Goal, Fletcher hat-trick and 4-2 Hibs

Back of the net!

The keeper's been shot!

A treat to Scobes for his birthday - a trip to Easter Road to see the Cabbage.


I know "papering over the cracks" is a phrase bandied about quite a lot these days in football but never could it be more pertinent than to the 2 Edinburgh sides. If the Hibs and Hearts teams now came up against the Hibs and Hearts teams of 18 months ago they'd get a 5-0 pasting from either of 'em.

Hibs are most definitely papering over the cracks with Mixu. Hibs fans demand attractive football..... maybe even, dare I say it, over passion.

Make no mistake, Mixu will not have Hibs playing the same carpet football that JC had them play. I lost count of the long balls first half. Totally unnecessary. Occasionally a long ball was played into a channel on the wing and Gathuessi, Shiels or Morais would latch on to it producing an attacking cross into the box. "Oooh" go the crowd as nobody gets anywhere near it. Papering over the cracks. Hogg loves a Gary Owen these days too. Under JC he didnae. He'd get a roasting. We have no requirement for a midfield now and at times tonight we had a deep-set 7 or 8 behind the ball waiting on a poorly supported counter attack. Boozy has lost the Gallic flair completely - and his eyesight for that matter. Nish - honest trier. Morais has also lost his way since JC left. His fitness has dropped. I suspect he's nightclubbing too much in Mercado (or whatever it's called now). His hairdo tells a thousand stories. Jury's out on Rankin and the new left-back. Ma-Kalambay had some outstanding saves but, as always, the split of fantastic/horrific was 80/20 with him.
Murray does the simple things right but crisp, flowing football is not part of his game. We had a few injuries (Capt Jones especially). Kerr the water-carrier came back - pretty ineffective. Shiels gives his all and there's still hope there.
O'Brien....???? He's fast.

The two late goals we leaked to them showed the serious incohesion that exists in this forlorn looking side.

The one shining light of course is Real Madrid target, Steven Fletcher. A sublime hat-trick after setting-up the first goal for Nish. His first was an incredible dipping volley from 25 yards. His second - a Dalglish-esque chest then volley. His last - an injury-time, coolly-stroked penalty (yellow ball nestling in the net in the picture above). Fletcher's fitness should be a lesson to the likes of Morais.
One thing I must point out about the unfinished article of Fletch though, is his reluctance to pull the trigger instinctively with his right foot. He tried it once tonight and almost got a goal. If he tried each time that he ought to have done he'd have walked away with two matchballs tonight. I hold JC partly responsible for this because in this article I'd read about him while Mowbray was still the boss at Hibs he said (and I quote) "I hear it all the time from managers, a left-sided centre-back is weak on his right side, and five years later, when he's released, they say, 'He's still weak on his right side'. Well, for me, there are two people to blame: the coach and the player. " - You said it, JC. He also has his faults.

Other than Fletch the other image I left the game with was the wee hobbitt/lead singer of The View looking number 38 for Gretna probing away at Hibs all night. We should sign him.

We were about to head for a Deuchars in The Windsor after Deuchar made it 3-2 (plagiarising you there, Scobes) but stayed to see the pekalty after Nish went over under Gretna keeper's challenge. 4-2 it finished. We deserved the win....just! We were terrible second-half. Papering over the cracks. The score flattered Hibs.

Too harsh?

Early days, Mixu, I know...... but c'mon, play some fitba. Benefit of the doubt is still yours. I really want to believe we'll be on fire again but in the meantime please extinguish my pessimism.