This is how it feels (Motherwell 26 01 2022)

[Jonnyboy]

Fir Park can be a dreary place to visit at the best of times and tonight it was all the drearier as Hibs huffed and puffed and failed to get one shot on target. A howling wind and driving rain didn’t help of course but the truth is that neither side really deserved to win. I felt we had the better of the first half but fell away a bit in the second and failed to capitalise on playing against ten men for the last twenty minutes or so.

With Paul Hanlon absent due to an ankle knock, Shaun Maloney had to rejig his defence again bringing in McGinn, who returned from suspension, to play in a back three with Bushiri and captain for the night Lewis Stevenson. Watching the warm up routines before the game, Hibs practised with a back five, no doubt on the basis that out of possession that might have to be the case. New signing Demetri Mitchell found a place on the bench.

In a quick start to the game the first chance fell to Kevin Nisbet who got on the end of a ball over the top of the Motherwell defence, but his effort was blocked by Solholm and that was followed by a corner to the visitors, but Doyle-Hayes was penalised for a foul as the ball was delivered into the box. Hibs’ wide men Cadden and Doig were hugging the shy line throughout in an attempt to stretch the Motherwell defence but during the entirety of the game they got little support from midfield, with the exception of Joe Newell who, particularly in the first half was trying to drive his side on. No-one from midfield seemed to want to go beyond the strikers and that meant Motherwell could easily stifle our play down the sides.

The conditions were awful and didn’t help in terms of trying to let the game flow but another major factor in that regard was the incessant stop start caused by niggly fouls and referee Andrew Dallas being more than a little happy to keep blowing his whistle. The hosts had a couple of earlyish efforts through Donnelly and Van Veen, but neither was on target. Jordan Roberts was extremely lucky not to get a yellow for needlessly pushing Bushiri against the covered enclosure for wheelchair users. Bushiri complained to Dallas and got a telling off for doing so. The incident happened right in front of the main stand assistant, but that gentleman seemed to have blinked and missed it.

A Van Veen free kick was easily saved by Macey and following that there was little or no goalmouth action at either end. The game was beyond scrappy and not a good watch with both sides trading blows in midfield. The first booking of the game was given to Lewis Stevenson who was enraged by the fact that he himself had been fouled seconds earlier, but that challenge went unpunished.

Around the twenty five minute mark, Macey kept out a shot from Shields but only succeeded in pushing the ball into the path of the unmarked Van Veen who shanked his effort wide with the goal gaping. The travelling support was seemingly split on the merits of Hibs playing the ball out from the back, but I actually felt Hibs worked that well, certainly in the first half. A Mueller effort was blocked and as the half time whistle approached, Van Veen once again failed to hit the target from a good position.

Neither side made any changes at the break and the game basically picked up where it had left off in the first half and then things got a little tasty when Liam Donnelly felled Mueller with a pretty poor challenge, earning a yellow card in the process. Josh Campbell had the chance to put Hibs one up when he leapt to meet a cross from Newell, but he got minimal contact on the ball which rolled out for a shy. Chris Mueller was working hard enough but not really getting involved in the game enough and that led to his replacement with Drey Wright coming off the bench. Personally, I thought that was the wrong call and that Mueller should have been replaced by Doidge, giving us two recognised strikers. As it was, Wright popped up in midfield most often which left Nisbet up top on his own.

With around twenty five to go, the hosts were reduced to ten men after Liam Donnelly went through the back of Drey Wright to earn his second yellow. As Donnelly trudged off, the fourth official alerted Dallas to a misdemeanour by ‘Well boss Graham Alexander, as a result of which he too was sent off. I’ve no idea why Alexander was so incensed because both of Donnelly’s yellow cards were entirely justified.

The dismissal prompted Hibs to make two quick substitutions with Stevenson and Campbell being replaced by Henderson and Mitchell. Doig moved to the left of the back three and Mitchell took up the wide left midfield beat. With ten minutes left, a poor ball across the face of the Hibs eighteen yard line was falling short of reaching McGinn who had little choice but to bring down Jordan Roberts and give the hosts a genuine goal scoring opportunity. Van Veen stepped forward again but this time his effort was blocked by Doyle-Hayes at the expense of a corner.

