[ritchiebaby]

Friday The Thirteenth will be Decision Day in Hibs quest to overhaul Rangers in the Championship. Rangers might have 3 games in hand and a 1 point lead, but I'd rather have the points anyday, so it's up to Hibs to go for the jugular and play for the win to edge ahead in the table.

There's not much to add to previous threads about Rangers - they still don't have their troubles to seek either off or on the pitch. What effect the introduction of the Newcastle loanees remains to be seen, but they're at the stage of having to try something different. Boyd and Miller still flatter to deceive in attack and the team in general doesn't seem to have any cohesion or conviction. Still, remember a wounded animal is a dangerous aninal, so Hibs had better treat them with respect and caution.

As far as Hibs are concerned, the game plan must be to try to dominate the play early on and get a goal or two without reply. Hibs have proved in their previous games against Rangers that they are extremely capable of that, so the same again, please. After their game against Arbroath, Hibs could add Watson, Boyle and Malonga to their squad, so there are plenty of options available. My team would be:-

Cerny (although I expect Oxley to get the nod),
Gray, Fontaine, Hanlon, Stevenson,
Fyvie, McGeouch, Robertson, Allan,
Cummings, Malonga.

Used substitutes - Watson, Handling, Boyle.

[TheWorthinGer]

Hibs should just run about a bit...that seems to be a good tactic against us.

[ritchiebaby]

Hibs are very good at running about a bit, TWG. Sticking the ball in the back of the net is what we need to do more of. What better time to do it than in a match against Rangers. We can't afford to turn up thinking the game is won before we start, no matter what your team is. Let's hope it's a decent game of football where that's what gets all the headlines, not the usual guff.

[ritchiebaby]

A valuable 3 points for Hibs as they continue their quest to finish 2nd in the Championship with a 2-0 win at Ibrox. It seems to have been a strange kind of game with Rangers having 55% possession, although Larry on the Rangers board says most of it was lumping it forward and passing it sideways. An improved Rangers team had 21 shots to Hibs 4, but still managed to lose 2 goals to an assured Hibs side. Boyd and Miller still seem to be giving the impression of yesterday's men, not really up for anything. Hutton was said to be Rangers best player.

Hibs were probably under more pressure than they have been for some time, but coped well. The goals came from Scott Robertson, slotting home a loose ball in the 19th minute, and Lewis Stevenson in the 82nd minute. Cummings and Malonga didn't seem to have any kind of understanding and were both substituted. Allan was again removed from the action with 15 minutes to go and the regularity of this move is slightly concerning, but also shows excellent game and man management by Alan Stubbs, as the tactic is obviously working.

This result leaves Hibs 2nd in the table on 43 points, 2 points and 4 goals ahead of Rangers, who have 3 games in hand over Hibs.

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I've just been reading the match report on the Hibs website, and to be fair to Miller and Boyd, they both went close in the early stages of the match, although they perhaps should have done better. Hibs were happy with a policy of containment and to try to catch Rangers on the counter attack, which might have produced another couple of goals. Rangers enjoyed the lion's share of chances and only some stout defending and agile goalkeeping kept them out.