Jonnyboy
28-12-2022, 10:17 PM
Having won 4-0 last time out, it was no surprise that Lee Johnson named an unchanged starting eleven to face league leaders Celtic at Easter Road and for the first 15 minutes or so I was excited to see us playing on the front foot and more than holding our own but that was pretty much it for Hibs as the visitors highlighted a huge gulf in class and could easily have won by a bigger margin. There was just no living with their midfield and the constant movement of their front men whilst their defenders weathered our early storm and denied us any real opportunities for the remainder of the game. Basic errors cost us dear, and they were the kind of errors that have been only too obvious for a while now.
As I said, we started well enough, winning a couple of early corners and having a Cadden goal disallowed for offside. Soon after that, Maeda missed a glorious chance when he stooped to header a crossed ball wide of the target when going with his foot made more sense. Mooy was having a great effect in the Celtic midfield and should have done better than scooping a shot high and wide from a good position before, on the fifteen minute mark, Youan wriggled free but witnessed his shot at goal, though on target, being blocked by Starfelt. A few minutes later, Josh Campbell came close, but the ball flew wide of the mark.
Celtic began to dominate, and Maeda again had a chance which was thwarted before he then supplied a cross to Kyogo, but the Japanese striker couldn’t beat Marshall with his attempt. Just three minutes later, the visitors took the lead when Cadden failed to cut out a cross low into the box. The ball struck Newell on the thigh and fell kindly to Mooy who blasted it past Marshall from around ten yards.
Celtic were piling on the pressure, looking for a second with Hibs offering next to nothing going forward where Youan and Nisbet were starved of meaningful possession and with ten minutes to go until the interval, Celtic struck again. Cadden slipped allowing Maeda to run free and with Cadden out of the picture, both Porteous and Magennis inexplicably chose to cover the overlapping run provided by Taylor. Their rush to cover a possible pass opened up a huge gap for Maeda to run into and strike a sublime volley beyond Marshall and into the net. It was poor defending, that’s for sure.
Three minutes before the break, a long throw from Newell reached Hanlon in a crowded penalty area and the Hibs man poked his foot at the ball only to see it strike the base of the post with Hart stranded. Somehow, Hibs managed to survive until half time without conceding again although Celtic were cutting through the defence at will.
A weak effort from Abada didn’t trouble Marshall before Hibs made their way forward and a superb Newell cross picked up an unmarked Nisbet in the six yard box, but the Hibs striker headed well wide of the target with the goal at his mercy. A few minutes later, Cadden was beaten by a fabulous Mooy ball in behind him resulting in a cross that flew across the goal and was deflected up onto the outstretched arm of Lewis Stevenson. A penalty all day long and this time, Marshall went the wrong way with Mooy getting his second goal of the game. Just three minutes later, it was 4-0 when Hatate found Kyogo and this time the striker scored. It was appalling defending with Paul Hanlon guilty of ball watching and completely losing the man he had been marking. It was no surprise then that moments later, Hanlon was subbed off and replaced by Nohan Kenneh with Porteous dropping in to the back four and the new man in to midfield. At the same time, Nisbet was replaced by Harry McKirdy and Magennis by McGeady.
When Josh Campbell took a sore one in a late challenge by Giakoumakis I thought we might see the first yellow of the game, but the ref settled for a stern word or two to the Celtic substitute. Not content with four, Celtic went looking for more and Hatate should have done better from good position but skied his shot over the bar. A Joe Newell effort offered some hope but his right footed shot sailed harmlessly into the arms of Joe Hart. With ten minutes left I was quite frankly stunned to see Josh Campbell replaced by Henderson. Campbell had been one of only a few who was giving his all whilst Henderson would have been as well just staying on the bench. Just after that change, Marshall made a fine save, diving low to his left to stop O’Riley scoring from close range. Youan, who was another giving everything, was unlucky to see a decent effort blocked but that chance was coming amongst a flurry of half chances for Celtic. Jota had come off the bench to replace Maeda and saw his angled shot fly past the far post before Bushiri did exceptionally well to deflect a cross out for a corner as Jota waited to make contact for a shot.
I’ll be honest, I was relieved when the final whistle went as things could only have gotten worse had the game lasted longer than it did. Only three players can be singled out for any sort of praise whilst the others just failed to turn up or to do their jobs properly. I’ve not nominated a man of the match but the three who deserve a mention are Youan, Campbell and Bushiri.
The players
Marshall – Had no real chance with any of the goals but flapped at a couple of crosses that could have cost us dear.
Cadden – Had an absolute nightmare and was run ragged by Maeda but to be fair he was often left on his own with no assistance from a midfield player.
Bushiri – We lost four goals but it could have been more had Bushiri not been alert to danger on a few occasions.
Hanlon – Losing his man for the fourth goal was schoolboy defending.
Stevenson – Did better that our right back and was unlucky at the penalty.
Porteous – Despite hitting a couple of quite wonderful cross field passes, Ryan was often found guilty of being in the wrong place at the wrong time in his midfield role.
Newell – Was involved a fair amount without actually doing anything noticeably outstanding.
Magennis – Poor for the most part he really should have been offering more protection to Cadden.
Campbell – Gave his all as ever and unless he was injured should never have been replaced by Henderson.
Youan – Not so high profile as against Livingston but still managed to create a few problems for Celtic and defended back when needed.
Nisbet – Got no service other than for the header he missed.
McKirdy – Ran about a lot.
Kenneh – Struggled against a top quality midfield.
