Jonnyboy
28-01-2023, 07:07 PM
Some games are more enjoyable than others to write up on and today’s 6-0 demolition of Aberdeen certainly puts this one into the enjoyable bracket as every single player played their part in the demolition. The Dons were poor, finally costing their manager his job, but though the media will focus on Aberdeen’s shortcomings and understandably so, it should not take away from the fact that Hibs played some excellent football and were fully committed from the first minute to the last.
With Porto’s departure, the injury to Rocky and the question of whether or not Kevin Nisbet would feature after his aborted move to Millwall, it was anybody’s guess as to how Hibs would line up. As it turned out, Will Fish partnered Paul Hanlon in the middle of the back four whilst Harry McKirdy took up a place in the front three. Surprisingly, to me at least, McKirdy played on the right of the three with Youan through the middle.
Hibs started strongly and inside the first five minutes, Josh Campbell required treatment for what looked like a hip injury. Thankfully, he was able to continue and would go on to earn the sponsors’ and my man of the match award. Soon after that incident, McGeady had the first shot at goal from a Stevenson pass but the ball was always rising and cleared the bar. Newell then set up Cadden, but the latter saw his shot blocked by Scales. The pressure was building and in ten minutes, a Youan drive looked destined for the net but was pushed away by Joe Lewis. Josh Campbell was quickest to react and fired an angled drive into the net from around eight yards.
Five minutes later, Hibs made it two when a fabulous cross from a corner by Joe Newell picked out Campbell some twelve yards from goal and Josh bulleted a header past Lewis pretty much uncontested. It was clearly a training ground move and boy did it come off! The Dons were reeling and their back line got no peace from the ever mobile front three of Hibs. The visitors did get forward a couple of times and McRorie got a shot away but it was blocked by Hanlon. Another Newell corner found Fish, but the big defender steered his header wide of the target.
Jeggo, who had been providing good cover for the back four was then clattered into by Jonny Hayes but recovered well after treatment. Hayes got a yellow with some thinking it was lucky it wasn’t a red. Aberdeen were offering very little in attack but it was impressive how Hibs worked hard to close them down with McKirdy and Youan in particular snapping at the heels of Stewart and Scales. With half time approaching, Hibs looked to break away from defending a corner and Graeme Shinnie was booked for a hard challenge on McKirdy, preventing the Hibs man from breaking free. That challenge may well have saved a goal scoring break, but it didn’t stop Hibs from going 3-0 up right on the interval when another fine corner from Newell picked out Youan who leapt the highest to head the ball past Lewis from close range.
As expected, Aberdeen came out looking a bit more purposeful and their whole side was now playing ten yards further up and that earned them more in terms of possession but still they couldn’t threaten Marshall in goal. A few niggly fouls by both sides together with the odd strange decision by the referee meant the game wasn’t flowing as well as it had prior to the break and on the hour mark, Jim Goodwin decided to try and kickstart his team by replacing Kennedy and Clarkson with Roberts and Coulson but in truth their arrival made little difference to their side’s play. Soon after that change, Scales was booked for a poor challenge on Youan and from the resultant free kick, McGeady struck the wall with a powerful drive.
Ross McCrorie had offered some resistance to the onslaught by galloping clear but his progress was halted by Campbell who was booked for the challenge. A corner soon after reached Scales but his header sailed high over the bar. With around twenty minutes left, McGeady was replaced by Nisbet and left the field to a deserved standing ovation. McKirdy, who had run himself ragged was then replaced by Lewis Miller who arrived just in time to witness a fourth goal for Hibs. Newell won possession deep and played the ball to Youan who cleverly backheeled the ball to Campbell. Josh played a cross field ball towards Nisbet. The closest Aberdeen defender failed to cut out the pass and Nisbet strode forward from around thirty five yards before drawing Joe Lewis towards him and then striking the ball low into the net.
A few minutes later, Fish was unlucky with a headed effort and then Lee Johnson decided to make some changes by replacing Cadden and Newell with youngsters Oscar MacIntyre and Josh O’Connor. Duk, who had dived and fouled his way through the match was then booked for a rash challenge on Will Fish and then Nisbet was booked for pulling Shinnie back as the Aberdeen man tried to go past him. A triple substitution by the visitors saw Hayes, Shinnie and Miovski replaced by Myslovic, Barron and Duncan but the game was done by then and matters only got worse for the Dons when Scales fouled O’Connor in the box for a second yellow, a red and conceding a penalty. I expected Nisbet to step up but watched as Kevin handed the ball to Campbell. Josh scored easily to earn his hat trick and the match ball.
