This is how it feels (the Rangers 27 01 21)

[Jonnyboy]

Ever since losing to St. Johnstone last weekend and, to be fair probably before that result too, many had called for changes in terms of who makes the starting eleven. Several players had been singled out for criticism and tonight, some of those players had to settle for a seat on the bench. Jack Ross made significant changes both to his starting eleven and indeed the formation that eleven would play in, opting for a 3-5-2 with McGinn, McGregor and Porteous the three with Cadden, Gogic, Hallberg, Irvine and Doig across the middle and Doidge brought in alongside Nisbet.

I confess that when I saw the team line up, I was more than a little surprised. McGregor’s recall when he’d played so little in recent months and Cadden’s inclusion, when I thought he looked miles off the pace against St. Johnstone, worried me a bit but as it turned out, my concerns were unfounded. It was important that Hibs approached this challenge positively and I feel they did just that, losing to a goal scored by a player that should have long since been in the bath.

As you might expect, the Rangers started on the front foot and as early as the first minute, Porteous was penalised for a challenge on Morelos. Those two would see quite a lot of each other in the coming minutes. From the resultant free kick, Goldson headed wide of the target. That start set the tone for the early exchanges but despite enjoying the bulk of possession, the Rangers never really threatened the Hibs goal. Around twelve minutes in, a poorly delivered corner by Hallberg saw a possible breakaway halted when Josh Doig pulled an opponent down, earning a yellow card in the process. It was one of those challenges that the youngster took one for the team. Moments later a weak effort from Aribo was easily collected by Marciano.

What came next was quite simply disgraceful. On the edge of the Hibs box, Morelos and Porteous contested for the ball. The Rangers man barged Porteous to the ground before quite deliberately stamping on the leg of the Hibs defender. Referee Kevin Clancy had a perfect view of the challenge but simply gave a free kick. It was a shocking error by a poor referee and Hibs would pay the price for that later in the game. Soon after, Doig broke free down the left and his low ball into the box was directed goalwards by Doidge but failed to beat McGregor.

Hibs were slowly getting a foothold in the game and shortly after a Ryan Kent effort sailed harmlessly wide, Kevin Clancy made another clear error as a Cadden cross from the right was parried but not held by Alan McGregor. As the ball rolled free, Doidge pounced to take control, but McGregor clearly had a hand on the ball and so a foul should have been awarded against Doidge. It wasn’t and Doidge’s cutback was thrashed wildly over the bar from Jackson Irvine from close range. Seconds later, Doidge was on hand again when a deep cross from Doig found Barisic underneath the ball, but the Hibs striker weakly headed wide of the target from inside the six yard box.

Ryan Kent had lots of possession on the Rangers left but Chris Cadden handled that threat really well and it was the Hibs man that started a sequence of events where over the space of around thirty seconds, Irvine and Doidge had efforts blocked by last ditch challenges before Doig rifled a right foot effort from distance that McGregor saved comfortably. Having reached half time on level terms I felt Hibs had more than earned that as the fight, passion and heart, missing for the second half at Hampden was back in abundance.

It was always going to be the case that the Rangers would up the tempo at the start of the second half and around five minutes in, Morelos punished Hibs by putting the visitors a goal up. Porteous seemed to have done well enough in the left back area in denying Morelos access to the penalty area but when the Rangers man laid the ball off to Davis, Porteous switched off and failed to follow Morelos in to the danger area. Davis rolled the ball to Aribo who played a clever round the corner pass to free the now unmarked Morelos who shot home with his left foot, giving Rocky no chance. It was a sickener, but I thought that now we’d see if Hibs had learned from their collapse at Hampden.
We nearly didn’t as slack play in midfield allowed the Rangers to break and when Kent fired the ball across the six yard box, he found Morelos totally unmarked, but the Rangers man sliced his effort well wide with the goal gaping. On the hour mark, a headed effort from Irvine flashed wide whilst at the other end, Porteous seemed to be concerned about his hamstring and before it could be further tested, Jack Ross replaced him with Paul Hanlon.

