This is how it feels - Hamilton 030418

[Jonnyboy]

On a cold and very wet Tuesday evening it was brilliant to see so many Hibs fans turning out as it could hardly be argued that Hamilton are a big box office draw. Sitting watching the crowds roll in I was reminded of Neil Lennon’s recent remarks in which he praised the support, both home and away, for getting right behind the team. Neil also said that the players are fully aware of the support we give them and that it makes a big difference to their mind set knowing we are all aiming for the same thing. Tonight we were behind them from the first minute to the last as they put a very physical Hamilton side to the sword.

With Rocky back in goals, Steven Whittaker also got a starting spot as the holding midfielder with big Marv dropping to the bench. My brother has said for some time that Whitty would fit in there and it has to be said the ex-Norwich man offers more in terms of mobility and game awareness than Marv. It’s good to see Whitty fit again and although a number of posters have doubted his worth to the team I’m pretty sure we’ll see the best of him in the weeks ahead.

After eight minutes the home support was stunned when a bread and butter cross into the box was fumbled by Rocky, allowing Ogboe to put the visitors in front. I’m not sure why Rocky was so, well rocky in dealing with the ball but all the loss of the goal served to do was put Hibs very much on the front foot. On two occasions Hibs struck the ‘woodwork’ when firstly Kamberi smashed a Stevenson cross off the base of the post and then a well hit cross from Stevenson had Accies keeper Woods flapping at the ball and turning it on to his own crossbar.

Just past the quarter hour a quite brilliant piece of interplay involving McGeouch, Allan and Kamberi led to the last named trailing the ball across the edge of the Accies penalty area before striking a fierce shot beyond Woods. Next, a fizzing low cross by Boyle was missed by inches by the hard working Maclaren but the game then seemed to settle a little and it wasn’t until the half time whistle approached that Hibs came close again, this time through a header from Paul Hanlon.

The second half once again had Hibs on the front foot and both Maclaren with a header and Kamberi twice with overhead kicks came close. Hamilton had been wasting time at every opportunity and weren’t afraid to leave their foot in at tackles. Near the start of the game Whitty had been booked for a harmless trip but referee Steven McLean didn’t deem it necessary to book Ferguson for a similar challenge in the second half. Dougie Imrie, playing in an unfamiliar role at left back had been booked in the first half for a crude trip on Boyle and when he repeated that act on the hour mark, McLean sent him packing via second yellow and subsequent red. Less than two minutes later, Hibs took the lead when Boyle’s deep cross was headed in by Kamberi at the back post.

Hamilton made a couple of changes but most of the players looked beaten as they toiled with their heavy fixture schedule. Hibs looked much fitter and used the full width of the park to stretch the ten men. With five minutes left a stunning through ball from Paul Hanlon let Kamberi free in the box and the big Swiss striker took his time in slotting the ball past Woods to secure his hat trick. He might have nabbed a fourth after Boyle raced clear but the pass to Kamberi was over hit.

When the final whistle blew, Hibs had won another testing game and closed the gap to Rangers to just one point. Just as importantly, in my view, was the stretching of the gap over Killie, now nine points behind and of course it meant Hibs were now fifteen points ahead of Hearts. Mind the gap!

The players

Rocky – deserves criticism for his schoolboy error but it’s hard to be too critical given his overall form this season. The lad’s human, he makes mistakes.

Efe – an up and down game from Efe, I thought. Looks too ‘relaxed’ at times whilst at other times you get to see what a very good player he is.

Daz – played well and had me in stitches when Hamilton’s Rojano squared up to him and Daz bumped him away just by expanding his chest muscles!

Paul – another very good display from our captain. Drove Hibs forward and his pass for the third goal was sublime. Was in my reckoning, for man of the match.

Boyler – gave Imrie a bit of a hard time but suffered when Efe seemed reluctant at times to chip the ball over the full back for Martin to chase.

Whitty – I thought he was excellent and he too was in the reckoning for my man of the match. Looks very composed in possession and makes sensible passes when required.

