Jonnyboy
15-12-2022, 10:29 PM
I’ve enjoyed the World Cup and am very much looking forward to the final but, I’ll be honest, I’m glad Hibs are back up and running again. Despite the poor form in the last seven games, I still look forward to watching those green and white strips in action.
It’s difficult to imagine that we could have faced a tougher opening fixture after the World Cup break than to face the Rangers at Ibrox. They had a new manager and a sell-out crowd, so it was going to be interesting to see how Lee Johnson’s men approached the game. Prior to kick off the starting eleven was announced and I struggled to make sense of it if truth be told. We seemed to have a helluva lot of centre backs listed but all became clear when Ryan Porteous took up a position in the centre of midfield. I’m assuming Johnson wanted Hibs to have more of a physical presence in the middle of the park and Ryan certainly offers that. He can also ping a decent pass, is good in the air and is mobile enough to get around the pitch. I thought it worked for the most part but more on Ryan later.
Hibs started very brightly and Youan tested McGregor with a dipping effort that the keeper had to tip over the bar. From the resultant corner, delivered by Joe Newell, Porteous found himself in acres of space inside the six yard box and rose unopposed to hammer a header beyond the helpless McGregor. What a start, eight minutes gone, and Hibs were leading at Ibrox. The home side looked rattled and just a few minutes later, Porteous smashed a shot just over the bar under challenge from Tillman.
The Rangers fans were getting restless but were soon cheering as their side drew level on the quarter hour. A very poor headed clearance from Paul Hanlon went straight to a Rangers player and from there the ball was worked across the edge of our box to Sakala who drove a low shot through the legs of both Cadden and Bushiri, past Marshall and in to the far corner. SKY TV were showing Johnson’s reaction to this set back and he was clearly having a go at Hanlon for the weak header. Meanwhile, the main camera turned up just in time to see Kevin Nisbet smash in a second goal for Hibs, just 53 seconds after Sakala had levelled. The home fans were stunned and so was I to be fair! The Hibs fans in the stadium were over the moon.
The hosts were stung and for a period they looked very nervous on the ball, especially at the back but of course they still pressed forward when they could, and Morelos should have done better than to fire a Ryan Kent pass well over the bar. Soon after, the portly Columbian fouled Cadden after the ball had gone but referee Nick Walsh didn’t see much wrong with that. On the half hour, a superb through ball from Porteous set Josh Campbell free and Josh was so very unlucky when his left footed strike beat McGregor but hit the outside of the post and then the side netting. Had that gone in, Hibs would have been leading 3-1 and the home fans would have been right on their backs.
Shots in quick succession from Tavernier and Kamara were both blocked before they could trouble Marshall and then Nick Walsh decided to book Kyle Magennis for a challenge very similar to one committed by Tillman earlier in the game. Tillman escaped punishment. The home fans were growing more and more restless, and the home players were joining in by rushing everything with Sakala and Lundstrom seeing their efforts thwarted. Five minutes from the break, a cracking through ball from Campbell found Youan who was in one on one with the keeper, but the Hibs man shot straight at McGregor. A tame effort. With half time on the horizon, Hibs were defending well and shots from Jack, Morelos and Sands all failed to reach Marshall, let alone trouble him. The Rangers players shuffled off at half time to a chorus of boo’s and that was music to my ears, but I knew they’d get their ears bent at half time and that they’d be a different proposition in the second. What I didn’t anticipate was just how different they would be.
Let’s be honest here, Hibs were second best for the entire second half and I’m not sure I can offer good reasons why. We just never got going and whenever we won the ball, we just gave it straight back to them. We sat so deep that their half of the pitch was hardly ever in play. Such was the pressure being created, it seemed only a matter of time before they would equalise and sure enough, Hanlon let Ryan Jack get goal side of him and the Rangers man had an easy tap in from a Tillman cross. A couple of minutes later, Porteous clumsily ran into the back of Kamara and Nick Walsh couldn’t wait to get the yellow card out. It was a nothing challenge, one of many that had been committed by players on both sides without punishment, but the ref was Nick Walsh, and the ‘offender’ was Ryan Porteous – we’ve seen that movie before. Thanks to Walsh, Porteous will now miss the New Year Derby, assuming he’s still here.
It was 2-2 now and Hibs were hanging on and just a couple of minutes after that booking, Rangers took the lead. Once again Hanlon lost his man as Tillman left him for dead before squaring the ball to Morelos who increased his number of goals against Hibs to ten. It was sickening but entirely predictable. I sat there wondering what Lee Johnson could do to get us back in the game and given we struggled until the end it seems clear he was also sitting there wondering what he could do.