Going in to time added on I was astonished to see so many Aberdeen fans were still in the ground and suspected they were there to rage at their side and manager. Sadly for them, they also witnessed a sixth goal when a Josh Campbell free kick found a totally unmarked Will Fish and the big defender smacked a header past a despondent Joe Lewis to complete his misery.
I’ve no doubt that some will say we won so well because Aberdeen were so poor and whilst it is undeniable that the Dons were shambolic, I think it is also undeniable that Hibs played extremely well and were both worthy of the win and the ovation from the home support at the end of the game.
The players
Marshall – Not a lot to do but I was impressed by his collection of high balls into the box as he’s not been so prevalent doing that recently.
Cadden – Energetic and willing to run that line down the right I thought he had his best game for a while.
Fish – After all the negativity following his error against Hearts I thought he was as solid as a rock and was pleased when he nabbed the sixth goal.
Hanlon – Paul hasn’t been at his best but he was solid today and I was heartened to see how many times he broke down their attacks by anticipating a pass forward.
Stevenson – Defended like his life depended upon it and on a number of occasions put in attack stopping tackles.
Jeggo – Played the holding role exceptionally well and his presence allowed his midfield team mates to get forward more often.
McKirdy – Delighted the lad got a fine ovation as he went off injured. Worked his socks off and did more than his fair share of tracking back to good effect.
Newell – I’m not always a big fan of Joe’s but he was excellent today and looks much more effective when he’s allowed to break forward knowing that Jeggo is covering his back.
Campbell – I keep reading on here that ‘Campbell’s alright, but we need better, when in fact he is way better than ‘alright’ and his display today underlines that.
McGeady – Defenders just never know which side he is going to pass them on. A quality footballer who will offer us a lot in the remaining games this season.
Youan – When he’s at it, he’s a joy to watch and he was definitely at it today.
Nisbet – All the ‘outside noise’ apart he proved that if you give him a sniff he’ll punish you.
Miller – Looked slow at times but he’s been out for months so he should be forgiven that.
MacIntyre – Was at home playing on the left and didn’t look out of place.
O’Connor – His dogged determination and effective shielding of the ball led to Aberdeen conceding a penalty.
Lee Johnson – Said he loves it when a plan comes together and on this occasion it did.
Referee – Craig Napier made a few baffling decisions but overall, I thought he did ok.
With Porto’s departure, the injury to Rocky and the question of whether or not Kevin Nisbet would feature after his aborted move to Millwall, it was anybody’s guess as to how Hibs would line up. As it turned out, Will Fish partnered Paul Hanlon in the middle of the back four whilst Harry McKirdy took up a place in the front three. Surprisingly, to me at least, McKirdy played on the right of the three with Youan through the middle.
Hibs started strongly and inside the first five minutes, Josh Campbell required treatment for what looked like a hip injury. Thankfully, he was able to continue and would go on to earn the sponsors’ and my man of the match award. Soon after that incident, McGeady had the first shot at goal from a Stevenson pass but the ball was always rising and cleared the bar. Newell then set up Cadden, but the latter saw his shot blocked by Scales. The pressure was building and in ten minutes, a Youan drive looked destined for the net but was pushed away by Joe Lewis. Josh Campbell was quickest to react and fired an angled drive into the net from around eight yards.
Five minutes later, Hibs made it two when a fabulous cross from a corner by Joe Newell picked out Campbell some twelve yards from goal and Josh bulleted a header past Lewis pretty much uncontested. It was clearly a training ground move and boy did it come off! The Dons were reeling and their back line got no peace from the ever mobile front three of Hibs. The visitors did get forward a couple of times and McRorie got a shot away but it was blocked by Hanlon. Another Newell corner found Fish, but the big defender steered his header wide of the target.
Jeggo, who had been providing good cover for the back four was then clattered into by Jonny Hayes but recovered well after treatment. Hayes got a yellow with some thinking it was lucky it wasn’t a red. Aberdeen were offering very little in attack but it was impressive how Hibs worked hard to close them down with McKirdy and Youan in particular snapping at the heels of Stewart and Scales. With half time approaching, Hibs looked to break away from defending a corner and Graeme Shinnie was booked for a hard challenge on McKirdy, preventing the Hibs man from breaking free. That challenge may well have saved a goal scoring break, but it didn’t stop Hibs from going 3-0 up right on the interval when another fine corner from Newell picked out Youan who leapt the highest to head the ball past Lewis from close range.