Dylan – once again he was outstanding and his one-two’s that set up Kamberi for the first goal were a joy to behold.

Scotty – not at his best tonight but that was maybe because Mackinnon shadowed him throughout. I noticed them fist pumping a couple of times, suggesting there was a mutual respect.

Lewis – another who had a very good game and his crosses in the first half for the hitting the ‘woodwork’ instances put to bed the notion that he always hits the first defender.

Jamie – he is always on the move and always looking to create a yard of space for himself. I think his partnership with Kamberi is getting better by the game.

Flo – this guy is super fit and never gives defenders a moment’s peace. Took all three goals well and linked the play throughout. Hard for me not to give him man of the match, given his hat trick.

Marv – came on for Whitty with about ten minutes from the end. I thought it was an odd change but it worked well enough.

Oli – Got the last seven minutes and looked lively with one shot from range forcing a save by Woods.

Danny – got a whole five minutes this time and buzzed about, creating an opening for a fierce shot that Woods was forced to push away for a corner.

Neil – I’m sure he’ll be delighted and I’m sure he’ll be happy he’s back in the dug-out on Saturday.

Steven McLean – I tend to give him a bit of leeway usually, given his role on 21/05/2016 but tonight I thought he was at the ‘look at me I’m the centre of attention’ gig and some of his decisions were just plain baffling.

The fans – it was quiet at times tonight but the guys in the FF upper could be heard as could the guys in S43.

[hibby6270]

Spot on assessment as usual.
Turned out to be a comfortable win in the end.

Thought you’d made a mistake with who the ref was. From my lofty perch in West Upper have to say didn’t recognise him. Thought it was some rooky getting an end of season match for ‘experience’. His display tonight, was as you say, totally baffling at times and extremely fussy given his ‘previous’ with us.

[hibbytam]

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On a cold and very wet Tuesday evening it was brilliant to see so many Hibs fans turning out as it could hardly be argued that Hamilton are a big box office draw. Sitting watching the crowds roll in I was reminded of Neil Lennon’s recent remarks in which he praised the support, both home and away, for getting right behind the team. Neil also said that the players are fully aware of the support we give them and that it makes a big difference to their mind set knowing we are all aiming for the same thing. Tonight we were behind them from the first minute to the last as they put a very physical Hamilton side to the sword.

With Rocky back in goals, Steven Whittaker also got a starting spot as the holding midfielder with big Marv dropping to the bench. My brother has said for some time that Whitty would fit in there and it has to be said the ex-Norwich man offers more in terms of mobility and game awareness than Marv. It’s good to see Whitty fit again and although a number of posters have doubted his worth to the team I’m pretty sure we’ll see the best of him in the weeks ahead.

After eight minutes the home support was stunned when a bread and butter cross into the box was fumbled by Rocky, allowing Ogboe to put the visitors in front. I’m not sure why Rocky was so, well rocky in dealing with the ball but all the loss of the goal served to do was put Hibs very much on the front foot. On two occasions Hibs struck the ‘woodwork’ when firstly Kamberi smashed a Stevenson cross off the base of the post and then a well hit cross from Stevenson had Accies keeper Woods flapping at the ball and turning it on to his own crossbar.

Just past the quarter hour a quite brilliant piece of interplay involving McGeouch, Allan and Kamberi led to the last named trailing the ball across the edge of the Accies penalty area before striking a fierce shot beyond Woods. Next, a fizzing low cross by Boyle was missed by inches by the hard working Maclaren but the game then seemed to settle a little and it wasn’t until the half time whistle approached that Hibs came close again, this time through a header from Paul Hanlon.

The second half once again had Hibs on the front foot and both Maclaren with a header and Kamberi twice with overhead kicks came close. Hamilton had been wasting time at every opportunity and weren’t afraid to leave their foot in at tackles. Near the start of the game Whitty had been booked for a harmless trip but referee Steven McLean didn’t deem it necessary to book Ferguson for a similar challenge in the second half. Dougie Imrie, playing in an unfamiliar role at left back had been booked in the first half for a crude trip on Boyle and when he repeated that act on the hour mark, McLean sent him packing via second yellow and subsequent red. Less than two minutes later, Hibs took the lead when Boyle’s deep cross was headed in by Kamberi at the back post.

