HMK Rijeka

Be interested in your thoughts on tonight’s game Rijeka Fan.
reading the forums you posted earlier in the thread some unhappy, and perhaps surprised fans

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Originally Posted by MacBean

Be interested in your thoughts on tonight’s game Rijeka Fan.
reading the forums you posted earlier in the thread some unhappy, and perhaps surprised fans

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And you could have warned us they would run out wearing maroon. Put me off my tea.

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Originally Posted by MacBean

reading the forums you posted earlier in the thread some unhappy, and perhaps surprised fans

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I imagine we weren't as long-ball and physical as they were expecting!

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Originally Posted by Diclonius

I imagine we weren't as long-ball and physical as they were expecting!

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They also didn't seem to be as fit as us either, which I think is more of a compliment to our team than a spite against them

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Originally Posted by Diclonius

I imagine we weren't as long-ball and physical as they were expecting!

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Go and read the BBC report of the game which suggests that from 5 mins in all we did was lump the ball. Lazy reporting.

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Originally Posted by Hibernian Verse

Go and read the BBC report of the game which suggests that from 5 mins in all we did was lump the ball. Lazy reporting.

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Was just reading that - it basically hints that the manager was correct in his assertion. IMO we passed it really well last night, better than the opposition in fact.

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Originally Posted by Hibernian Verse

Go and read the BBC report of the game which suggests that from 5 mins in all we did was lump the ball. Lazy reporting.

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It is lazy reporting, but that's not really what it says. The lazy bit is the attempt to link the pre-match chat about long balls with the first major incident (the head knocks for Hanlon/their keeper), as if swinging in a cross from a wide free kick is somehow a long-ball tactic. The very next sentence credits JDH's passing and says 'Hibs showed they can play a bit too'.

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Originally Posted by BBC

Ross had suggested that counterpart Goran Tomic's assertion that the Edinburgh side use long-ball tactics was an "uneducated" stereotype of Scottish football.

Yet, within five minutes, visiting left-back Andrija Vukcevic, goalkeeper Nediljko Labrovic and Hibs centre-half Paul Hanlon were down receiving treatment after challenging for a free-kick launched into the Rijeka penalty box, with the latter two continuing with heavily bandaged heads.

With summer signing Jake Doyle-Hayes - handed a start ahead of Alex Gogic - impressing with his distribution in central midfield, Hibs showed they could play a bit too.

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Did any Rijeka fans make it into the stadium for the game last night? The police had stopped roughly about 15 lads opposite side of the street from the West Stand before the match started

I don't think their cunning plan with a few of them wearing Hibs scarves as a disguise worked, and they got huckled

I actually wondered after last night if the Rijeka management team had bothered to do any real analysis of us. Anyone who watched Hibs would know we get it wide to Boyle and to a lesser extent Murphy. I didnt think Rijeka did a good job of countering that at all and we caused them problems with our front 3 all night. Maybe they underestimated us or alternatively we might just have played very, very well. Probably somewhere in between.

I said pre-match I fancy Boyle to be on it tonight after a slow first half i thought he was very good again driving at players but there was one time in the second half where Nisbet was raging he didn't get the ball into the box for him.

Happy with the result, unhappy with the performance.

OK, let us start from my earlier posts. I already wrote that this is a new team and we are not sure how good we are. Also, lineup Pavičić, Liber, Ampem, Abass and Drmić never before played together.

I would say that our coach was very brave with starting lineup. We played without defensive midfielder (both of them entered in second half, Lepinjica and Selahi), Pavičić and Liber are more offensively orientated. So, we expected that You will come forward and that we will attack You through fast transition. So, our formation was something like 3-4-3, basically two changes from game against Dinamo lineup, Galović instead Velkovski on central defender and Ampem instead Lepinjica (but this was major change, offensive winger instead defensive midfielder).

But You did not attack as we supposed You will do, majority of Your chances came from fast transition which was our plan. Also, I also mentioned that we are not usually playing on such physical level so we needed time to adapt. And our plan went wrong because we did not play fast enough (one of the reasons is Your good defending, especially in the midfield), we played gear down comparing with game against Dinamo.

From Hibs side, what happened yesterday? Your coach showed some respect and he prepared game actually very good. He did not attack (neither in last 20 minutes), he was very careful not to receive another one. You showed that You are tough and dangerous team, as we expected.

