Jonnyboy
01-08-2021, 09:55 PM
Prior to kick off I learned the news surrounding the future of young Josh Doig who seems likely to move on sooner rather than later. Josh is a very promising young talent and I’m certain his career will be a good one – it looks like Hibs rightly playing hard ball will force potential suitors to cough up an acceptable sum for his services.
Of course, Josh was not selected today and so Lewis Stevenson took up the left back role. I’m aware he has his critics, and it is common knowledge that I rate him highly but if there is one thing I’m sure we can all agree on it is that he can be trusted to perform when the need arises. It was fantastic to be back on the road again, following the Hibees and I believe more than 1800 of us made the trip. The atmosphere was good and other than the daft throwing of a flair near half time the youngsters down the front of the South Stand lower made the atmosphere electric throughout. Some of the new songs sound great and I look forward to learning the words!
The game itself started brightly although it didn’t take long before Boyle was hacked to the ground. Referee David Munro was, I felt, too lenient with some of the early challenges and that allowed them to continue for most of the game. The No. 16, Slattery, twice committed rash challenges that another referee might have punished with an early yellow card to show he was in charge, but that didn’t happen.
An early effort by Magennis drifted wide and Hibs were giving as good as they got in terms of attacking play but in the twelfth minute a silly challenge by Gogic gave the hosts a free kick some twenty five yards out. Jake Carroll delivered a bread and butter cross into the Hibs area and Kevin van Veen rose unchallenged to head the ball past Macey. It was very poor marking by our defenders and at the time I thought Macey should have come and collected the ball, but he remained rooted to his line. Having seen it again, defensive slackness rather than a keeper error.
The hosts only enjoyed their lead for five minutes when Magennis was on hand to fire home from close range after Murphy had shanked an effort that wrong footed Kelly in the home goal. Ten minutes later, Carroll was shown a yellow card for a quite shocking challenge on Martin Boyle, the Hibs man already the victim of numerous bad tackles.
Next, a Boyle effort was saved before Hanlon sent a looping header over when he met the ball from a Magennis corner. Moments later, Murphy was set clear and as Kelly advanced the former Motherwell man tried to lob him but was well wide with the effort which drew cheers of derision from the home fans. Motherwell enjoyed decent possession but didn’t really trouble Macey, until that is on the half hour another Carroll free kick was met at the far post by Mugabe who had been left unattended by Gogic. Moments later, Slattery once again launched into a challenge, but this time David Munro brandished a yellow card.
Hibs were trying hard to get level and a twenty five yard free kick from Nisbet just cleared the bar before a Watt effort was woefully wide of the target and then Macey easily collected a cross from O’Donnell. Then, a blatant foul on Magennis in the Motherwell box was a penalty of the stone wall variety. The challenge came from the already booked Carroll and had David Munro had the bottle he'd have awarded the penalty and sent Carroll off for a second yellow card. Sadly, Munro looked inept throughout and was infuriating both sets of fans with his awful display.
No changes were made at half time but in the early minutes of the half, Hanlon was booked for a challenge that was similar in nature to the ones Maguire of Motherwell had been carrying out without punishment since the game started. Next, a lovely curling effort from Murphy was well saved by Kelly who tipped the ball over the bar. Hibs were attacking the goal, behind which were the Hibs support, and the travelling fans were offering loud encouragement. Ten minutes into the half, Doidge replaced Gogic, and Hibs reverted to a 4-4-2 with almost instant reward. We looked more balanced and crucially, Nisbet now had a strike partner although it was thanks to a good save by Macey that we remained just the one goal behind.
A fine ball from Newell found Nisbet on the edge of the Motherwell box. Surrounded by three defenders, Kev got his shot away, the ball beating Kelly but striking the post before rebounding into play. Doidge reacted quicky and swept the ball home with what I believe was only his second touch since coming on. Soon after, Woolery looked as though he might break free on their right, but Stevenson stopped him in his tracks, earning a yellow card in the process. O’Donnell and Boyle then each had efforts that flew wide of the goal. Macey then saved easily from Woolery before Jack Ross made a second change, replacing Murphy with Jake Doyle-Hayes and the youngster took a central role in midfield with Magennis moving over to the left.