Hamilton made a couple of changes but most of the players looked beaten as they toiled with their heavy fixture schedule. Hibs looked much fitter and used the full width of the park to stretch the ten men. With five minutes left a stunning through ball from Paul Hanlon let Kamberi free in the box and the big Swiss striker took his time in slotting the ball past Woods to secure his hat trick. He might have nabbed a fourth after Boyle raced clear but the pass to Kamberi was over hit.

When the final whistle blew, Hibs had won another testing game and closed the gap to Rangers to just one point. Just as importantly, in my view, was the stretching of the gap over Killie, now nine points behind and of course it meant Hibs were now fifteen points ahead of Hearts. Mind the gap!

The players

Rocky – deserves criticism for his schoolboy error but it’s hard to be too critical given his overall form this season. The lad’s human, he makes mistakes.

Efe – an up and down game from Efe, I thought. Looks too ‘relaxed’ at times whilst at other times you get to see what a very good player he is.

Daz – played well and had me in stitches when Hamilton’s Rojano squared up to him and Daz bumped him away just by expanding his chest muscles!

Paul – another very good display from our captain. Drove Hibs forward and his pass for the third goal was sublime. Was in my reckoning, for man of the match.

Boyler – gave Imrie a bit of a hard time but suffered when Efe seemed reluctant at times to chip the ball over the full back for Martin to chase.

Whitty – I thought he was excellent and he too was in the reckoning for my man of the match. Looks very composed in possession and makes sensible passes when required.

Dylan – once again he was outstanding and his one-two’s that set up Kamberi for the first goal were a joy to behold.

Scotty – not at his best tonight but that was maybe because Mackinnon shadowed him throughout. I noticed them fist pumping a couple of times, suggesting there was a mutual respect.

Lewis – another who had a very good game and his crosses in the first half for the hitting the ‘woodwork’ instances put to bed the notion that he always hits the first defender.

Jamie – he is always on the move and always looking to create a yard of space for himself. I think his partnership with Kamberi is getting better by the game.

Flo – this guy is super fit and never gives defenders a moment’s peace. Took all three goals well and linked the play throughout. Hard for me not to give him man of the match, given his hat trick.

Marv – came on for Whitty with about ten minutes from the end. I thought it was an odd change but it worked well enough.

Oli – Got the last seven minutes and looked lively with one shot from range forcing a save by Woods.

Danny – got a whole five minutes this time and buzzed about, creating an opening for a fierce shot that Woods was forced to push away for a corner.

Neil – I’m sure he’ll be delighted and I’m sure he’ll be happy he’s back in the dug-out on Saturday.

Steven McLean – I tend to give him a bit of leeway usually, given his role on 21/05/2016 but tonight I thought he was at the ‘look at me I’m the centre of attention’ gig and some of his decisions were just plain baffling.

The fans – it was quiet at times tonight but the guys in the FF upper could be heard as could the guys in S43.

While I agree the ref was a bit fussy (not letting free kicks be taken early, that sort of thing) I was thought the ref did well in bookings for cynical tackles. Certainly compared to some of his colleagues, normally a team get to boot the hibs players up and down the park with only last-last-seriously this time last warnings. .

[NAE NOOKIE]

Good summing up of the game. A much better performance from Hibs compared to Saturday and the crowd were much better too backing the team really well after we went behind, it was nice to see them rewarded with one of the best goals we have scored this season

Rocky ...... 5 ...... Sorry mate but Hamilton didn't even have the decency to give you a top drawer save to make so I could up your score. A howler for their goal followed by some poor kicking and being too slow off your line at times as well. A game to forget ... onward and upwards mate.

Ambrose .... 7 ..... Defended pretty well and rampaged up and down the right all night ... but a couple of WTF moments including passing the ball out of play twice, the second of which was so comical it actually caused the folk around me to start laughing ... far more good than bad though.

