Jonnyboy
29-10-2022, 07:25 PM
Hibs faced an in form St Mirren side that was two points ahead of them going in to the game and Lee Johnson made a couple of changes to his starting eleven, replacing the suspended Kyle Magennis with Nohan Kenneh and Josh Campbell with Ewan Henderson. Campbell was on the bench alongside 17 year old Murray Aiken who had impressed for the Under 19’s in their recent fine win over Nantes. In the centre of a back three for the visitors was Alex Gogic who made an early impact on the game by fouling Kuharevich inside the opening minute.
Around the six minute mark, Hibs looked to have opened the scoring when a sublime defence splitting pass from Newell found Cabraja on the left. The Croatian struck a sweet early ball into the middle and Kuharevich hit a low shot past the keeper. As will always be the case, VAR reviewed the goal including the build up and from that it was determined that Cabraja had been offside. I’ll be honest, it must have been a really close call and I’m looking forward to seeing the footage of it later. Such a pity really as the ball from Newell was sumptuous.
Just as they had against St Johnstone last time out, Hibs set about attacking the visitors’ goal at every opportunity and Porteous was a tad unlucky when his snap shot from a difficult angle flew just wide. Newell had set the chance up and it was Newell again that provided the next chance when his free kick found Kenneh who fired in an effort that curled just wide of the target. A couple of minutes later, St Mirren created an opening when a corner found its way to Ayunga, but the striker saw his shot saved well by Marshall at the expense of another corner. When that corner was delivered, Hibs struggled a bit to clear the danger and the ball reached Gogic who shot for goal but his attempt was blocked by Kenneh with the ball reaching Baccus whose effort was also blocked by a tight home defence.
A fantastic deep diagonal cross from Hanlon picked out Boyle on the right side and his fierce first time effort struck the Saints keeper and was cleared. To be fair, both sides were looking to play in an attacking style although it has to be said St Mirren’s forward play lacked an amount of quality and barely troubled the Hibs back three up to that point. A short corner to Hibs saw the ball reach Joe Newell and his cross into the middle resulted in a Bushiri header going just wide. St Mirren were trying to up their game and twice in the space of a minute might have found the opener. Curtis Main saw a sot charged down, but the ball came straight back to him, and his second effort forced a fine save by Marshall.
Around the twenty five minute mark a fantastic long range pass by Marshall found Boyle on the left. Looking up, Boyle saw Henderson breaking through the centre and played a neat pass into his path. The Hibs man evaded the challenge of a defender and from around twenty yards struck a shot with only the keeper to beat. Unfortunately, the effort was not a good one and the ball flew well wide of the far post. Soon after and following a period of consistent pressure by the home side, Kenneh met the ball on the half volley and his shot flew just wide of the post with their keeper rooted to the spot.
There followed several minutes of play where niggly fouls by both sides interrupted the flow until referee Don Robertson had seen enough and booked Gogic for a crude challenge on Newell. Henderson took the resultant free kick but smashed his shot straight into the defensive wall before Cadden hit an effort high and wide of the target. As the half moved into time added on, Kuharevich found Cadden in the box and as the receiver attempted a left footed shot there were loud shouts by both the fans and the players for a penalty. Don Robertson didn’t look interested but of course VAR came in to play and having reviewed the footage, Robertson awarded a penalty for hand ball against Richard Tait. After the obvious attempts by the St Mirren players to persuade the ref to change his mind, Martin Boyle stepped up to slam the ball home for a half time lead.
The first thing of note in the second half was the booking of David Marshall for deliberate time wasting when he prevented the visitors from gaining possession for a throw in. Immediately after, Erhahon tried his luck from a central position but was crowded out. A few minutes later, Henderson tussled with Erhahon and as the ball ran free, Boyle made to take control of it but was caught by a flying boot and minutes later had to go off injured with Melkersen replacing him. Soon after, the new man cushioned a pass into the path of Ewan Henderson but once again the Hibs man rushed his shot, and the ball flew high over the bar.
Five minutes later, another fine pass from Newell gave Kuharevich a sight of the goal but his effort flew wide at the near post. Hibs were pretty much dominating procedures at this point and doubled their lead in the sixty third minute when Henderson picked out Kuharevich inside the Saints eighteen yard box. Big Myko muscled his way past Gogic before steering a lovely left footed effort into the far corner of the net and a few minutes later, dogged determination by Kenneh saw him fight off three challenges before passing the ball to Melkersen who picked out Henderson on the edge of the Saints box and this time Ewan made no mistake with a thunderous drive into the top corner to make it 3-0. Immediately afterwards, Henderson was replaced by Josh Campbell and left the field to warm applause.