So, my conclusion is: we played not so well and made a draw against serious opponent; I told You that we know how to play european clashes. We now have a week to rest and to prepare for second leg and now we have much clearer picture about Your team. I expect that it will be completely other story in Rijeka, we will certainly attempt to take the ball and to put constant pressure.

And just few notices for the end:
- atmosphere on a stadium was a disaster, You are very quiet audience - on Rujevica it will be completely different, support from the stands will be constant for 90 minutes
- our goalkeeper actually was very good, isn't he?
- I did not expect that You will go against fair play not kicking the ball out because of our injured player, especially because we did it for Your player

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Originally Posted by Rijeka fan

Happy with the result, unhappy with the performance.

OK, let us start from my earlier posts. I already wrote that this is a new team and we are not sure how good we are. Also, lineup Pavičić, Liber, Ampem, Abass and Drmić never before played together.

I would say that our coach was very brave with starting lineup. We played without defensive midfielder (both of them entered in second half, Lepinjica and Selahi), Pavičić and Liber are more offensively orientated. So, we expected that You will come forward and that we will attack You through fast transition. So, our formation was something like 3-4-3, basically two changes from game against Dinamo lineup, Galović instead Velkovski on central defender and Ampem instead Lepinjica (but this was major change, offensive winger instead defensive midfielder).

But You did not attack as we supposed You will do, majority of Your chances came from fast transition which was our plan. Also, I also mentioned that we are not usually playing on such physical level so we needed time to adapt. And our plan went wrong because we did not play fast enough (one of the reasons is Your good defending, especially in the midfield), we played gear down comparing with game against Dinamo.

From Hibs side, what happened yesterday? Your coach showed some respect and he prepared game actually very good. He did not attack (neither in last 20 minutes), he was very careful not to receive another one. You showed that You are tough and dangerous team, as we expected.

So, my conclusion is: we played not so well and made a draw against serious opponent; I told You that we know how to play european clashes. We now haw a week to rest and to prepare for second leg and now we have much clearer picture about Your team. I expect that it will be completely other story in Rijeka, we will certainly attempt to take the ball and to put constant pressure.

And just few notices for the end:
- atmosphere on a stadium was a disaster, You are very quiet audience - on Rujevica it will be completely different, support from the stands will be constant for 90 minutes
- our goalkeeper actually was very good, isn't he?
- I did not expect that You will go against fair play not kicking the ball out because of our injured player, especially because we did it for Your player

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On your very last point, we don’t have much tolerance for cheating. If players are genuinely injured there will be more support to put the ball out.

If your players roll on the ground after every challenge then don’t expect it.

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Originally Posted by Rijeka fan

Happy with the result, unhappy with the performance.

OK, let us start from my earlier posts. I already wrote that this is a new team and we are not sure how good we are. Also, lineup Pavičić, Liber, Ampem, Abass and Drmić never before played together.

I would say that our coach was very brave with starting lineup. We played without defensive midfielder (both of them entered in second half, Lepinjica and Selahi), Pavičić and Liber are more offensively orientated. So, we expected that You will come forward and that we will attack You through fast transition. So, our formation was something like 3-4-3, basically two changes from game against Dinamo lineup, Galović instead Velkovski on central defender and Ampem instead Lepinjica (but this was major change, offensive winger instead defensive midfielder).

But You did not attack as we supposed You will do, majority of Your chances came from fast transition which was our plan. Also, I also mentioned that we are not usually playing on such physical level so we needed time to adapt. And our plan went wrong because we did not play fast enough (one of the reasons is Your good defending, especially in the midfield), we played gear down comparing with game against Dinamo.

From Hibs side, what happened yesterday? Your coach showed some respect and he prepared game actually very good. He did not attack (neither in last 20 minutes), he was very careful not to receive another one. You showed that You are tough and dangerous team, as we expected.

So, my conclusion is: we played not so well and made a draw against serious opponent; I told You that we know how to play european clashes. We now haw a week to rest and to prepare for second leg and now we have much clearer picture about Your team. I expect that it will be completely other story in Rijeka, we will certainly attempt to take the ball and to put constant pressure.