With around twenty minutes left, Magennis was replaced by Melkersen, but the lad saw little of the ball because it was mainly in the Hibs final third. I could list all the attempts they made to score again but it depresses me just to think about that! Ten minutes to go and a tiring Kevin Nisbet was replaced by Aiden McGeady, and you can imagine the welcome he got from the Govan Loyal. With four minutes left, Hibs replaced Cadden, Hanlon and Cabraja with McKirdy, Henderson and Stevenson. Why, I’m not so sure as they had little chance to make any positive difference.
The players
Marshall – Little or no chance with any of the goals.
Cadden – I felt for him at times because he was left with no support when facing the duo of Kent and Devine.
Rocky – Tonight, Rocky was just that, rocky.
Hanlon – Culpable at all three goals tells its own story.
Cabraja – Poor tonight and hit another one of his shanked crosses that threatened the upper tier patrons in the Broomloan Stand.
Magennis – Put in a great shift and will be the better for those minutes in his legs.
Porteous – Seems strange writing what I thought of Ryan in midfield but over the piece I thought he was fine. A couple of wayward passes but also a good few pinpoint passes. His Sauzee at Tynecastle charge down the pitch after he scored was memorable because he was clearly signalling to the fans that they should tell him now what they thought of him leaving.
Newell – Great corner for the opening goal and whilst we were on top, he was playing really well but as soon as Rangers started to take control he did his disappearing act again.
Youan – I’ve no idea how he lasted ninety minutes. Seems scared of the physical stuff and should have buried his one on one chance.
Campbell – Josh is not everyone’s cup of tea, which is fair enough, but he was the best Hibs man on the park tonight in my opinion.
Nisbet – Took his goal brilliantly, did very well in the air and looks like he’s out to show us all what we’ve been missing.
Melkersen – Arrived when we were pinned inside our own 18 yard box and saw little of the ball as a consequence.
McGeady – Hauled down by Scott Arfield as he looked to break free – welcome back to Scottish football Aiden.
McKirdy – Ran about a lot but too little time to help make a positive difference.
Henderson – Four passes, only one reached a team mate.
Stevenson – Booked after two challenges!
Lee Johnson – Strangely, I guess he’ll be mostly happy with what he saw tonight. We certainly didn’t get the horsing some were predicting, and we held our own for most of the first half but games last 90 minutes, so he needs to elongate the positivity.
Referee – Nick Walsh. I can’t be bothered discussing him, he’s just a typical grade one Scottish referee
It’s difficult to imagine that we could have faced a tougher opening fixture after the World Cup break than to face the Rangers at Ibrox. They had a new manager and a sell-out crowd, so it was going to be interesting to see how Lee Johnson’s men approached the game. Prior to kick off the starting eleven was announced and I struggled to make sense of it if truth be told. We seemed to have a helluva lot of centre backs listed but all became clear when Ryan Porteous took up a position in the centre of midfield. I’m assuming Johnson wanted Hibs to have more of a physical presence in the middle of the park and Ryan certainly offers that. He can also ping a decent pass, is good in the air and is mobile enough to get around the pitch. I thought it worked for the most part but more on Ryan later.
Hibs started very brightly and Youan tested McGregor with a dipping effort that the keeper had to tip over the bar. From the resultant corner, delivered by Joe Newell, Porteous found himself in acres of space inside the six yard box and rose unopposed to hammer a header beyond the helpless McGregor. What a start, eight minutes gone, and Hibs were leading at Ibrox. The home side looked rattled and just a few minutes later, Porteous smashed a shot just over the bar under challenge from Tillman.
The Rangers fans were getting restless but were soon cheering as their side drew level on the quarter hour. A very poor headed clearance from Paul Hanlon went straight to a Rangers player and from there the ball was worked across the edge of our box to Sakala who drove a low shot through the legs of both Cadden and Bushiri, past Marshall and in to the far corner. SKY TV were showing Johnson’s reaction to this set back and he was clearly having a go at Hanlon for the weak header. Meanwhile, the main camera turned up just in time to see Kevin Nisbet smash in a second goal for Hibs, just 53 seconds after Sakala had levelled. The home fans were stunned and so was I to be fair! The Hibs fans in the stadium were over the moon.
The hosts were stung and for a period they looked very nervous on the ball, especially at the back but of course they still pressed forward when they could, and Morelos should have done better than to fire a Ryan Kent pass well over the bar. Soon after, the portly Columbian fouled Cadden after the ball had gone but referee Nick Walsh didn’t see much wrong with that. On the half hour, a superb through ball from Porteous set Josh Campbell free and Josh was so very unlucky when his left footed strike beat McGregor but hit the outside of the post and then the side netting. Had that gone in, Hibs would have been leading 3-1 and the home fans would have been right on their backs.