Hibs were still keen to push on and Kuharevich was unlucky to steer a header just wide from yet another Joe Newell cross. With about twenty minutes left, Ryan Porteous was booked for a nothing tackle on Curtis Main. It was the kind of challenge that generally earned just a word of warning and Ryan was clearly furious with Don Robertson for the card. Moments later, Charles Dunne committed a pretty nasty foul on Paul Hanlon and Porto was quick on the scene to voice his displeasure but thankfully Robertson wasn’t of a mind to book Ryan again with the Hibs man being subbed soon after. At the same time and with the points secure, Stevenson and Youan replaced Cabraja and a limping Kuharevich.
The game kind of petered out a bit as Hibs were secure in their lead and St Mirren looked a side that had accepted its fate. The last goalmouth action came in the final minute of time added on when Gogic headed wide from close range and the clean sheet remained in place.
The players
Marshall – Had two excellent and crucial saves in the first half but otherwise was largely untroubled by a toothless St Mirren attack.
Porteous – A couple of poorly hit passes apart, Ryan was solid pretty much throughout all of his time on the park. I also thought it was a wise move to sub him off as he was clearly an angry man!
Bushiri – One minor error apart I thought Rocky was excellent throughout. Commanding both on the ground and in the air and his distribution was right on the button too.
Hanlon – On several occasions, Paul’s reading of the game cut short dangerous looking attacks by the visitors.
Cadden – Chris just never stops, and his offensive display today was very good.
Henderson – A strange one for me. Missed two good chances and got his passing wrong a few times and yet he scored one and assisted in another.
Newell – Was prominent throughout and struck a fair few decent passes. I’d take him off free kicks and corners for a while though because too many were of a pretty poor standard. In general, though his contribution had far more positives than negatives.
Kenneh – I was absolutely delighted with Nohan’s contribution as he performed the deep lying midfielder role well. Our three at the back formation can leave gaps if any of the three venture forward but every time one of them did that today, Kenneh was there covering that gap. Just beats Rocky to my man of the match award.
Cabraja – Didn’t particularly impress in the wing back role and a couple of his crosses were horrendous.
Boyle – Delighted he got his goal today and hope his injury is only minor. Well marked, as always, he still managed to break free a couple of times.
Kuharevich – Getting better and better as the matches go by. Lovely touch, holds the ball up well and took his goal superbly. He might be considered by some as a target man but for me he is much more than that.
Melkersen – Showed good movement and always seems happy to take the ball, even in tight situations. Involved in the Henderson goal, too.
Campbell – I was surprised Josh was dropped to be honest, but his contribution today was of his usual energetic variety, especially defensively.
Stevenson – Another tick in the appearance’s column. Lewis is just so very tidy and dependable.
Fish – Defended well and looks good in the air.
Youan – I was happy to see that he now seems to be looking up before rampaging forward without having the thought of a pass in his mind.
Lee Johnson – Must surely be pleased with his players after such a dominant display.
Referee – Don Robertson made a few baffling decisions but by and large got things right (with the help of VAR for the penalty). Thought his booking of Porteous was harsh.
Around the six minute mark, Hibs looked to have opened the scoring when a sublime defence splitting pass from Newell found Cabraja on the left. The Croatian struck a sweet early ball into the middle and Kuharevich hit a low shot past the keeper. As will always be the case, VAR reviewed the goal including the build up and from that it was determined that Cabraja had been offside. I’ll be honest, it must have been a really close call and I’m looking forward to seeing the footage of it later. Such a pity really as the ball from Newell was sumptuous.
Just as they had against St Johnstone last time out, Hibs set about attacking the visitors’ goal at every opportunity and Porteous was a tad unlucky when his snap shot from a difficult angle flew just wide. Newell had set the chance up and it was Newell again that provided the next chance when his free kick found Kenneh who fired in an effort that curled just wide of the target. A couple of minutes later, St Mirren created an opening when a corner found its way to Ayunga, but the striker saw his shot saved well by Marshall at the expense of another corner. When that corner was delivered, Hibs struggled a bit to clear the danger and the ball reached Gogic who shot for goal but his attempt was blocked by Kenneh with the ball reaching Baccus whose effort was also blocked by a tight home defence.
A fantastic deep diagonal cross from Hanlon picked out Boyle on the right side and his fierce first time effort struck the Saints keeper and was cleared. To be fair, both sides were looking to play in an attacking style although it has to be said St Mirren’s forward play lacked an amount of quality and barely troubled the Hibs back three up to that point. A short corner to Hibs saw the ball reach Joe Newell and his cross into the middle resulted in a Bushiri header going just wide. St Mirren were trying to up their game and twice in the space of a minute might have found the opener. Curtis Main saw a sot charged down, but the ball came straight back to him, and his second effort forced a fine save by Marshall.
Around the twenty five minute mark a fantastic long range pass by Marshall found Boyle on the left. Looking up, Boyle saw Henderson breaking through the centre and played a neat pass into his path. The Hibs man evaded the challenge of a defender and from around twenty yards struck a shot with only the keeper to beat. Unfortunately, the effort was not a good one and the ball flew well wide of the far post. Soon after and following a period of consistent pressure by the home side, Kenneh met the ball on the half volley and his shot flew just wide of the post with their keeper rooted to the spot.