Hibs were trying to break down the ten man defence but lack of forward momentum from midfield was hardly helping the cause. Ironically, the replacement of Newell with Doidge was like playing into Motherwell’s hands as of the midfield players on show for Hibs, Newell was the only one driving the side forward. The clock was ticking when Doidge latched on to a clever Henderson pass but as Kelly in the Motherwell goal advanced, Doidge got too much on the lob and the ball cleared the bar. Next, Henderson struck a low diagonal effort across the six yard box and the ball missed the target by inches.

A dreary game on a dreary night left me with mixed emotions. The Maloney style was, for me, evident in the first half especially but his biggest problem is going to be getting his players scoring goals. No shots on target is a pretty damning statistic in anybody’s language and left the travelling fans somewhat deflated but I do take some degree of comfort in seeing the style slowly evolving. I keep thinking back to the start of the season when Celtic brought in a head coach from left field and he didn’t get off to the best of starts but time, patience and a few new faces have them playing great stuff. I think Shaum Maloney will get there, we just need the patience from both his players and us as supporters.

The players

Macey – A couple of routine saves on a night when goalkeeping was made more difficult by the windy conditions.

McGinn – Paul was solid enough defensively, making a couple of crucial blocks to avoid us conceding.

Bushiri – I love this guy already. He’s going to be a firm favourite I reckon. Defends well both in and out of possession and was the best player on the park at reading the flight of the ball in blustery conditions. My man of the match.

Stevenson – Lewis was as solid as a rock and looked like he’d played that position for years.

Cadden – I don’t think anyone can doubt his commitment and effort but if were to nit-pick I’d say he needs to learn what was coached into Martin Boyle and that is to lift his head before firing crosses in.

Doyle-Hayes – I like Jake but he really must be taught to break forward with the ball and more so break forward when the wide men have it and are looking for support.

Newell – I’ve criticised Joe in the past for too many sideways and backwards passes but, especially in the first half, he was driving Hibs forward both when he had the ball and when he made himself available to receive it.

Doig – A mixed bag from Josh tonight. Three times he failed to control the ball which then ran out for a shy but on the plus side, he made a few of his lung bursting runs down the left and had the ‘Well defenders in a tizzy.

Campbell – For me this was his poorest performance of the season so far. Pretty much never gets into the opponent’s box when we are attacking and given that’s a large part of the role for the position he plays in that’s pretty disappointing.

Nisbet – Usual barracking from some in our support but I thought he worked hard with little or no support from his midfield colleagues.

Mueller – Not his night, tonight. Lots of effort with little reward.

Wright – I’d like to know where he was told to play. He replaced a striker, and we were looking for goals so why did he spend almost all of his time in midfield?

Henderson – Played a lovely ball through to Doidge and was really unfortunate on another occasion to miss the target himself by a couple of inches.

Mitchell – Looks rapid but took a sore one as he galloped down the left.

Doidge – Misjudged his lob and frustrated the life out of Nisbet who was waiting unmarked in the middle.

Shaun Maloney – Seems he was happy enough with what he witnessed, saying we made lots of chances but sadly didn’t convert any. I find myself agreeing with him because as he says, he’s only just getting his message through to the players. I suspect many will disagree, but I think we need to exercise patience and the results will come.

Referee – Hugh Dallas was bad enough, but his laddie ……. Words fail me.

[The Harp Awakes]

While I can see what Shaun is trying do in terms of style of play, he is going to get totally hamstrung because of the lack of creativity in midfield and offensive positions. The absence of Boyle leaves us completely toothless. We have no flair players now, and no-one who can produce from set pieces.

A big few days left in the transfer window for Shaun. Signng 1 or 2 decent, offensive players could make all the difference, but if we don't manage that, this season is a write off

[Unseen work]

It was a horrible night for a game of football. Away to Motherwell is always tough never mind their league position and the weather conditions.