And just few notices for the end:
- atmosphere on a stadium was a disaster, You are very quiet audience - on Rujevica it will be completely different, support from the stands will be constant for 90 minutes
- our goalkeeper actually was very good, isn't he?
- I did not expect that You will go against fair play not kicking the ball out because of our injured player, especially because we did it for Your player

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I think the reason we did not kick the ball out, was because your player was play acting, there was nothing wrong with him. You are very good at wasting time, it gets right under my skin how many times your players went down as if shot, but recovered very well after treatment. :rolleyes:

Well, this is a difference comparing to our league. It is normal to kick the ball out, not to judge if someone is cheating or not. In many ocassions even ref stops the game.

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Originally Posted by Rijeka fan

Well, this is a difference comparing to our league. It is normal to kick the ball out, not to judge if someone is cheating or not. In many ocassions even ref stops the game.

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The Rijeka boys took the piss last night.

Hope we ****ing hammer you lot next week, no offence.

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Originally Posted by Rijeka fan

Well, this is a difference comparing to our league. It is normal to kick the ball out, not to judge if someone is cheating or not. In many ocassions even ref stops the game.

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Your team realised that we had the upper hand in the last 20 minutes and proceeded to try and waste time by constantly lying on the ground. The referee got wise to this aswell.

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Originally Posted by Rijeka fan

Well, this is a difference comparing to our league. It is normal to kick the ball out, not to judge if someone is cheating or not. In many ocassions even ref stops the game.

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Well thank god for that! There must have been 6 or 7 occasions a Rijeka player went to ground without even being touched, it’s so embarrassing watching grown men behave that way.

I expect Rijeka to be much better next week but was surprised at how little they created last night, especially with the likes of Drmic in their team. Very lucky to get a draw.

Ironically I thought our midfield was the technically superior of the two. Interesting that neither played without a defensive midfielder, it definitely made for a more exciting game.

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Originally Posted by Rijeka fan

Well, this is a difference comparing to our league. It is normal to kick the ball out, not to judge if someone is cheating or not. In many ocassions even ref stops the game.

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I agree we should have kicked it out.

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Originally Posted by Rijeka fan

Well, this is a difference comparing to our league. It is normal to kick the ball out, not to judge if someone is cheating or not. In many ocassions even ref stops the game.

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It should be entirely up to the referee to stop the game, not the players. They often do though if it is merited and yes, it is normal for the players to judge if the opposition is cheating or not, especially when it is obvious and happening all the time.

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Originally Posted by Rijeka fan

Well, this is a difference comparing to our league. It is normal to kick the ball out, not to judge if someone is cheating or not. In many ocassions even ref stops the game.

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If thats the case your games must be stopped every 30 seconds.

No problem, so when we do not kick the ball out in second leg because we think that Your player is acting, You will not be angry. I can accept that.

Reason that we slowed down could be physical intensity of the game. Tempo was not so fast but intensity was. As I said, we are usually not playing on such intensity.

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Originally Posted by neil7908

I agree we should have kicked it out.

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Every single time they went down? It happened about 5 times in the last 20 minutes. At one point instead of taking a free kick the goalkeeper seemed to have their defender in some sort of full Nelson and just completely ignoring the free kick.

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Originally Posted by DiscoDoidge

The Rijeka boys took the piss last night.

Hope we ****ing hammer you lot next week, no offence.

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Non taken.

I think You will not.

We will see soon.

Hibs played well, some of the best football I have seen from them for quite some time. We should have had atleast 3 or 4 goals. Which would have wrapped the tie up and Gogic needs to be dropped.

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Originally Posted by Since90+2

Every single time they went down? It happened about 5 times in the last 20 minutes. At one point instead of taking a free kick the goalkeeper seemed to have their defender in some sort of full Nelson and just completely ignoring the free kick.

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There was one clear point in the game when DH hit one of their players hard and he was down for a bit. It wasn't like we were attacking with any intent so imo should have kicked it out. That would even it up and then we can leave in the refs hands.

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Originally Posted by BS44

Did any Rijeka fans make it into the stadium for the game last night? The police had stopped roughly about 15 lads opposite side of the street from the West Stand before the match started

I don't think their cunning plan with a few of them wearing Hibs scarves as a disguise worked, and they got huckled

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A steward at the East Stand said they were expecting some Croatian fans trying to get in.