As expected, Aberdeen came out looking a bit more purposeful and their whole side was now playing ten yards further up and that earned them more in terms of possession but still they couldn’t threaten Marshall in goal. A few niggly fouls by both sides together with the odd strange decision by the referee meant the game wasn’t flowing as well as it had prior to the break and on the hour mark, Jim Goodwin decided to try and kickstart his team by replacing Kennedy and Clarkson with Roberts and Coulson but in truth their arrival made little difference to their side’s play. Soon after that change, Scales was booked for a poor challenge on Youan and from the resultant free kick, McGeady struck the wall with a powerful drive.
Ross McCrorie had offered some resistance to the onslaught by galloping clear but his progress was halted by Campbell who was booked for the challenge. A corner soon after reached Scales but his header sailed high over the bar. With around twenty minutes left, McGeady was replaced by Nisbet and left the field to a deserved standing ovation. McKirdy, who had run himself ragged was then replaced by Lewis Miller who arrived just in time to witness a fourth goal for Hibs. Newell won possession deep and played the ball to Youan who cleverly backheeled the ball to Campbell. Josh played a cross field ball towards Nisbet. The closest Aberdeen defender failed to cut out the pass and Nisbet strode forward from around thirty five yards before drawing Joe Lewis towards him and then striking the ball low into the net.
A few minutes later, Fish was unlucky with a headed effort and then Lee Johnson decided to make some changes by replacing Cadden and Newell with youngsters Oscar MacIntyre and Josh O’Connor. Duk, who had dived and fouled his way through the match was then booked for a rash challenge on Will Fish and then Nisbet was booked for pulling Shinnie back as the Aberdeen man tried to go past him. A triple substitution by the visitors saw Hayes, Shinnie and Miovski replaced by Myslovic, Barron and Duncan but the game was done by then and matters only got worse for the Dons when Scales fouled O’Connor in the box for a second yellow, a red and conceding a penalty. I expected Nisbet to step up but watched as Kevin handed the ball to Campbell. Josh scored easily to earn his hat trick and the match ball.
Going in to time added on I was astonished to see so many Aberdeen fans were still in the ground and suspected they were there to rage at their side and manager. Sadly for them, they also witnessed a sixth goal when a Josh Campbell free kick found a totally unmarked Will Fish and the big defender smacked a header past a despondent Joe Lewis to complete his misery.
I’ve no doubt that some will say we won so well because Aberdeen were so poor and whilst it is undeniable that the Dons were shambolic, I think it is also undeniable that Hibs played extremely well and were both worthy of the win and the ovation from the home support at the end of the game.
The players
Marshall – Not a lot to do but I was impressed by his collection of high balls into the box as he’s not been so prevalent doing that recently.
Cadden – Energetic and willing to run that line down the right I thought he had his best game for a while.
Fish – After all the negativity following his error against Hearts I thought he was as solid as a rock and was pleased when he nabbed the sixth goal.
Hanlon – Paul hasn’t been at his best but he was solid today and I was heartened to see how many times he broke down their attacks by anticipating a pass forward.
Stevenson – Defended like his life depended upon it and on a number of occasions put in attack stopping tackles.
Jeggo – Played the holding role exceptionally well and his presence allowed his midfield team mates to get forward more often.
McKirdy – Delighted the lad got a fine ovation as he went off injured. Worked his socks off and did more than his fair share of tracking back to good effect.
Newell – I’m not always a big fan of Joe’s but he was excellent today and looks much more effective when he’s allowed to break forward knowing that Jeggo is covering his back.
Campbell – I keep reading on here that ‘Campbell’s alright, but we need better, when in fact he is way better than ‘alright’ and his display today underlines that.
McGeady – Defenders just never know which side he is going to pass them on. A quality footballer who will offer us a lot in the remaining games this season.
Youan – When he’s at it, he’s a joy to watch and he was definitely at it today.
Nisbet – All the ‘outside noise’ apart he proved that if you give him a sniff he’ll punish you.
Miller – Looked slow at times but he’s been out for months so he should be forgiven that.
MacIntyre – Was at home playing on the left and didn’t look out of place.
O’Connor – His dogged determination and effective shielding of the ball led to Aberdeen conceding a penalty.
Lee Johnson – Said he loves it when a plan comes together and on this occasion it did.
Referee – Craig Napier made a few baffling decisions but overall, I thought he did ok.