First half I thought we played the conditions well and still knocked it about well.

Newell was brilliant and some of his passes were sublime, touch and pinging it wide which is what he should always do. Also thought Nisbet was a lot more like himself and Rocky was brilliant. Doig was having a mixed game with his touch letting him down on occasion.

The amount of times we got in good positions in the Motherwell half only to over hit a pass was criminal though. If we play possession we need to make it count and have more quality when we cut through them.

Second half I though we played much deeper and this took away from newells game as he was nowhere near as effective. We still got in good positions and it was unfortunate none of our crosses landed on a Hibs player.

Overall I think defensively we were brilliant and have been since Maloney came in.

Attacking we need alot more creativity and most importantly quality. I hear alot about the centre mids and whilst I can see the argument for it if you have an intelligent number 10 dropping into gaps I have no doubt Newell and JDH would find him.

MOTM - Rocky

Good performances - Back 3, Newell, Nisbet and Doig

Poor performances - Campbell, JDH and Mueller

Maybe harsh on the poor as like I said it was a battle tonight, especially in the middle of the park.

Maloney - I feel for him. I think him trying to save the players face is losing his own with the fans a bit as they’re getting frustrated with his interviews already. I think he’s not daft though and we’ll see alot of movement in and out over the next week - he knows exactly where we need to strengthen. There’s a reason he keeps changing the front 3 and saying we need to be braver and more aggressive - because we’re not good enough. I was also pleasantly surprised he moved from his 343 to a 352 tonight though with Campbell dropping into CM due to the conditions, shows he’s willing to adapt albeit slightly.

[BILLYHIBS]

Thanks for posting Jonnyboy

Still scratching my head as to how Roberts escaped a booking

Van Veen was just being Van Veen but Roberts was persistent

Night Night

[Tambo]

Thought Newell was excellent first half and Rocky was my MOTM.

Very quiet night for Mueller and Campbell which is maybe why we created very little. Nice wee cameo from Henderson.

[number9dream]

A horrible game on a horrible night.
If Doidge is close to 100% fit, he should have been on a lot earlier than 82 mins since Nisbet really needs some help up there.
Credit to Rocky for standing strong in the face of the blatant roughhousing.

[CentreLine]

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A horrible game on a horrible night.
If Doidge is close to 100% fit, he should have been on a lot earlier than 82 mins since Nisbet really needs some help up there.
Credit to Rocky for standing strong in the face of the blatant roughhousing.

Blatant indeed. Not sure who it was but there was a Motherwell player stamped on Newell’s leg, as he lay on the ground, early on and that set the tone. Bunch of hammer throwers

[PeeJay]

Good report as ever - there were some decent individual and team efforts on display, despite the poor conditions. Thought Motherwell were better at pressing us when we had the ball than we were them when they had it? As to all our "ball possession", it means nothing if we don't create real chances: did we test their goalie at all last night, I'm not sure? The change in style is clear for all to see, but we need to be quicker when moving forward and we need to be more clinical and focussed when in the final third. Think we had an opportunity for 3 points here and we let it slip ...

[Allant1981]

Rocky quite rightly getting plaudits but i actually thought paul mcginn had a good game as well, i felt a bit more assured with him in the side

[JimBHibees]

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Rocky quite rightly getting plaudits but i actually thought paul mcginn had a good game as well, i felt a bit more assured with him in the side

Yes Paul was excellent

[Martymck]

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Rocky quite rightly getting plaudits but i actually thought paul mcginn had a good game as well, i felt a bit more assured with him in the side

same very consistent very rarely let’s us down.

[Viva_Palmeiras]

Re Dallas - who witnesses the abuse of your parent (possibly including a 50p to the heid - surely that was not a 50p!!!) and says “Dad - I want to be just like you when I grow up - a referee!” And what sane parent would let them ? :)

[loanheadhibby]

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It was a horrible night for a game of football. Away to Motherwell is always tough never mind their league position and the weather conditions.

First half I thought we played the conditions well and still knocked it about well.