McGregor ..... 7 .... What a warrior ..... grrrrrrr !!!

Hanlon .... 8 .... Another highly impressive performance especially going forward, its almost as if he has consciously decided to ramp up that element of his game and he capped it with a nice pass for Hibs 3rd.

Stevenson .... 7 .... Another very solid performance from Lewis and some decent crosses as well, having a great season IMO.

McGeouch ..... 8 ..... Buzzed about all evening, instrumental in a super first Hibs goal and just kept it moving for 90 minutes, what a super wee player he is.

Whittaker .... 7 .... I owe him an apology, I was far from convinced that he was the answer to our slight midfield problem but he was excellent and didn't look out of place at all, a very tidy game from him.

Allan .... 6 ..... For the second game in a row I just don't think he had the impact he can have, he didn't have a bad game but I think he can play better, of all the players on the pitch I think he is the one who has missed McGinn's presence the most ... hopefully back to his creative best when SJM comes back.

Boyle ..... 6 ...... Got himself into some great one on one situations but more often than not he allowed himself to be eased away from goal or delivered a poor ball, you can never fault his workrate or enthusiasm though. He did put in some dangerous balls but they were a meagre return compared to the chances he had to create something in the box.

McLaren .... 6 ..... Worked really hard and contributed quite a lot without looking like scoring, one chance in the first half aside where he just missed Boyle's cross.

Kamberi ..... 9 ..... As fine an example of good old fashioned forward play as you will see, worked his arse off ( again ) held the ball up well, moved about all over the place, hit the post, came close with an overhead kick and scored a hat trick .... why wouldn't you want to keep this guy?

SUBS:

Bartley .... 5 ..... Hibs were in total control when he came on and he wasn't troubled too much.
Shaw .... 4 .... Didn't get the chance to do much and I cant for the life of me remember the shot Jonnyboy mentioned.
Swanson ... 4 ... Was given 3 minutes more than usual, but in that time managed to force a save after a nice bit of play to make room for a shot.

THE REF ..... Will whoever has kidnapped the real Steven McLean please return him, one of the least 'look at me' refs in the league was the exact opposite tonight.

Hamilton .... Foul after foul as you would expect ... its a pity they are ahead of Dundee and Partick Thistle in the league, at least those two try to play football.

[BSEJVT]

Good Summary JB

McLean having booked two players early on for not an awful lot then let far worse go or it would have ended up with Hamilton having 3 or 4 sent off

The decision not to book the guy who "Alston'd" Whittaker in the second half was terrible

Never let the game flow, was happy to let them waste as much time as they wanted.

He has been really poor every time we have had him since 21/05/2016, think he must be trying to work himself back into favour with the SFA

[Brightside]

Good review as ever. I’d disagree with Whitty and Bartley though. I thought both looked well off the pace and were 2nd to the ball too many times.

[Pretty Boy]

It's funny how we see things differently, I must be in a minority of one but I thought McGreggor struggled last night.

He got dragged about all over the place when we were finding our feet in the 1st 10 minites, he had an awful touch/pass at 2-1 and Hanlon had to make a top class challenge to bail him out, he got done for pace at one point in the 2nd half and was fortunate the guy over ran the ball and there was an incident were McGeough was screaming at him to make an angle for a pass and he just stood still, in the end Dylan almost pushed him out the way to knock it back to Rocky.

Don't get me wrong Daz has been fantastic for us since signing. I'm just not sure he's totally comfortable playing from the back in the way we want to do. Given his age, the regard Hibs have for Porteous and the way we want to play it wouldn't surprise me to see his game time reduced next season.

[hibee_girl]

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It's funny how we see things differently, I must be in a minority of one but I thought McGreggor struggled last night.

He got dragged about all over the place when we were finding our feet in the 1st 10 minites, he had an awful touch/pass at 2-1 and Hanlon had to make a top class challenge to bail him out, he got done for pace at one point in the 2nd half and was fortunate the guy over ran the ball and there was an incident were McGeough was screaming at him to make an angle for a pass and he just stood still, in the end Dylan almost pushed him out the way to knock it back to Rocky.