There followed several minutes of play where niggly fouls by both sides interrupted the flow until referee Don Robertson had seen enough and booked Gogic for a crude challenge on Newell. Henderson took the resultant free kick but smashed his shot straight into the defensive wall before Cadden hit an effort high and wide of the target. As the half moved into time added on, Kuharevich found Cadden in the box and as the receiver attempted a left footed shot there were loud shouts by both the fans and the players for a penalty. Don Robertson didn’t look interested but of course VAR came in to play and having reviewed the footage, Robertson awarded a penalty for hand ball against Richard Tait. After the obvious attempts by the St Mirren players to persuade the ref to change his mind, Martin Boyle stepped up to slam the ball home for a half time lead.
The first thing of note in the second half was the booking of David Marshall for deliberate time wasting when he prevented the visitors from gaining possession for a throw in. Immediately after, Erhahon tried his luck from a central position but was crowded out. A few minutes later, Henderson tussled with Erhahon and as the ball ran free, Boyle made to take control of it but was caught by a flying boot and minutes later had to go off injured with Melkersen replacing him. Soon after, the new man cushioned a pass into the path of Ewan Henderson but once again the Hibs man rushed his shot, and the ball flew high over the bar.
Five minutes later, another fine pass from Newell gave Kuharevich a sight of the goal but his effort flew wide at the near post. Hibs were pretty much dominating procedures at this point and doubled their lead in the sixty third minute when Henderson picked out Kuharevich inside the Saints eighteen yard box. Big Myko muscled his way past Gogic before steering a lovely left footed effort into the far corner of the net and a few minutes later, dogged determination by Kenneh saw him fight off three challenges before passing the ball to Melkersen who picked out Henderson on the edge of the Saints box and this time Ewan made no mistake with a thunderous drive into the top corner to make it 3-0. Immediately afterwards, Henderson was replaced by Josh Campbell and left the field to warm applause.
Hibs were still keen to push on and Kuharevich was unlucky to steer a header just wide from yet another Joe Newell cross. With about twenty minutes left, Ryan Porteous was booked for a nothing tackle on Curtis Main. It was the kind of challenge that generally earned just a word of warning and Ryan was clearly furious with Don Robertson for the card. Moments later, Charles Dunne committed a pretty nasty foul on Paul Hanlon and Porto was quick on the scene to voice his displeasure but thankfully Robertson wasn’t of a mind to book Ryan again with the Hibs man being subbed soon after. At the same time and with the points secure, Stevenson and Youan replaced Cabraja and a limping Kuharevich.
The game kind of petered out a bit as Hibs were secure in their lead and St Mirren looked a side that had accepted its fate. The last goalmouth action came in the final minute of time added on when Gogic headed wide from close range and the clean sheet remained in place.
The players
Marshall – Had two excellent and crucial saves in the first half but otherwise was largely untroubled by a toothless St Mirren attack.
Porteous – A couple of poorly hit passes apart, Ryan was solid pretty much throughout all of his time on the park. I also thought it was a wise move to sub him off as he was clearly an angry man!
Bushiri – One minor error apart I thought Rocky was excellent throughout. Commanding both on the ground and in the air and his distribution was right on the button too.
Hanlon – On several occasions, Paul’s reading of the game cut short dangerous looking attacks by the visitors.
Cadden – Chris just never stops, and his offensive display today was very good.
Henderson – A strange one for me. Missed two good chances and got his passing wrong a few times and yet he scored one and assisted in another.
Newell – Was prominent throughout and struck a fair few decent passes. I’d take him off free kicks and corners for a while though because too many were of a pretty poor standard. In general, though his contribution had far more positives than negatives.
Kenneh – I was absolutely delighted with Nohan’s contribution as he performed the deep lying midfielder role well. Our three at the back formation can leave gaps if any of the three venture forward but every time one of them did that today, Kenneh was there covering that gap. Just beats Rocky to my man of the match award.
Cabraja – Didn’t particularly impress in the wing back role and a couple of his crosses were horrendous.
Boyle – Delighted he got his goal today and hope his injury is only minor. Well marked, as always, he still managed to break free a couple of times.
Kuharevich – Getting better and better as the matches go by. Lovely touch, holds the ball up well and took his goal superbly. He might be considered by some as a target man but for me he is much more than that.
Melkersen – Showed good movement and always seems happy to take the ball, even in tight situations. Involved in the Henderson goal, too.
Campbell – I was surprised Josh was dropped to be honest, but his contribution today was of his usual energetic variety, especially defensively.
Stevenson – Another tick in the appearance’s column. Lewis is just so very tidy and dependable.
Fish – Defended well and looks good in the air.
Youan – I was happy to see that he now seems to be looking up before rampaging forward without having the thought of a pass in his mind.
Lee Johnson – Must surely be pleased with his players after such a dominant display.
Referee – Don Robertson made a few baffling decisions but by and large got things right (with the help of VAR for the penalty). Thought his booking of Porteous was harsh.