Newell was brilliant and some of his passes were sublime, touch and pinging it wide which is what he should always do. Also thought Nisbet was a lot more like himself and Rocky was brilliant. Doig was having a mixed game with his touch letting him down on occasion.

The amount of times we got in good positions in the Motherwell half only to over hit a pass was criminal though. If we play possession we need to make it count and have more quality when we cut through them.

Second half I though we played much deeper and this took away from newells game as he was nowhere near as effective. We still got in good positions and it was unfortunate none of our crosses landed on a Hibs player.

Overall I think defensively we were brilliant and have been since Maloney came in.

Attacking we need alot more creativity and most importantly quality. I hear alot about the centre mids and whilst I can see the argument for it if you have an intelligent number 10 dropping into gaps I have no doubt Newell and JDH would find him.

MOTM - Rocky

Good performances - Back 3, Newell, Nisbet and Doig

Poor performances - Campbell, JDH and Mueller

Maybe harsh on the poor as like I said it was a battle tonight, especially in the middle of the park.

Maloney - I feel for him. I think him trying to save the players face is losing his own with the fans a bit as they’re getting frustrated with his interviews already. I think he’s not daft though and we’ll see alot of movement in and out over the next week - he knows exactly where we need to strengthen. There’s a reason he keeps changing the front 3 and saying we need to be braver and more aggressive - because we’re not good enough. I was also pleasantly surprised he moved from his 343 to a 352 tonight though with Campbell dropping into CM due to the conditions, shows he’s willing to adapt albeit slightly.

Our defence was brilliant as was Newell.
You're having a laugh.
That was absolute rubbish last night and surely Hibs fans can see that.

[Unseen work]

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Our defence was brilliant as was Newell.
You're having a laugh.
That was absolute rubbish last night and surely Hibs fans can see that.

Final third we were very poor and never created enough.

But Newell, first half especially was very good.

I stand by my praise of the defence, difficult conditions and they limited Motherwell to next to nothing. Rocky was brilliant up against a good striker in Van Veen.

[Allant1981]

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Our defence was brilliant as was Newell.
You're having a laugh.
That was absolute rubbish last night and surely Hibs fans can see that.

Shocked that you have came out with a negative post about hibs, didnt see that coming at all! and the defence did play well, as did newell

[JimBHibees]

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Final third we were very poor and never created enough.

But Newell, first half especially was very good.

I stand by my praise of the defence, difficult conditions and they limited Motherwell to next to nothing. Rocky was brilliant up against a good striker in Van Veen.

Spot on.

[Jones28]

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Our defence was brilliant as was Newell.
You're having a laugh.
That was absolute rubbish last night and surely Hibs fans can see that.

It doesn’t have to just be ***** or just be brilliant. There’s a sliding scale.

[Ronniekirk]

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Final third we were very poor and never created enough.

But Newell, first half especially was very good.

I stand by my praise of the defence, difficult conditions and they limited Motherwell to next to nothing. Rocky was brilliant up against a good striker in Van Veen.

Rocky was worth the admission money Although what’s with his fetish fir touching his ankles after every move he was involved with

[loanheadhibby]

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Shocked that you have came out with a negative post about hibs, didnt see that coming at all! and the defence did play well, as did newell

I am as desperate as you to see us do well.
I feel I'm being realistic. It was very difficult conditions but not to have a shot on target in 90 mins is not good enough in my opinion.
I know I can be critical but find it hard to agree with many posts praising in my opinion ordinary players.

[Allant1981]

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I am as desperate as you to see us do well.
I feel I'm being realistic. It was very difficult conditions but not to have a shot on target in 90 mins is not good enough in my opinion.
I know I can be critical but find it hard to agree with many posts praising in my opinion ordinary players.

Just because we had 0 shots on target doesnt mean the defence didnt play well though, we had a clean sheet against a decent forward on a crappy night, surely you can see the defence played well

[loanheadhibby]

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Just because we had 0 shots on target doesnt mean the defence didnt play well though, we had a clean sheet against a decent forward on a crappy night, surely you can see the defence played well

Yes point taken.