Martin Boyle arrived at the same time as Hanlon, replacing Josh Doig which meant Cadden switched to the left as Boyle took up his usual station. I thought Hibs were holding their own at this point and the Rangers defenders were being tested as Irvine and Doidge both tried to engineer chances. Hallberg was next to leave the field with Magennis replacing him and the new man had to look lively when Tavernier seemed likely to break free but was stopped in his tracks by a fine tackle.

The Rangers were still testing the Hibs defence, but McGregor marshalled his colleagues well and Rocky didn’t really have a notable save to make. To be fair to Jack Ross he still had Hibs on the front foot and the introduction of Scott Allan for Gogic with ten minutes left certainly emphasised that. Right at the death, Boyle took in a pass and scampered his way down the right with Barisic in close attendance. Boyle’s cross looked destined for a Hibs head until Helander made a timely headed clearance. The visitors had one final attempt but Itten could only find the side net.

I honestly believe Hibs deserved something from the game tonight. A pathetic non decision by the referee and a momentary switch off from Porteous effectively denied us the point I thought we were worth. In general, this was a Hibs performance of the kind I want to see and although those that do will criticise Jack Ross for failing again to beat a ‘big team’ I thought he got a lot more right than wrong tonight.

The players

Marciano – Rocky had absolutely no chance with the goal and for all their possession, the Rangers rarely troubled him.

McGinn – I thought Paul was solid enough and together with Cadden they never really let the tricky Ryan Kent get the better of them. Kent saw a lot of the ball, but his penetrative play was stymied by McGinn for the most part.

McGregor – As I alluded to earlier, I was genuinely worried that Darren had been called into action, but I needn’t have fretted because he was magnificent tonight and easily wins my man of the match award. His post-match interview certainly brought a lump to my throat!

Porteous – Ryan was the victim of a thug tonight but got no protection from a referee that bottled out of making the correct decision. He played well but unfortunately his one lapse of concentration probably cost us the game.

Cadden – I was critical of the laddie for his showing at Hampden, but I thought he was good tonight, especially in attending to his defensive duties.

Irvine – I had hoped for more from him in an attacking sense and let’s be honest he should have burst the net with that close range effort that sailed over the bar. Imagine if he’d scored – Alan McGregor might literally have exploded.

Hallberg – Melker got about the pitch well but a 50% pass rate on his dead ball deliveries needs to be worked on.

Gogic – Like Hallberg he racks up the miles but tonight I lost count of the number of times he either miscontrolled the ball or simply gave it away.

Doig – Once again some fine crosses and his duel with Tavernier was interesting. I thought for the most part they kinda cancelled each other out. A fine performance from the youngster though.

Doidge – I know he didn’t score and missed at least one decent chance to do so but I thought the big man did well tonight both in attack and defence. He certainly gave Goldson and Helander plenty to think about.

Nisbet – Another game without a goal but to be fair he wasn’t given many chances to grab one.

Hanlon – Paul replaced Porteous which gave the back three a more balanced look with him being a lefty. Played well enough though he did miss one through ball that might have hurt us had Daz not been on hand to bail him out.

Boyle – Whilst Martin didn’t set the heather on fire I was delighted when he received a pass and set off into attack with Barisic in his wake. His cross was excellent too and it’s like he remembered how good he is at running at defenders. I hope we see more of that from him in the games to come.

Magennis – Hallberg was tiring, and Kyle took his place in midfield. Plenty of energy but nothing else of real note.

Allan – Once again Scotty gets some vital minutes in his legs. I long for the day when he’s back in our starting eleven.

Jack Ross – After the flak he got following the St Johnstone defeat I think he deserves some credit tonight. He made some bold changes to both the starting eleven and the formation/tactics and for me they paid off. I know we lost but the overall performance was much more Hibs like.

The referee – Kevin Clancy is a fully fledged, bona fide bottle merchant. The stamp by Morelos could not have been more blatant and I refuse to believe he didn’t have a clear view of it.

[hibsboy69]

Decent summary.....apart from Porteous ! Here's my take on his performance :-

Porteous – Ryan's attempt at "defending" at the Rangers goal was inexplicable. Not only did he stop tracking Morelos's run (only he can explain why) he also dropped 2 yards deeper than everyone else and succeeded in playing him onside ! Quite possibly the worst piece of defending I have ever seen at Easter Road (and I have seen a lot of bad defending). In footballing terms Ryan "sold the pies" again.