Not long after coming on, Doyle-Hayes played a lovely ball between two defenders to set up a cross for Boyle whose delivery towards the back post saw Nisbet strike a shot which O’Donnell clearly blocked with his right arm. A clear cut penalty and a yellow card for Motherwell’s captain before Boyle paid no attention to Kelly’s childish attempts to unsettle him, the keeper being carded before failing to keep Boyle’s effort out. Having twice come from behind, Hibs now had the lead and looked comfortable enough with that. Soon after, Slattery had another wild swipe at Boyle and once again referee Munro ignored it. Graham Alexander wisely replaced Slattery soon thereafter.
With fifteen minutes left, Munro found his card again and booked Porteous for an aerial challenge on Watt. It looked like a clean header to me, but Munro thought otherwise. Soon after, Watt had an effort at goal but failed to trouble Macey. Since moving over to the left, Magennis had become a bit peripheral and with around five minutes left, he was replaced by Josh Campbell who soon supplied a cross from a corner that Porteous met but couldn’t get on target. With time running out, efforts by Campbell for us and Donnelly for them came to nothing and Hibs saw out the game to record a fine 3-2 win.
The players
Macey – At the game I was a bit dubious about his part in the goals conceded but having seen them since I believe both goals were a result of poor marking by defenders. His save at 2-1 when the Motherwell man was clean through deserves a mention.
McGinn – Paul got slated for his error for the goal conceded to Santa Coloma and that was fair enough, I felt. Today, there were no such errors as although the second goal was in his area of the park it was Gogic who went to sleep, not McGinn.
Porteous – Solid at the back although perhaps he should have been the man marking van Veen at the first goal. That apart, he had a fine game and thoroughly enjoyed winding up the Motherwell fans at the final whistle. For reasons unknown they had booed him throughout the second half, but Porto had the last laugh.
Hanlon – Paul has made a couple of uncharacteristic errors in recent games, but I don’t recall any today and he was solid over the whole 94 minutes.
Stevenson – As I mentioned earlier, he’s a dream to have available and despite Woolery being a speed merchant I thought Lewis handled him well. I’m aware that if/when Doig departs we need to look to bring in a replacement but until we do, I’d argue the left back slot is in safe hands.
Gogic – Sporting a freshly shaved head he looked like the Gogic of old. Unfortunately, I don’t think he played as well as we know he can. Gave away a stupid free kick leading to the first goal and was posted missing at the second.
Newell – Joe has me firmly in two minds about his performances. Seems happy to make the vast majority of passes backwards and yet he is the only one who regularly shows to take the ball from our defenders. Did well enough today.
Boyle – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – he must finish games covered in bruises as he was kicked from pillar to post with little or no protection from a dud referee. I’ve watched Hibs for many years and I’ve seen any number of players take one or two hits and then hide for the rest of the game. Boyle never does that. He gets up and waits for the next hit. Today, he was fantastic throughout and wins my man of the match award.
Magennis – In his best position at the heart of midfield and I thought he was tremendous today before being moved wide left. The right place at the right time for his goal and scandalously denied a clear cut penalty.
Murphy – Showed some lovely touches and clearly a very intelligent footballer. If he can stay fit, he’ll be a regular starter and it was nice to see many of the occupants of their main stand give him an ovation when he was substituted.
Nisbet – Had a hard gig fighting three defenders on his own but put lots of effort into closing down etc. Looked far better with his strike partner and his quick feet allowed him the shot that Doidge knocked in after the ball came back off the post.
Doidge – The big fella is still getting up to speed, but his introduction certainly created problems for Mugabe and Lamie. Alert to what was going on as he nipped around his marker to sweep home the second goal.
Doyle-Hayes – I confess I’m impressed with this kid. Happy to mix it up in midfield; always eager to show for the ball and his pass to Boyle at the penalty incident was spot on.
Campbell – Another kid I like the look of. Didn’t get many minutes today but will have enjoyed them, nonetheless.
