When he went walkies I thought he just got in the way and the other players lacked options up the park when he dropped deep.

Not sure what Ross was hoping for from last night - 3 points and game time for a few fringe players so it was basically a successful operation. But if he was wanting players to give him food for thought for our next big game, or a solid performance to keep the momentum going, or to avoid injuries then he’ll have been disappointed.

I wasn’t impressed, but it was probably Ross who impressed me least. It appeared that the players were either content or instructed to take the foot off the gas at 2-0 and I don’t really like that. I remember enjoying the League Cup games under Lennon as he went for the jugular, I remember Simon Murray scoring for fun and looking the part. I guess this is just a different approach - and not one I’m likely to spend money or time watching.

I’ll be watching the league games, which I’ve really enjoyed so far. It was too passive to be entertaining so I’ll likely give the LC games a miss.

[Seveno]

A dreadful watch but a 3-1 win against Rangers every time will suit me. :greengrin

[BILLYHIBS]

I’ve seen a lot of criticism of individuals from last night but I didn’t think any of them were all that bad - even Wright. Hallberg was the pick of the bunch for me, I’m mystified by his personal criticism, and the CB’s didn’t do much wrong.

As a team though they were much less than the sum of the parts and I thought over the piece, after a very good start we were absolutely awful.

We were hopelessly disjointed - fullbacks not offering anything in an attacking sense, Gullan always isolated and we never looked comfortable or confident in possession.

I see Jonnyboy giving Mallan praise for “popping up everywhere” - I thought that was a huge part of our problems. When he popped up in the right place he showed what he was capable of. When he went walkies I thought he just got in the way and the other players lacked options up the park when he dropped deep.

Not sure what Ross was hoping for from last night - 3 points and game time for a few fringe players so it was basically a successful operation. But if he was wanting players to give him food for thought for our next big game, or a solid performance to keep the momentum going, or to avoid injuries then he’ll have been disappointed.

I wasn’t impressed, but it was probably Ross who impressed me least. It appeared that the players were either content or instructed to take the foot off the gas at 2-0 and I don’t really like that. I remember enjoying the League Cup games under Lennon as he went for the jugular, I remember Simon Murray scoring for fun and looking the part. I guess this is just a different approach - and not one I’m likely to spend money or time watching.

I’ll be watching the league games, which I’ve really enjoyed so far. It was too passive to be entertaining so I’ll likely give the LC games a miss.

Good post but I do not think Jack Ross was all that happy especially after Brora scored their goal as he immediately introduced Doidge and Maginnis and later Nisbet so there is no way he told them to “take their foot off the gas.”

Maybe best to draw a line under it and move on to the next game

[Smartie]

Good post but I do not think Jack Ross was all that happy especially after Brora scored their goal as he immediately introduced Doidge and Maginnis and later Nisbet so there is no way he told them to “take their foot off the gas.”

Maybe best to draw a line under it and move on to the next game

Yeah, and we have been very good so far this season so we were maybe due a weaker performance. If it comes in a cup win then there really is little harm done.

It was disappointing but nobody really deserves to be lambasted over it.

As you say - move on.

[BILLYHIBS]

Yeah, and we have been very good so far this season so we were maybe due a weaker performance. If it comes in a cup win then there really is little harm done.

It was disappointing but nobody really deserves to be lambasted over it.

As you say - move on.
:thumbsup:

[Unseen work]

I’ve seen a lot of criticism of individuals from last night but I didn’t think any of them were all that bad - even Wright. Hallberg was the pick of the bunch for me, I’m mystified by his personal criticism, and the CB’s didn’t do much wrong.

As a team though they were much less than the sum of the parts and I thought over the piece, after a very good start we were absolutely awful.

We were hopelessly disjointed - fullbacks not offering anything in an attacking sense, Gullan always isolated and we never looked comfortable or confident in possession.

I see Jonnyboy giving Mallan praise for “popping up everywhere” - I thought that was a huge part of our problems. When he popped up in the right place he showed what he was capable of. When he went walkies I thought he just got in the way and the other players lacked options up the park when he dropped deep.

Not sure what Ross was hoping for from last night - 3 points and game time for a few fringe players so it was basically a successful operation. But if he was wanting players to give him food for thought for our next big game, or a solid performance to keep the momentum going, or to avoid injuries then he’ll have been disappointed.

I wasn’t impressed, but it was probably Ross who impressed me least. It appeared that the players were either content or instructed to take the foot off the gas at 2-0 and I don’t really like that. I remember enjoying the League Cup games under Lennon as he went for the jugular, I remember Simon Murray scoring for fun and looking the part. I guess this is just a different approach - and not one I’m likely to spend money or time watching.

I’ll be watching the league games, which I’ve really enjoyed so far. It was too passive to be entertaining so I’ll likely give the LC games a miss.

Agree with the majority of this, especially that I don’t think there were many poor individual displays when you break it down, but there were even less really good ones.

As a team we were so one paced and lacking any tempo whatsoever all over the pitch, only Gullan imo was showing any real hunger to drive at them and commit players, Mallan also tried to get on the ball as much as possible but appeared to grow frustrated with others around him.

The main issue for me with the tempo, driving the team forward and committing players stemmed from the defence. This season McGinn, Porteous, Hanlon and Doig have been brilliant at coming out with the ball, playing with pace, driving the team forward and playing good/brave passes out of the defence to open teams up. The also go and meet the ball whilst it’s in the air and with their header direct it to a team mate to keep the pressure on the opposition, not allowing them to get up the park.

Yesterday the defence were so so cautious and wanting to stay as part of a back 4 at all costs, in games like this they need to commit the opposition by overlapping and driving forward. Also when the ball was in the air Daz was using his strength to muscle the opposition striker out the way and the ball would roll through to Hanlon/Barnes - Whilst it’s not an issue defensively, it allowes Brora to gain 10-15 yard and move up the pitch, if he goes and meets the ball and knocks it down to a teammate they can’t get out.

Wright and Hallberg nowwhere near as bad as some suggest.

We need to improve and play much faster and with much more intent in our passing.

Hopefully Gullan, Magennis etc get more game time against Cove.

I also think it highlights the importance of us getting more defensive cover - hopefully pick up a free agent.

[Big90inOz]

The sheer lack of positive play for 75 mins was eye bleeding to watch, we pass the ball back and forward across the backline which usually resulted in a pass into a cul-de-sac or a hoof forward. It should have been one touch and movement which would have destroyed Brora Rangers instead they just all got behind the ball and simply watched us passing it back and forward. There was a real lack of energy and positive urgency on the ball.