[Franck Stanton]

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Decent summary.....apart from Porteous ! Here's my take on his performance :-

Porteous – Ryan's attempt at "defending" at the Rangers goal was inexplicable. Not only did he stop tracking Morelos's run (only he can explain why) he also dropped 2 yards deeper than everyone else and succeeded in playing him onside ! Quite possibly the worst piece of defending I have ever seen at Easter Road (and I have seen a lot of bad defending). In footballing terms Ryan "sold the pies" again.

Bit harsh on the laddie don't you think? At the goal Ryan was shadowing that greeting faced turd but a hun started to run through the inside right channel which Ryan spotted & chose to leave his man anticipating a pass to him, unfortunately for us the ball was played to the stamping wee git. Mistake ? Yes. Worst piece of defending ever seen, no, don't think so.

[The Harp Awakes]

As ever JB I enjoyed reading your match report and the comments on the players performances are pretty much spot on.

I'm not sure I agree that it was a good performance overall by Hibs though. We were certainly decent in the first half, but I thought we were very poor after we lost the goal and showed little belief against a Rangers side who were poor on the night. Worse Hibs teams in the past would have got something out of that game tonight.

[mim]

Particularly good summary, John.

[Smartie]

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In general, this was a Hibs performance of the kind I want to see and although those that do will criticise Jack Ross for failing again to beat a ‘big team’ I thought he got a lot more right than wrong tonight.

I don't disagree and I think we did fine tonight.

I just sort of think that's his level in games like this. We'd never get pumped, we might get the odd draw but we'd never manage to beat them. The narrow defeat every single time is what you would get - and that doesn't get the heart pumping or win trophies.

It might be worth risking the odd defeat to pick up the odd victory along the way. That way we might get a few more trophies along the way, have a few more fun pints after the game having loved the game. We'd have a few stinkers we'd need to block out, but tonight just feels a bit safe.

After the events of the weekend maybe not the worst way to approach the game and rangers have been an effective side this season.

I just feel we're geared up to fall a bit short.

A decent enough night on the face of it but does it give me confidence that we'll win the Scottish Cup? Do I feel like we'll get past Aberdeen over the years then get closer to the OF? Just naw.

And it would be nice to dream a bit.

Lennon rightly takes flak for the daft stuff he says and does. But I liked the way he approached these games and he gave you the belief you were maybe going somewhere. That's gone since Heckingbottom came in.

[CMurdoch]

My MOTM was Cadden.
Was poor in his first 2 performances but played very well both defensively and going forward last night.
Ran for miles and miles. Will serve us well if he can repeat last nights performance on a regular basis.
Another player for the team.

Doig is playing with confidence now and is very much part of the team

Great performance from Daz after so long watching from the stand. A great effort.

Doidge showed in both attack and defence why he should have played on Saturday

Another match in Irvines legs and more game time for Allan & Magennis

I think we are now ready to start winning a run of games again from Saturday.
My only concern is Nisbet who has played an awful lot of football which has begun to take it's toll.
Even giving a couple of days off to rest might help him for Saturdays game

[number9dream]

Hard to take when the match-winner should so obviously have been sent off early in the game.
As you say, the ref was perfectly positioned and the stamp was clear as day. Really weak from the officials...
Big Daz was tremendous but Porto sold the jerseys with his lapse and, not for the first time, appeared to do himself some damage with overly aggressive tackle.
We got stuck in but didn't really get going. I was a bit disappointed in Irvine, who kept giving the ball away and missed our two good chances. The shot over the bar was wild and he should have done better with the header from the corner.
Another impressive shift from Doig and Cadden was much improved.

[The Harp Awakes]

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I don't disagree and I think we did fine tonight.

I just sort of think that's his level in games like this. We'd never get pumped, we might get the odd draw but we'd never manage to beat them. The narrow defeat every single time is what you would get - and that doesn't get the heart pumping or win trophies.

It might be worth risking the odd defeat to pick up the odd victory along the way. That way we might get a few more trophies along the way, have a few more fun pints after the game having loved the game. We'd have a few stinkers we'd need to block out, but it all just feels a bit safe.

After the events of the weekend maybe not the worst way to approach the game and rangers have been an effective side this season.

I just feel we're geared up to fall a bit short.

A decent enough night on the face of it but does it give me confidence that we'll win the Scottish Cup? Do I feel like we'll get past Aberdeen over the years then get closer to the OF? Just naw.

And it would be nice to dream a bit.

Lennon rightly takes flak for the daft stuff he says and does. But I liked the way he approached these games and he gave you the belief you were maybe going somewhere. That's gone since Heckingbottom came in.

A very measured summary which is spot on. JR sets us up against the Rangers and Celtic to try not to lose, or keep the score down. Some would say that's realistic but I think we've seen from our previous 2 managers that if you are positive against them, you can win occasionally.

Sadly under JR I don't think we are positive enough to beat them. It's all very safe and uninspiring.

[NAE NOOKIE]

It wasn't a bad effort following Saturday, but the truth is we still lost and we hardly created a single chance worth the name in the whole game.

Our passing in the final third was and for the most part in a lot of games is of an incredibly poor standard, how many times did we have 3 or 4 men in or around the box who all ended up either fighting to get on the end of a 40/60 ball or scampering back as the Hibs player in possession gave the ball away with either a poor choice of ball or simply by failing to execute properly what would have been the right pass.

The other thing I notice about this Hibs team is a singular lack of the ability to switch play.
By that I don't mean left back to centre half to centre half to right back and repeat 25 yards from our own goal, we are ok at that. I mean the player in possession 3 or 4 yards inside the opposition half with nowhere to go because his forward progress is blocked, with Hibs that situation invariably ends with a pass back, a lump down the wing hoping somebody can get on the end of it, or a tight triangle with 3 Hibs players all within a yard of each other marked by three opponents, which invariably ends with us losing the ball or it going out of play.

Watch any team with a bit of quality, before the situation can get a chance to develop like the above the ball is switched inside to a midfield player who can then either pass it to another midfielder to his right or left, sweep it out to the opposite wing or, play it through the middle. I lost count of the number of times the Rangers managed to do just that tonight. But time after time Hibs fail to execute such a move, its as if they are fixated with keeping the ball on one side of the pitch once they get into the opposition half, just now and again I would like our players to lift their heads and look for a pass inside.

[Col L]

Thanks as always Jonnyboy.

It was better, but just about anything would have been better than that second half at Hampden.

Big Daz was excellent. It was a big ask pitching him in against unbeaten league leaders but he showed his character and had a really solid game. As you mention, his post-match interview was an emotional one - he loves Hibs and showed the kind of passion that we lap up. Good to see him acknowledge the fans too, something the manager rarely does in his interviews.

Personally, I would have had Boyle on far sooner and not sure why he took Doig off rather than Cadden. Boyle put a great cross in and got us further up the pitch and we could have done with his threat going forward far sooner. I didn’t disagree with him starting on the bench though as he was honking in the semi.

My biggest gripe at the moment is our corners for. How many have we had in a row now without scoring or even looking like scoring?! Time to change it up surely.


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[BILLYHIBS]

Thanks for posting Jonnyboy

Hallbergs corners first half were honking

Better second half

Still not convinced by Jack Ross or his HIBS team

We need eleven Darren McGregors

Need three points on Saturday

[1620]

Hi

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Thanks for posting Jonnyboy

Hallbergs corners first half were honking

Better second half

Still not convinced by Jack Ross or his HIBS team

We need eleven Darren McGregors

Need three points on Saturday

A good summary JB.
I would like JR to persist with the 3/5/2 set up. In Cadden and Doig we now have two excellent players capable of playing the wingback roll properly and we need to commit to a central midfield 3 and give them a chance over a few games to establish themselves as a unit instead of the constant changes to systems and personnel.
Porteous and Nesbit need a rest at the moment and need reinvigorated, which means the club should be looking sign a striker and centre back before the window closes.
I have commented previously about how poor our corner kicks are. There is absolutely no variation to them whatsoever. I read an article yesterday before the game about how many goals the Huns have scored from set pieces this season and Gerrard was putting down to the work carried out by one of his coaches whose role it is to devise different variations on set pieces and then to drill the players regarding their implementation. There is no evidence of this happening at HTC.
The upside is last night was a much improved performance and had it not been for that cheating barsteward of a ref we would have taken something from the match.