Jack Ross – Proud of his players tonight. Coming from behind twice and going on to win the game will have pleased him immensely.
Referee – David Munro looked like a fish out of water.
Of course, Josh was not selected today and so Lewis Stevenson took up the left back role. I’m aware he has his critics, and it is common knowledge that I rate him highly but if there is one thing I’m sure we can all agree on it is that he can be trusted to perform when the need arises. It was fantastic to be back on the road again, following the Hibees and I believe more than 1800 of us made the trip. The atmosphere was good and other than the daft throwing of a flair near half time the youngsters down the front of the South Stand lower made the atmosphere electric throughout. Some of the new songs sound great and I look forward to learning the words!
The game itself started brightly although it didn’t take long before Boyle was hacked to the ground. Referee David Munro was, I felt, too lenient with some of the early challenges and that allowed them to continue for most of the game. The No. 16, Slattery, twice committed rash challenges that another referee might have punished with an early yellow card to show he was in charge, but that didn’t happen.
An early effort by Magennis drifted wide and Hibs were giving as good as they got in terms of attacking play but in the twelfth minute a silly challenge by Gogic gave the hosts a free kick some twenty five yards out. Jake Carroll delivered a bread and butter cross into the Hibs area and Kevin van Veen rose unchallenged to head the ball past Macey. It was very poor marking by our defenders and at the time I thought Macey should have come and collected the ball, but he remained rooted to his line. Having seen it again, defensive slackness rather than a keeper error.
The hosts only enjoyed their lead for five minutes when Magennis was on hand to fire home from close range after Murphy had shanked an effort that wrong footed Kelly in the home goal. Ten minutes later, Carroll was shown a yellow card for a quite shocking challenge on Martin Boyle, the Hibs man already the victim of numerous bad tackles.
Next, a Boyle effort was saved before Hanlon sent a looping header over when he met the ball from a Magennis corner. Moments later, Murphy was set clear and as Kelly advanced the former Motherwell man tried to lob him but was well wide with the effort which drew cheers of derision from the home fans. Motherwell enjoyed decent possession but didn’t really trouble Macey, until that is on the half hour another Carroll free kick was met at the far post by Mugabe who had been left unattended by Gogic. Moments later, Slattery once again launched into a challenge, but this time David Munro brandished a yellow card.
Hibs were trying hard to get level and a twenty five yard free kick from Nisbet just cleared the bar before a Watt effort was woefully wide of the target and then Macey easily collected a cross from O’Donnell. Then, a blatant foul on Magennis in the Motherwell box was a penalty of the stone wall variety. The challenge came from the already booked Carroll and had David Munro had the bottle he'd have awarded the penalty and sent Carroll off for a second yellow card. Sadly, Munro looked inept throughout and was infuriating both sets of fans with his awful display.
No changes were made at half time but in the early minutes of the half, Hanlon was booked for a challenge that was similar in nature to the ones Maguire of Motherwell had been carrying out without punishment since the game started. Next, a lovely curling effort from Murphy was well saved by Kelly who tipped the ball over the bar. Hibs were attacking the goal, behind which were the Hibs support, and the travelling fans were offering loud encouragement. Ten minutes into the half, Doidge replaced Gogic, and Hibs reverted to a 4-4-2 with almost instant reward. We looked more balanced and crucially, Nisbet now had a strike partner although it was thanks to a good save by Macey that we remained just the one goal behind.
A fine ball from Newell found Nisbet on the edge of the Motherwell box. Surrounded by three defenders, Kev got his shot away, the ball beating Kelly but striking the post before rebounding into play. Doidge reacted quicky and swept the ball home with what I believe was only his second touch since coming on. Soon after, Woolery looked as though he might break free on their right, but Stevenson stopped him in his tracks, earning a yellow card in the process. O’Donnell and Boyle then each had efforts that flew wide of the goal. Macey then saved easily from Woolery before Jack Ross made a second change, replacing Murphy with Jake Doyle-Hayes and the youngster took a central role in midfield with Magennis moving over to the left.