McGeady – Hardly touched the ball.
Henderson – Words fail me.
Lee Johnson – I guess he had worked out his plan but it didn’t work, thanks mainly to the majority of his players struggling against a top side.
Referee – Alan Muir had an easy night of it and didn’t have to issue a single yellow card.
As I said, we started well enough, winning a couple of early corners and having a Cadden goal disallowed for offside. Soon after that, Maeda missed a glorious chance when he stooped to header a crossed ball wide of the target when going with his foot made more sense. Mooy was having a great effect in the Celtic midfield and should have done better than scooping a shot high and wide from a good position before, on the fifteen minute mark, Youan wriggled free but witnessed his shot at goal, though on target, being blocked by Starfelt. A few minutes later, Josh Campbell came close, but the ball flew wide of the mark.
Celtic began to dominate, and Maeda again had a chance which was thwarted before he then supplied a cross to Kyogo, but the Japanese striker couldn’t beat Marshall with his attempt. Just three minutes later, the visitors took the lead when Cadden failed to cut out a cross low into the box. The ball struck Newell on the thigh and fell kindly to Mooy who blasted it past Marshall from around ten yards.
Celtic were piling on the pressure, looking for a second with Hibs offering next to nothing going forward where Youan and Nisbet were starved of meaningful possession and with ten minutes to go until the interval, Celtic struck again. Cadden slipped allowing Maeda to run free and with Cadden out of the picture, both Porteous and Magennis inexplicably chose to cover the overlapping run provided by Taylor. Their rush to cover a possible pass opened up a huge gap for Maeda to run into and strike a sublime volley beyond Marshall and into the net. It was poor defending, that’s for sure.
Three minutes before the break, a long throw from Newell reached Hanlon in a crowded penalty area and the Hibs man poked his foot at the ball only to see it strike the base of the post with Hart stranded. Somehow, Hibs managed to survive until half time without conceding again although Celtic were cutting through the defence at will.
A weak effort from Abada didn’t trouble Marshall before Hibs made their way forward and a superb Newell cross picked up an unmarked Nisbet in the six yard box, but the Hibs striker headed well wide of the target with the goal at his mercy. A few minutes later, Cadden was beaten by a fabulous Mooy ball in behind him resulting in a cross that flew across the goal and was deflected up onto the outstretched arm of Lewis Stevenson. A penalty all day long and this time, Marshall went the wrong way with Mooy getting his second goal of the game. Just three minutes later, it was 4-0 when Hatate found Kyogo and this time the striker scored. It was appalling defending with Paul Hanlon guilty of ball watching and completely losing the man he had been marking. It was no surprise then that moments later, Hanlon was subbed off and replaced by Nohan Kenneh with Porteous dropping in to the back four and the new man in to midfield. At the same time, Nisbet was replaced by Harry McKirdy and Magennis by McGeady.
When Josh Campbell took a sore one in a late challenge by Giakoumakis I thought we might see the first yellow of the game, but the ref settled for a stern word or two to the Celtic substitute. Not content with four, Celtic went looking for more and Hatate should have done better from good position but skied his shot over the bar. A Joe Newell effort offered some hope but his right footed shot sailed harmlessly into the arms of Joe Hart. With ten minutes left I was quite frankly stunned to see Josh Campbell replaced by Henderson. Campbell had been one of only a few who was giving his all whilst Henderson would have been as well just staying on the bench. Just after that change, Marshall made a fine save, diving low to his left to stop O’Riley scoring from close range. Youan, who was another giving everything, was unlucky to see a decent effort blocked but that chance was coming amongst a flurry of half chances for Celtic. Jota had come off the bench to replace Maeda and saw his angled shot fly past the far post before Bushiri did exceptionally well to deflect a cross out for a corner as Jota waited to make contact for a shot.
I’ll be honest, I was relieved when the final whistle went as things could only have gotten worse had the game lasted longer than it did. Only three players can be singled out for any sort of praise whilst the others just failed to turn up or to do their jobs properly. I’ve not nominated a man of the match but the three who deserve a mention are Youan, Campbell and Bushiri.
The players
Marshall – Had no real chance with any of the goals but flapped at a couple of crosses that could have cost us dear.
Cadden – Had an absolute nightmare and was run ragged by Maeda but to be fair he was often left on his own with no assistance from a midfield player.
Bushiri – We lost four goals but it could have been more had Bushiri not been alert to danger on a few occasions.
Hanlon – Losing his man for the fourth goal was schoolboy defending.
Stevenson – Did better that our right back and was unlucky at the penalty.
Porteous – Despite hitting a couple of quite wonderful cross field passes, Ryan was often found guilty of being in the wrong place at the wrong time in his midfield role.
Newell – Was involved a fair amount without actually doing anything noticeably outstanding.
Magennis – Poor for the most part he really should have been offering more protection to Cadden.
Campbell – Gave his all as ever and unless he was injured should never have been replaced by Henderson.
Youan – Not so high profile as against Livingston but still managed to create a few problems for Celtic and defended back when needed.
Nisbet – Got no service other than for the header he missed.
McKirdy – Ran about a lot.
Kenneh – Struggled against a top quality midfield.
McGeady – Hardly touched the ball.
Henderson – Words fail me.
Lee Johnson – I guess he had worked out his plan but it didn’t work, thanks mainly to the majority of his players struggling against a top side.
Referee – Alan Muir had an easy night of it and didn’t have to issue a single yellow card.