Hibs v Rovers

[Brashy's Boots]

36 minutes ago, TxRover said:

Looked like Marshall got to it, heard no one suggest otherwise, so that spins it differently. The cross was tipped slightly so it was falling more out front of Lewis, which is why I thought the keeper got to it. If it was poked off the post (that was right in front of the Rovers fans, eh?) that could be due to stretching or just a poor shot…could you tell?

Was right in front of us. Hit it on half volley iirc and was just unlucky. They run up and score within a minute or two. Fine margins indeed.

[Specky Ginger]

It wasn't the most exhilarating game, but it was a nice change to see two teams actually try to play a bit of football after being subjected to that gang last week.

Thought we were the better team from 15 minutes in until half time, but the old cliché about having to score when you're on top in these games came back to bite us on the bahookie.

[Specky Ginger]

39 minutes ago, TxRover said:

Looked like Marshall got to it, heard no one suggest otherwise, so that spins it differently. The cross was tipped slightly so it was falling more out front of Lewis, which is why I thought the keeper got to it. If it was poked off the post (that was right in front of the Rovers fans, eh?) that could be due to stretching or just a poor shot…could you tell?

I was sitting right behind the net and Marshall was nowhere near it.

[Specky Ginger]

2 hours ago, Raith Against The Machine said:

Not the last goal we're going to lose this season coming right into the six yard box like that. For everything Dabrowski gives, he doesn't look comfortable at all when the ball's coming in on top of him. He did well with the one before it, and another one just there, but he'll be continually targeted by the opposition. 

Poorly defended corner, but not sure Dabrowski is ever getting to that 

[Raith Against The Machine]

46 minutes ago, Specky Ginger said:

Poorly defended corner, but not sure Dabrowski is ever getting to that 

You could be right, I was very low down at the other end so it's difficult to judge how close to the goalkeeper it was. 

I agree that it was a game of fine margins, and that Newell made a big difference. First half it felt like every break of the ball in the middle fell either to a Rovers player, or a Hibs player who had Stanton/Byrne/Brown breathing down their neck. So often in the first half a Rovers midfielder turned away into space and played a neat pass. It took Newell for Hibs to do that, and suddenly they were getting their forward players into the game. 

Prior to the second goal, I thought Liam Dick was having one of his better games. He supported Vaughan well in the first half and looked relatively adventurous when we had the ball in the second, but he's totally suckered in for that goal. He's got so long to watch Stevenson's crossball to Youan and he's got to either be completely confident that he's winning it, or stand off and deal with the second ball. As it is, he gets far too close and the ball is knocked in behind him before he knows which way's up. The red card looked harsh to me at the time, in as much as it's clearly a genuine attempt at the ball, he's got absolutely no intention of catching Vente, let alone bursting his puss, but fundamentally if you kick someone in the face you're always giving the referee a decision to make. 

I think you saw in his relatively brief appearance what we missed being unable to start Hamilton. His very first involvement gave Hanlon and Harbottle a tougher time in the air than they'd had at any point up til then. With Smith (and, indeed, all of our other attackers) playing off Hamilton, we might've gotten on a lot better turning possession into attempts at goal. 

Our season isn't going to turn or be judged on a game at Easter Road. I said at half time that I was pleased with how we approached it, and that continued in the second half. You can easily be turned over in a game like this if you don't get the basics right, but we made it a competition to the very end. 

Intrigued to see whether Byrne and Brown both make it into the starting line-up for next weekend. For me, it's a no-brainer. Byrne dropped off a bit after his booking, but those two should absolutely run the midfield in most games at Championship level. 

[Scary Bear]

I thought we competed well. However that game had all the excitement and atmosphere of a pre-season friendly. 

#WeGoAgain
 

 

[TxRover]

3 hours ago, Specky Ginger said:

Poorly defended corner, but not sure Dabrowski is ever getting to that 

As I recall it, Kev was on the line with a Hibbie and a Rover stacked in front of him, and had to literally toss the Hibbie to the side to even get off his line.

[Beastie Russell]

13 hours ago, Broken Algorithms said:

Brown and Byrne coming off absolutely ruined it for us. Newell did really well for Hibs when he was subbed on. Very much a case of fine margins. I didn't even catch much of the second goal but it looked like a nuke. Every reason to be optimistic going forward.

All the best to Hibs in the rest of the competition. There was a great degree of respect by them playing such a strong team. 

Byrne is class, was less effective after his booking, for which Vaughan sold him down the River.

 

 

[Ro Sham Bo]

Just watched the highlights. That 2nd goal is becoming a bit of a theme for Dabrowski. Not a howler by any means but one where you can't help but think he might have done better. 

Obviously Liam Dick being rinsed by Youan didn't exactly help. 

The red card is soft although no doubt technically correct. It hadn't even crossed my mind Dick would be sent off until the red card came out. 

[Broken Algorithms]

 

Much like a fair few others, I didn't see the run up to the second goal as I was sending an update to a group chat. I thought Dabrowski had made a howler but in hindsight he's been let down a bit by what happened before (I think @TxRoversaid this before). Fair play to Hibs for resetting so quickly and getting their advantage back from kick off.

Brilliant bit of skill from Smith to let the ball roll across him to get past the last man for his goal. In the final third we really needed Gullan to be laying off the ball to Ethan Ross for a cutback late on.

I'm intrigued to see if we appeal that red card. There wasn't any malice or intent in it whatsoever.  

 

[Hank Scorpio]

The ball from Mullin for the chance when Vaughan hit the post is really something else. De-Bruyne-esque. 

[Double Jack D]

Goalie not at fault for either goal imo. Indeed he had a great save to keep it at 0-0 early in second half. Getting a bit uncomfortable at the growing number of fans being overly critical of Dabrowski when I'm not sure he has done much wrong.

We had a few chances yesterday and scored a decent goal. Thought we matched Hibs for much of the game much like we did Kilmarnock at Rugby Park in the group stages.

 

[Raithie]

2 hours ago, Hank Scorpio said:

The ball from Mullin for the chance when Vaughan hit the post is really something else. De-Bruyne-esque. 

It was indeed. Didn't really appreciate the quality of the pass when watching in real time but seeing it in the highlights it is something else. 

Enjoyed the day out yesterday. Thought we were ok, matched Hibs well at times and weren't pumped. Pity we couldn't have just kept things tight after equalising. One thing I noticed was the general physique and build of prem players, a very clear step above from what we have. Hibs players just seemed to be able to naturally judge bounce of the ball, knew how to adjust their bodies when under pressure and generally could knock us off the ball easier. Any 2nd ball it always seemed a Hib players was there to pick it up. Things seemed quite flat in the ground from both sets of fans. Could tell that from a Hibs point of view it was just a run of the mill game/victory to them with understandably bigger things coming up. 

[Joe Terrapin]

A weird game. Strangely I didn't feel we were in any danger of losing the game despite being outplayed for large parts. Newell changed the game in our favour and if Johnson can't see the limitations of Campbell he is a bigger fraud than I thought. Really harsh red card, must be reduced on appeal? Impressed with Rovers and hope they do well this year.