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Originally Posted by Rijeka fan

Well, this is a difference comparing to our league. It is normal to kick the ball out, not to judge if someone is cheating or not. In many ocassions even ref stops the game.

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Not to come across too harshly (indeed, a lot less than the other posters), but we did kick the ball out of play the first few times your players were injured. We stopped once it became apparent that it was a deliberate time wasting tactic. Near the end one of your players went down every 2-3 mins.

I think it will be a very different game in Croatia, but we've shown that we're not quite as technically worse off as you than both of us thought, and it'll be a close game.

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Originally Posted by Rijeka fan

Well, this is a difference comparing to our league. It is normal to kick the ball out, not to judge if someone is cheating or not. In many ocassions even ref stops the game.

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While i wont say we dont see it here, we dont see it as much as we did last night. It was clear some of your players were just trying to fracture the game and stop it as much as they could in that 2nd half.

It's probably a culture thing, we laugh at players who do this like your players did and other countries do.

It's just something we see little of, although again it does happen from time to time but never to the extent it does when we play foreign teams.

We see it as a form of cheating.

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Originally Posted by Rijeka fan

Happy with the result, unhappy with the performance.

OK, let us start from my earlier posts. I already wrote that this is a new team and we are not sure how good we are. Also, lineup Pavičić, Liber, Ampem, Abass and Drmić never before played together.

I would say that our coach was very brave with starting lineup. We played without defensive midfielder (both of them entered in second half, Lepinjica and Selahi), Pavičić and Liber are more offensively orientated. So, we expected that You will come forward and that we will attack You through fast transition. So, our formation was something like 3-4-3, basically two changes from game against Dinamo lineup, Galović instead Velkovski on central defender and Ampem instead Lepinjica (but this was major change, offensive winger instead defensive midfielder).

But You did not attack as we supposed You will do, majority of Your chances came from fast transition which was our plan. Also, I also mentioned that we are not usually playing on such physical level so we needed time to adapt. And our plan went wrong because we did not play fast enough (one of the reasons is Your good defending, especially in the midfield), we played gear down comparing with game against Dinamo.

From Hibs side, what happened yesterday? Your coach showed some respect and he prepared game actually very good. He did not attack (neither in last 20 minutes), he was very careful not to receive another one. You showed that You are tough and dangerous team, as we expected.

So, my conclusion is: we played not so well and made a draw against serious opponent; I told You that we know how to play european clashes. We now haw a week to rest and to prepare for second leg and now we have much clearer picture about Your team. I expect that it will be completely other story in Rijeka, we will certainly attempt to take the ball and to put constant pressure.

And just few notices for the end:
- atmosphere on a stadium was a disaster, You are very quiet audience - on Rujevica it will be completely different, support from the stands will be constant for 90 minutes
- our goalkeeper actually was very good, isn't he?
- I did not expect that You will go against fair play not kicking the ball out because of our injured player, especially because we did it for Your player

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Interesting to hear views and it’s quite funny to have an opposition supporter on here.

What crowd attendance do you expect in Croatia ? Do you have ultras who will make noise ?

I see on your teams Twitter not many fans comment - why is that ?

Also your team did look like they were getting to know each other. Very dangerous quick attacking players but I think we can cause you problems at the back.

Hibs fans are annoyed as we had chances to score more goals and similar to last season we didn’t take our chances.

Also what are the Rijeka players getting paid ? Wasn’t sure the difference between Scottish league players and Croatian players - is there good television deals in Croatia to generate money or ?

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Originally Posted by GreenCastle

Interesting to hear views and it’s quite funny to have an opposition supporter on here.

What crowd attendance do you expect in Croatia ? Do you have ultras who will make noise ?

I see on your teams Twitter not many fans comment - why is that ?

Also your team did look like they were getting to know each other. Very dangerous quick attacking players but I think we can cause you problems at the back.

Hibs fans are annoyed as we had chances to score more goals and similar to last season we didn’t take our chances.

Also what are the Rijeka players getting paid ? Wasn’t sure the difference between Scottish league players and Croatian players - is there good television deals in Croatia to generate money or ?

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I already answered all of these questions....:wink: