Jonnyboy
09-02-2022, 10:14 PM
Four changes to the starting eleven with Dabrowski, Mueller, Doidge and Campbell dropping out at the expense of Macey, McGinn, Doig and Henderson meant an ultra-defensive line up, what with three of the eleven being left backs. I was puzzled as to how we’d line up, but things became clearer when it was established that Lewis Stevenson was given a midfield berth.
Like many, I had hoped we’d take the game to them but starting seven defenders knocked those hopes on the head. The tactic might have worked, we’ll never know, because inside the first five minutes we gifted them a goal when McGinn hauled down Kent in the box and Tavernier converted the spot kick. McGinn looked bemused, Macey looked incensed and Stevenson’s pleas to the referee fell on deaf ears because there was no doubt a foul had been committed.
This opening put the hosts firmly on the front foot and Hibs were left to defend in numbers. Arfield should have done better with an effort but shot wide. The game was pretty congested and a number of niggly fouls by both sides kept Nick Walsh busy. The hosts continued to enjoy the bulk of possession, but Hibs did get forward at times and around ten minutes in they won a corner which Henderson slung over. Both McGinn and Balogun challenged for the ball, and it looked to me as though Balogun had caught McGinn on the hip whilst McGinn’s forward momentum caused Balogun to limp away hurt. McGinn tried to continue but couldn’t and so he was replaced by Jasper.
The substitution meant Hibs had to reorganise a bit with Cadden going to fullback and Jasper ahead of him on the right. Jasper’s first involvement was to be fouled by Morelos and before the kick could be taken, Balogun limped off to be replaced by Barisic. That foul on Jasper gave Hibs the chance to have a pop at goal from around twenty yards but Mitchell’s shot dipped over the bar. Defending stoically, Hibs were keeping the hosts out although Morelos had two efforts in quick succession but neither troubled Macey.
A decent break down the left got Hibs right up the park and Doig sent in a wonderful cross which Nisbet met with his left foot, forcing McGregor into a save. Young Jasper was looking lively and as he skinned Barisic, the defender hauled him down, earning a yellow card in the process. From Henderson’s resultant free kick, Nisbet headed goalwards, but the ball was blocked by Goldson.
As the half wore on, I felt we were pretty much holding our own and indeed had Goldson not felled Mitchell as the Hibs man raced towards goal there’s a chance an equaliser was on the cards. The foul was cynical and earned Goldson a yellow card. Henderson took the free kick and sent a low swerving shot towards McGregor’s near post, but the goalie got down well to smother the effort. As half time approached, Tavernier and Morelos (twice) fired in shots that failed to trouble Macey whilst at the other end, Jasper was the subject of another foul, this time by Bassey but no yellow card was shown.
The hosts relied a lot on feeding the ball to Ryan Kent and indeed that had served them well in securing an early penalty but although he got a couple of shots away, he was being marshalled pretty well by Chris Cadden. Right on the whistle, Kent finally got past his man but the subsequent shot on goal was easily saved by Macey.
Neither side made any changes at the break and the pattern of play remained the same. Five minutes in, Bushiri was booked for a challenge on Morelos who, love him or hate him, was a right handful for the Hibs defence. A couple of minutes later, Jasper collected a pass from Doyle-Hayes and fired in a shot, but the ball never reached the target as Bassey got in the way then, with the hour mark approaching, sloppy play in the midfield allowed Tavernier to gain possession and drive forward and pick out Morelos in the box. The striker had ghosted in behind Bushiri, rifling the ball high into the net from about ten yards.
To be fair to Hibs, the heads did not go down and first Henderson and then Jasper managed to make room for shots, but a packed defence meant McGregor wasn’t troubled. Lewis Stevenson, who had been assigned to mark Kamara, was then booked for a late challenge before Shaun Maloney decided that Henderson had run his race and replaced him with Mueller. A Morelos effort was well saved by Macey, but it seemed to me as though the introduction of Mueller was having a positive effect on Hibs going forward. Perhaps to augment that, Maloney then replaced Stevenson and Mitchell with Campbell and Doidge and for my money we were now playing a more attacking game.
Jasper, who had switched to the left upon the arrival of Mueller was then felled by Tavernier. The challenge happened right in front of a protesting Maloney, and it seems Nick Walsh was equally unimpressed as he booked Tavernier. The hosts were still causing problems but so too were Hibs when they ventured forward. Mueller in particular linked well with Cadden down the right and that combination set Cadden up for a shot on goal. McGregor got down to save but the ball went straight back to Cadden whose second effort drifted just wide. Moments later a Cadden cross was headed towards goal by Mueller, but the effort drifted just wide.