[Greenbeard]

On the night (Sky), and on here, Porteous is getting singled out unfairly for their goal. He isn't lazy, doesn't switch off or lose concentration or commit a schoolboy error or the worst piece of defending ever seen at Easter Road, and it is easy to explain why he stops tracking Plug. At best you can say he allows himself to be distracted instead of following him.
In fact I would go so far as to say it is Porto's concentration, peripheral vision and quick reaction which cause him to let Plug go. He does start to track him, then quickly stops doing so because of the threat posed by Jack's unmarked run, and Jack is the far more likely recipient of a lay off from Aribo than Morelos. Covering that run is also what causes him to play Plug onside. If anyone switches off it is Doig who could and should have tracked Jack's run but is rooted to the spot ball watching. Similary, if anyone is lazy it is Halberg who could and should have worked harder to track or block Jack's run. Even then it takes a really top drawer lay-off from Aribo to find Plug. I also think it was a poor effort from Rocky who could and should have done better. He falls on his jacksie and does not make himself as big as he could. But to be fair it was a really well worked goal. Six touches between four different players between Plug's lay off from the touchline to him receiving the ball back.
Pains me to say it but I thought the Huns looked a VG side last night. Had us chasing shadows for a spell after going 1-0 up. No disgrace to lose this one.
A word on Hun MacGregor. Is it acceptable to go so aggressively apoplectic like that at the referee and not get a yellow? Like you say JB, what would he have done had Irvine scored?

[Cod Boy]

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Decent summary.....apart from Porteous ! Here's my take on his performance :-

Porteous – Ryan's attempt at "defending" at the Rangers goal was inexplicable. Not only did he stop tracking Morelos's run (only he can explain why) he also dropped 2 yards deeper than everyone else and succeeded in playing him onside ! Quite possibly the worst piece of defending I have ever seen at Easter Road (and I have seen a lot of bad defending). In footballing terms Ryan "sold the pies" again.

Had this been Hanlon this place would have been in melt down

[brog]

Thanks John. Just a few comments.
1. Darren, I'm a huge fan & he was correctly MOTM but if PH had allowed Aribo to slip that ball past him he would have got pelters. Again, Darren's a great asset in those games when we're likely to come under pressure. I hope we continue to support him in those games where we have 70% possession & we expect our CB's to be like Beckenbauer!
2. Although Ryan made an error for the goal I thought he played well overall. For the goal Hallberg failed to track back, not sure where Josh was but we don't really want to see Ryan out on the left touchline.
3. I continue to fail to see what Hallberg brings to the team. IMO he turns every 50/50 into a 40/60 & his timidity in the tackle continues to cost us, Aribo could have scored from his early error.
I thought it was much better, though our goal drought is becoming alarming! Onward & upward!

[JimBHibees]

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Decent summary.....apart from Porteous ! Here's my take on his performance :-

Porteous – Ryan's attempt at "defending" at the Rangers goal was inexplicable. Not only did he stop tracking Morelos's run (only he can explain why) he also dropped 2 yards deeper than everyone else and succeeded in playing him onside ! Quite possibly the worst piece of defending I have ever seen at Easter Road (and I have seen a lot of bad defending). In footballing terms Ryan "sold the pies" again.

What a crock that is.

[BSEJVT]

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What a crock that is.

Not if he had never been to ER before or that was the first Hibs game he had seen on the TV :-)

[brog]

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What a crock that is.

Yep, David Stephens still gives me shudders!!

[Diclonius]

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Decent summary.....apart from Porteous ! Here's my take on his performance :-

Porteous – Ryan's attempt at "defending" at the Rangers goal was inexplicable. Not only did he stop tracking Morelos's run (only he can explain why) he also dropped 2 yards deeper than everyone else and succeeded in playing him onside ! Quite possibly the worst piece of defending I have ever seen at Easter Road (and I have seen a lot of bad defending). In footballing terms Ryan "sold the pies" again.

This kind of hyperbole has been popping up everywhere on the forum the last couple of weeks. Has there been some sort of collective amnesia regarding Hibs in 2008-14 or something? Did I just invent Michael Hart in my head?

[JimBHibees]

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Not if he had never been to ER before or that was the first Hibs game he had seen on the TV :-)