Not long after coming on, Doyle-Hayes played a lovely ball between two defenders to set up a cross for Boyle whose delivery towards the back post saw Nisbet strike a shot which O’Donnell clearly blocked with his right arm. A clear cut penalty and a yellow card for Motherwell’s captain before Boyle paid no attention to Kelly’s childish attempts to unsettle him, the keeper being carded before failing to keep Boyle’s effort out. Having twice come from behind, Hibs now had the lead and looked comfortable enough with that. Soon after, Slattery had another wild swipe at Boyle and once again referee Munro ignored it. Graham Alexander wisely replaced Slattery soon thereafter.
With fifteen minutes left, Munro found his card again and booked Porteous for an aerial challenge on Watt. It looked like a clean header to me, but Munro thought otherwise. Soon after, Watt had an effort at goal but failed to trouble Macey. Since moving over to the left, Magennis had become a bit peripheral and with around five minutes left, he was replaced by Josh Campbell who soon supplied a cross from a corner that Porteous met but couldn’t get on target. With time running out, efforts by Campbell for us and Donnelly for them came to nothing and Hibs saw out the game to record a fine 3-2 win.
The players
Macey – At the game I was a bit dubious about his part in the goals conceded but having seen them since I believe both goals were a result of poor marking by defenders. His save at 2-1 when the Motherwell man was clean through deserves a mention.
McGinn – Paul got slated for his error for the goal conceded to Santa Coloma and that was fair enough, I felt. Today, there were no such errors as although the second goal was in his area of the park it was Gogic who went to sleep, not McGinn.
Porteous – Solid at the back although perhaps he should have been the man marking van Veen at the first goal. That apart, he had a fine game and thoroughly enjoyed winding up the Motherwell fans at the final whistle. For reasons unknown they had booed him throughout the second half, but Porto had the last laugh.
Hanlon – Paul has made a couple of uncharacteristic errors in recent games, but I don’t recall any today and he was solid over the whole 94 minutes.
Stevenson – As I mentioned earlier, he’s a dream to have available and despite Woolery being a speed merchant I thought Lewis handled him well. I’m aware that if/when Doig departs we need to look to bring in a replacement but until we do, I’d argue the left back slot is in safe hands.
Gogic – Sporting a freshly shaved head he looked like the Gogic of old. Unfortunately, I don’t think he played as well as we know he can. Gave away a stupid free kick leading to the first goal and was posted missing at the second.
Newell – Joe has me firmly in two minds about his performances. Seems happy to make the vast majority of passes backwards and yet he is the only one who regularly shows to take the ball from our defenders. Did well enough today.
Boyle – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – he must finish games covered in bruises as he was kicked from pillar to post with little or no protection from a dud referee. I’ve watched Hibs for many years and I’ve seen any number of players take one or two hits and then hide for the rest of the game. Boyle never does that. He gets up and waits for the next hit. Today, he was fantastic throughout and wins my man of the match award.
Magennis – In his best position at the heart of midfield and I thought he was tremendous today before being moved wide left. The right place at the right time for his goal and scandalously denied a clear cut penalty.
Murphy – Showed some lovely touches and clearly a very intelligent footballer. If he can stay fit, he’ll be a regular starter and it was nice to see many of the occupants of their main stand give him an ovation when he was substituted.
Nisbet – Had a hard gig fighting three defenders on his own but put lots of effort into closing down etc. Looked far better with his strike partner and his quick feet allowed him the shot that Doidge knocked in after the ball came back off the post.
Doidge – The big fella is still getting up to speed, but his introduction certainly created problems for Mugabe and Lamie. Alert to what was going on as he nipped around his marker to sweep home the second goal.
Doyle-Hayes – I confess I’m impressed with this kid. Happy to mix it up in midfield; always eager to show for the ball and his pass to Boyle at the penalty incident was spot on.
Campbell – Another kid I like the look of. Didn’t get many minutes today but will have enjoyed them, nonetheless.
Jack Ross – Proud of his players tonight. Coming from behind twice and going on to win the game will have pleased him immensely.
Referee – David Munro looked like a fish out of water.