Referee Nick Walsh added four minutes and Hibs kept looking for a reward for their efforts with a Campbell effort blocked and then a lovely curling effort from Jasper looked to be heading for the top corner, but McGregor was equal to the challenge with a fine save. As you might expect, the hosts then decided to play keep ball until time ran out.
The players
Macey – No chance with either goal and other than a couple of punched clearances and a fine save late on when Morelos looked favourite to score, I thought he did ok.
McGinn – Paul looked rusty in his first start for a while, and it was poor timing that cost us the penalty. Looks like a hip injury that might keep him out for a game or two.
Porteous – In between looking as solid as a rock he made at least three terrible attempts at forward passes that might have had us in trouble.
Bushiri – There’s aspects of his game I really like but he was given a torrid time of it tonight by Morelos whom he completely lost for the second goal.
Doig – It might just be me, but I thought Josh looked a bit confused at times as to where he was playing. A decent performance though overall.
Cadden – Twelve minutes wide on the right of midfield and the remainder of the game at right back. Had his hands full at times with Kent but I thought he handled that pretty well and that he finished the game really strongly. My man of the match.
Doyle-Hayes – I worried for the laddie because he’s not been at his best of late, but he did ok against a very mobile midfield duo of Lundstram and Aribo.
Stevenson – Turning back the clock tonight for Lewis to be playing in midfield. It looked to me as though he’d been asked to shadow Kamara and if that is the case he did so very well.
Mitchell – Stands out well in spells but tires quite noticeably around the hour mark.
Henderson – Some lovely passes and he strikes a shot well. For me he is improving with the going.
Nisbet – A thankless task tonight and there were spells when we never seen much of him but overall, his wasn’t a bad performance.
Jasper – Got roughed up a bit but just got up and got on with it. I love the fact that he is always looking to drive forward.
Mueller – Chris did really well, and I think there is still more to come from him. He looks very comfortable in possession and was linking up really well down our right hand side.
Doidge – I bet Nisbet was pleased to see him because he needed the support up top. Nothing major from him tonight but more useful minutes on the clock.
Campbell – I saw both sides of Josh tonight. Dismally failed to control a throw in leading to an attack on Macey’s goal but later he got in a fabulous block to deny Morelos a clear goal scoring opportunity.
Shaun Maloney – I wonder if, in hindsight, he’ll wish he started with Mueller and Jasper. After we lost that early goal, he’ll have been encouraged by the way we defended for the most part and the fact that we finished the game looking strong going forward.
The referee – No complaints from me other than I felt he should have booked Morelos for an outrageous dive in the first half. Their fans, however, will be unhappy with Nick Walsh as he booked a few of their players.
Like many, I had hoped we’d take the game to them but starting seven defenders knocked those hopes on the head. The tactic might have worked, we’ll never know, because inside the first five minutes we gifted them a goal when McGinn hauled down Kent in the box and Tavernier converted the spot kick. McGinn looked bemused, Macey looked incensed and Stevenson’s pleas to the referee fell on deaf ears because there was no doubt a foul had been committed.
This opening put the hosts firmly on the front foot and Hibs were left to defend in numbers. Arfield should have done better with an effort but shot wide. The game was pretty congested and a number of niggly fouls by both sides kept Nick Walsh busy. The hosts continued to enjoy the bulk of possession, but Hibs did get forward at times and around ten minutes in they won a corner which Henderson slung over. Both McGinn and Balogun challenged for the ball, and it looked to me as though Balogun had caught McGinn on the hip whilst McGinn’s forward momentum caused Balogun to limp away hurt. McGinn tried to continue but couldn’t and so he was replaced by Jasper.
The substitution meant Hibs had to reorganise a bit with Cadden going to fullback and Jasper ahead of him on the right. Jasper’s first involvement was to be fouled by Morelos and before the kick could be taken, Balogun limped off to be replaced by Barisic. That foul on Jasper gave Hibs the chance to have a pop at goal from around twenty yards but Mitchell’s shot dipped over the bar. Defending stoically, Hibs were keeping the hosts out although Morelos had two efforts in quick succession but neither troubled Macey.
A decent break down the left got Hibs right up the park and Doig sent in a wonderful cross which Nisbet met with his left foot, forcing McGregor into a save. Young Jasper was looking lively and as he skinned Barisic, the defender hauled him down, earning a yellow card in the process. From Henderson’s resultant free kick, Nisbet headed goalwards, but the ball was blocked by Goldson.
As the half wore on, I felt we were pretty much holding our own and indeed had Goldson not felled Mitchell as the Hibs man raced towards goal there’s a chance an equaliser was on the cards. The foul was cynical and earned Goldson a yellow card. Henderson took the free kick and sent a low swerving shot towards McGregor’s near post, but the goalie got down well to smother the effort. As half time approached, Tavernier and Morelos (twice) fired in shots that failed to trouble Macey whilst at the other end, Jasper was the subject of another foul, this time by Bassey but no yellow card was shown.