Don't get me wrong Daz has been fantastic for us since signing. I'm just not sure he's totally comfortable playing from the back in the way we want to do. Given his age, the regard Hibs have for Porteous and the way we want to play it wouldn't surprise me to see his game time reduced next season.

I thought much the same about McGregor last night and on Saturday, I couldn’t believe he got MOTM on Saturday.

[number9dream]

McGregor has never been particularly good with the ball at his feet. Where he excels is getting to headers and putting his body on the line with blocks and tackles. It's a great combination with Hanlon and Ambrose, who are both quick and have good control.
We'll need big Daz at his brave best on Saturday since County will be fired up after a great win.

Big Flo was immense, could have had six goals. Led the line brilliantly. Dylan was a stand-out during the period we were going hell for leather to get the equaliser and Lewis put in another impressive shift.

[Mikey]

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After eight minutes the home support was stunned when a bread and butter cross into the box was fumbled by Rocky, allowing Ogboe to put the visitors in front. I’m not sure why Rocky was so, well rocky in dealing with the ball

I was in pretty early last night and during the goalkeepers warm up just about everything hit at him along the ground bounced off in the same way. The conditions won't have helped though.

[Smartie]

I thought McGregor was fine.

He had a slightly ropey header during the second half, and Hanlon had to bail him out but other than that he did fine.

He is important to the way we play - staying in position his discipline allows Hanlon and Efe to pile forward when necessary on their respective sides.

[Famous Fiver]

I thought the crucial moment in the game was Imrie's early booking. Time and again he gets away with his first assault and then niggles his way through games. Last night his gas was put at a peep early doors but it was only a matter of time before he reverted to type. He couldn't resist committing another cynical foul. It's in his DNA. And why wasn't he booked for persistent time wasting at throw ins? Serial offender and nothing was done about it.

[MagicSwirlingShip]

Really enjoy these summaries, keep em coming :)

[G B Young]

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I thought much the same about McGregor last night and on Saturday, I couldn’t believe he got MOTM on Saturday.

As the other poster says, it's funny how folk see things so differently. I thought McGregor was one of the very few who looked switched on from the start on Saturday and helped us negotiate a first half in which we could easily have found ourselves behind. I think he's been a terrific player for Hibs.

[hibee_girl]

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As the other poster says, it's funny how folk see things so differently. I thought McGregor was one of the very few who looked switched on from the start on Saturday and helped us negotiate a first half in which we could easily have found ourselves behind. I think he's been a terrific player for Hibs.

He has been a terrific player for us, I’m not saying otherwise.

Just felt he struggled on Saturday, especially in the first half. Personally I thought Hanlon was more deserving of the MOTM on Saturday.

[hibby6270]

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Good review as ever. I’d disagree with Whitty and Bartley though. I thought both looked well off the pace and were 2nd to the ball too many times.

Have to disagree. Whitty’s contribution in the last 2 games have been a revelation.

Pretty much playing the Marv role but imo has a much more assured and positive, forward thinking way of playing. In the absence of SJM for these games, he has bridged that gap better than Marv on his own would have. Marv is useful in games that suit his style of play against the ‘better’ sides. Whitty’s distribution is better than Marvs and in games against the ‘lesser’ teams is more beneficial to the the team’s play overall.

[Smartie]

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Have to disagree. Whitty’s contribution in the last 2 games have been a revelation.

Pretty much playing the Marv role but imo has a much more assured and positive, forward thinking way of playing. In the absence of SJM for these games, he has bridged that gap better than Marv on his own would have. Marv is useful in games that suit his style of play against the ‘better’ sides. Whitty’s distribution is better than Marvs and in games against the ‘lesser’ teams is more beneficial to the the team’s play overall.

I also think that Bartley in addition to 3CHs is a bit excessively defensive.

Bartley is best protecting a back 4, and it's easy to forget now that Whitty is flavour of the month that Bartley is one of the best in the business at that role.

[Jonnyboy]

Thanks for all the feedback, it’s always interesting to read how others view the games 😀