Shots in quick succession from Tavernier and Kamara were both blocked before they could trouble Marshall and then Nick Walsh decided to book Kyle Magennis for a challenge very similar to one committed by Tillman earlier in the game. Tillman escaped punishment. The home fans were growing more and more restless, and the home players were joining in by rushing everything with Sakala and Lundstrom seeing their efforts thwarted. Five minutes from the break, a cracking through ball from Campbell found Youan who was in one on one with the keeper, but the Hibs man shot straight at McGregor. A tame effort. With half time on the horizon, Hibs were defending well and shots from Jack, Morelos and Sands all failed to reach Marshall, let alone trouble him. The Rangers players shuffled off at half time to a chorus of boo’s and that was music to my ears, but I knew they’d get their ears bent at half time and that they’d be a different proposition in the second. What I didn’t anticipate was just how different they would be.
Let’s be honest here, Hibs were second best for the entire second half and I’m not sure I can offer good reasons why. We just never got going and whenever we won the ball, we just gave it straight back to them. We sat so deep that their half of the pitch was hardly ever in play. Such was the pressure being created, it seemed only a matter of time before they would equalise and sure enough, Hanlon let Ryan Jack get goal side of him and the Rangers man had an easy tap in from a Tillman cross. A couple of minutes later, Porteous clumsily ran into the back of Kamara and Nick Walsh couldn’t wait to get the yellow card out. It was a nothing challenge, one of many that had been committed by players on both sides without punishment, but the ref was Nick Walsh, and the ‘offender’ was Ryan Porteous – we’ve seen that movie before. Thanks to Walsh, Porteous will now miss the New Year Derby, assuming he’s still here.
It was 2-2 now and Hibs were hanging on and just a couple of minutes after that booking, Rangers took the lead. Once again Hanlon lost his man as Tillman left him for dead before squaring the ball to Morelos who increased his number of goals against Hibs to ten. It was sickening but entirely predictable. I sat there wondering what Lee Johnson could do to get us back in the game and given we struggled until the end it seems clear he was also sitting there wondering what he could do.
With around twenty minutes left, Magennis was replaced by Melkersen, but the lad saw little of the ball because it was mainly in the Hibs final third. I could list all the attempts they made to score again but it depresses me just to think about that! Ten minutes to go and a tiring Kevin Nisbet was replaced by Aiden McGeady, and you can imagine the welcome he got from the Govan Loyal. With four minutes left, Hibs replaced Cadden, Hanlon and Cabraja with McKirdy, Henderson and Stevenson. Why, I’m not so sure as they had little chance to make any positive difference.
The players
Marshall – Little or no chance with any of the goals.
Cadden – I felt for him at times because he was left with no support when facing the duo of Kent and Devine.
Rocky – Tonight, Rocky was just that, rocky.
Hanlon – Culpable at all three goals tells its own story.
Cabraja – Poor tonight and hit another one of his shanked crosses that threatened the upper tier patrons in the Broomloan Stand.
Magennis – Put in a great shift and will be the better for those minutes in his legs.
Porteous – Seems strange writing what I thought of Ryan in midfield but over the piece I thought he was fine. A couple of wayward passes but also a good few pinpoint passes. His Sauzee at Tynecastle charge down the pitch after he scored was memorable because he was clearly signalling to the fans that they should tell him now what they thought of him leaving.
Newell – Great corner for the opening goal and whilst we were on top, he was playing really well but as soon as Rangers started to take control he did his disappearing act again.
Youan – I’ve no idea how he lasted ninety minutes. Seems scared of the physical stuff and should have buried his one on one chance.
Campbell – Josh is not everyone’s cup of tea, which is fair enough, but he was the best Hibs man on the park tonight in my opinion.
Nisbet – Took his goal brilliantly, did very well in the air and looks like he’s out to show us all what we’ve been missing.
Melkersen – Arrived when we were pinned inside our own 18 yard box and saw little of the ball as a consequence.
McGeady – Hauled down by Scott Arfield as he looked to break free – welcome back to Scottish football Aiden.
McKirdy – Ran about a lot but too little time to help make a positive difference.
Henderson – Four passes, only one reached a team mate.
Stevenson – Booked after two challenges!
Lee Johnson – Strangely, I guess he’ll be mostly happy with what he saw tonight. We certainly didn’t get the horsing some were predicting, and we held our own for most of the first half but games last 90 minutes, so he needs to elongate the positivity.
Referee – Nick Walsh. I can’t be bothered discussing him, he’s just a typical grade one Scottish referee