The hosts relied a lot on feeding the ball to Ryan Kent and indeed that had served them well in securing an early penalty but although he got a couple of shots away, he was being marshalled pretty well by Chris Cadden. Right on the whistle, Kent finally got past his man but the subsequent shot on goal was easily saved by Macey.
Neither side made any changes at the break and the pattern of play remained the same. Five minutes in, Bushiri was booked for a challenge on Morelos who, love him or hate him, was a right handful for the Hibs defence. A couple of minutes later, Jasper collected a pass from Doyle-Hayes and fired in a shot, but the ball never reached the target as Bassey got in the way then, with the hour mark approaching, sloppy play in the midfield allowed Tavernier to gain possession and drive forward and pick out Morelos in the box. The striker had ghosted in behind Bushiri, rifling the ball high into the net from about ten yards.
To be fair to Hibs, the heads did not go down and first Henderson and then Jasper managed to make room for shots, but a packed defence meant McGregor wasn’t troubled. Lewis Stevenson, who had been assigned to mark Kamara, was then booked for a late challenge before Shaun Maloney decided that Henderson had run his race and replaced him with Mueller. A Morelos effort was well saved by Macey, but it seemed to me as though the introduction of Mueller was having a positive effect on Hibs going forward. Perhaps to augment that, Maloney then replaced Stevenson and Mitchell with Campbell and Doidge and for my money we were now playing a more attacking game.
Jasper, who had switched to the left upon the arrival of Mueller was then felled by Tavernier. The challenge happened right in front of a protesting Maloney, and it seems Nick Walsh was equally unimpressed as he booked Tavernier. The hosts were still causing problems but so too were Hibs when they ventured forward. Mueller in particular linked well with Cadden down the right and that combination set Cadden up for a shot on goal. McGregor got down to save but the ball went straight back to Cadden whose second effort drifted just wide. Moments later a Cadden cross was headed towards goal by Mueller, but the effort drifted just wide.
Referee Nick Walsh added four minutes and Hibs kept looking for a reward for their efforts with a Campbell effort blocked and then a lovely curling effort from Jasper looked to be heading for the top corner, but McGregor was equal to the challenge with a fine save. As you might expect, the hosts then decided to play keep ball until time ran out.
The players
Macey – No chance with either goal and other than a couple of punched clearances and a fine save late on when Morelos looked favourite to score, I thought he did ok.
McGinn – Paul looked rusty in his first start for a while, and it was poor timing that cost us the penalty. Looks like a hip injury that might keep him out for a game or two.
Porteous – In between looking as solid as a rock he made at least three terrible attempts at forward passes that might have had us in trouble.
Bushiri – There’s aspects of his game I really like but he was given a torrid time of it tonight by Morelos whom he completely lost for the second goal.
Doig – It might just be me, but I thought Josh looked a bit confused at times as to where he was playing. A decent performance though overall.
Cadden – Twelve minutes wide on the right of midfield and the remainder of the game at right back. Had his hands full at times with Kent but I thought he handled that pretty well and that he finished the game really strongly. My man of the match.
Doyle-Hayes – I worried for the laddie because he’s not been at his best of late, but he did ok against a very mobile midfield duo of Lundstram and Aribo.
Stevenson – Turning back the clock tonight for Lewis to be playing in midfield. It looked to me as though he’d been asked to shadow Kamara and if that is the case he did so very well.
Mitchell – Stands out well in spells but tires quite noticeably around the hour mark.
Henderson – Some lovely passes and he strikes a shot well. For me he is improving with the going.
Nisbet – A thankless task tonight and there were spells when we never seen much of him but overall, his wasn’t a bad performance.
Jasper – Got roughed up a bit but just got up and got on with it. I love the fact that he is always looking to drive forward.
Mueller – Chris did really well, and I think there is still more to come from him. He looks very comfortable in possession and was linking up really well down our right hand side.
Doidge – I bet Nisbet was pleased to see him because he needed the support up top. Nothing major from him tonight but more useful minutes on the clock.
Campbell – I saw both sides of Josh tonight. Dismally failed to control a throw in leading to an attack on Macey’s goal but later he got in a fabulous block to deny Morelos a clear goal scoring opportunity.
Shaun Maloney – I wonder if, in hindsight, he’ll wish he started with Mueller and Jasper. After we lost that early goal, he’ll have been encouraged by the way we defended for the most part and the fact that we finished the game looking strong going forward.
The referee – No complaints from me other than I felt he should have booked Morelos for an outrageous dive in the first half. Their fans, however, will be unhappy with Nick Walsh as he booked a few of their players.