08-02-2015, 15:05
Well, the usual "the good, the bad and the ugly" from Hibs who eventually overcame a spirited, troublesome Arbroath side by 3 goals to 1.
NEGATIVES - Oxley retained his place and didn't have that much to do, should have done better at the Arbroath goal by standing up to make the target more difficult to hit, had one good second-half save from Simon Murray, but, to me, has a disconcerting habit of coming 25 yards out of his goal when Hibs are attacking. He'll be caught out one of these days. Craig got a start, but I really don't know why. He was rubbish earlier in the season and he was rubbish yesterday, the prime example being when "chasing" a through ball on the left in the first half, he allowed the defender far too much leeway to let the ball run over the line. No pressuring the defender, no attempting to get the ball. I'm 65 and I could at least have put the defender under a bit of pressure! And one for Stubbs - why does full-back Gray take up position as a right-winger and then doesn't get the ball played out to him (notably in the first half)? When we lose possession, he is 40 yards out of position.
POSITIVES - We're in the next round. Both Dja Djedje - nice cool finish for his goal and had a goal disallowed for a foul on the keeper - and Fyvie looked off the pace early on, but came on to better games as the game wore on. Scott Allan played well as usual, hit the post in the first half, won MOM but again was substituted, and there's definitely something amiss somewhere. Too much throwing his arms in the air in exasperation when things go wrong, but I'll easily forgive him that - I felt like that too on numerous occasions. Personally my MOM would have been McGeouch, who came on for Craig, and that made a big difference in attitude from Hibs, much more direct play rewarded with a fine goal. Fontaine and Hanlon had their occasional lapses, but generally did well against the Arbroath front men - I especially liked their No 9, Paul McManus, a sprightly nuisance all afternoon. Gray and Stevenson, who was captain for the day on his 250th appearance for Hibs, did well, as did Robertson and Cummings.
All in all, a comfortable win in the end, but not before a decent Arbroath side made life difficult in the first hour. Now for the quarter-final draw on Monday.
NEGATIVES - Oxley retained his place and didn't have that much to do, should have done better at the Arbroath goal by standing up to make the target more difficult to hit, had one good second-half save from Simon Murray, but, to me, has a disconcerting habit of coming 25 yards out of his goal when Hibs are attacking. He'll be caught out one of these days. Craig got a start, but I really don't know why. He was rubbish earlier in the season and he was rubbish yesterday, the prime example being when "chasing" a through ball on the left in the first half, he allowed the defender far too much leeway to let the ball run over the line. No pressuring the defender, no attempting to get the ball. I'm 65 and I could at least have put the defender under a bit of pressure! And one for Stubbs - why does full-back Gray take up position as a right-winger and then doesn't get the ball played out to him (notably in the first half)? When we lose possession, he is 40 yards out of position.
POSITIVES - We're in the next round. Both Dja Djedje - nice cool finish for his goal and had a goal disallowed for a foul on the keeper - and Fyvie looked off the pace early on, but came on to better games as the game wore on. Scott Allan played well as usual, hit the post in the first half, won MOM but again was substituted, and there's definitely something amiss somewhere. Too much throwing his arms in the air in exasperation when things go wrong, but I'll easily forgive him that - I felt like that too on numerous occasions. Personally my MOM would have been McGeouch, who came on for Craig, and that made a big difference in attitude from Hibs, much more direct play rewarded with a fine goal. Fontaine and Hanlon had their occasional lapses, but generally did well against the Arbroath front men - I especially liked their No 9, Paul McManus, a sprightly nuisance all afternoon. Gray and Stevenson, who was captain for the day on his 250th appearance for Hibs, did well, as did Robertson and Cummings.
All in all, a comfortable win in the end, but not before a decent Arbroath side made life difficult in the first hour. Now for the quarter-final draw on Monday.
Cabbage is still good for you