Hibs v Motherwell was never going to be Roundheads against Cavaliers - and when is a booking not a booking?
Pundits’ pets looked a decent side - but hardly a class above their Easter Road hosts
That didn’t go quite the way a lot of people expected it to pan out, did it? So much for Motherwell’s Cavaliers sweeping aside David Gray’s Roundheads in a battle between the forces of footballing purity and cold-hearted pragmatism.
Yes, Jens Berthel Askou’s men played some very nice football at Easter Road today. But to cast Hibs in the role of outclassed cloggers, as so many of the hype merchants were doing in the run-up to this one, was always a piece of pundits’ idiocy.
In the end, the clash between these two direct rivals was a relatively even contest. So what did we learn from a game that saw Hibs fail to overtake the silky Steelmen, while extending their unbeaten run to five straight Scottish Premiership fixtures?
Goals remain at a premium
You can see why David Gray wants to add another striker to his squad this month. Even if Hibs keep hold of Kieron Bowie, and Martin Boyle returns from his hamstring injury on schedule, there’s a feeling that a little extra oomph in the penalty box wouldn’t go amiss.
Bowie, of course, responded exactly as you’d expect to the latest round of speculation surrounding his future, with both Rangers AND Celtic now reportedly interested in the former Raith Rovers and Fulham striker, who is also on the radar of Wolves. He put in a shift – and took his ninth goal of the season very well.
Youan remains an enigma
Elie Youan, who deserves credit for keeping going for the full 90 minutes, was as enigmatic as ever. Could have scored. Might have ended the game with at least one assist. But inspired howls of frustration from the home crowd far too often for anyone’s liking.
Thibault Klidje brought a bit of directness and pace to an increasingly stretched game late on, replacing a clearly exhausted Bowie. Who could use a little help. Assuming he’s still a Hibs players at the start of February.
Bookings and non-bookings impact on contest
When is a promising attack not a promising attack? Asking for a refereeing acquaintance.
As Motherwell fullback Emmanuel Longelo effectively rugby tackled Kanayo Megwa with the Hibs wingback about to break clear in the final third, it seemed like an obvious bookable offence. Under the Laws of the Game, a yellow card should be shown for a foul ‘which interferes with or stops a promising attack - except where the referee awards a penalty kick for an offence which was an attempt to play the ball or for a challenge for the ball.’ Ahem. See photo below.
Did referee Matthew MacDermid view a wide player in possession on the right wing, with team-mates in and around the box, as anything but a promising attack? That’s a bit of an insult to young Megwa.
It didn’t matter much, of course. Until Longelo then up-ended Hibs substitute Klidje as the striker skipped past the defender on a breakaway at the halfway line.
Had he been booked for his first offence, would the visiting defender have made the same rash challenge? If so, he’d have been sent off. If not, Klidje would have raced clear – and possibly won all three points for Hibs. In a game of fine margins, it would be wrong to overlook how pivotal all these little moments might have been.
Tactics, tactics, tactics
There was no great surprise to be sprung on either side of this contest, the Motherwell manager pointing out: “I think both teams felt that they've invested a lot of energy in running transitions back and forward. Two teams who were quite ready tactically, well prepared tactically on each other's strengths and weaknesses. So there was a lot of almost moments for both teams.”
That’s a nice way of putting it: “Almost moments.” Rather sums up the feeling on both sides.
For the record, Hibs edged the contest in terms of expected goals (xG), but only by a tiny margin, ‘out-scoring’ the visitors by 1.20 – 1.07. They vastly outperformed Motherwell in terms of touches in the opposition box, but were pretty much locked together on shots and chances created.
In terms of how Hibs shaped up, they were flexible and adaptable, pushing Jordan Obita up the pitch and defending with a flat back four when Motherwell were working the ball along their back line, choosing their moments to press – and even looking as if they were working with a front three at times. As the visitors gained territory, Hibs reverted to a more familiar shape and closed down the spaces.
They had to fight hard to keep the livewire Motherwell attack at bay, of course. Tawanda Maswanhise is an electrifying runner who deserved his goal.
But both teams suffered their most worrying defensive moments after losing the ball. Transition is such a key phase in the modern game. And will be where the race for European places will be decided, over the coming weeks and months.
A Scottish Cup run would restore momentum
After three wins on the bounce, a home draw feels like dropped points for Hibs. Gray talked during the week about the chance his team had this afternoon– a perfect opportunity to overtake Mot herwell and claim fourth place in the Scottish Premiership.
They’ll stay in fifth place, at least, as the league takes a weekend off. This coming Saturday’s Scottish Cup clash against Neil Lennon’s Dunfermline in the Kingdom of Fife offers Hibs a great chance to get moving in the right direction again, following yesterday’s pause – definitely not a full stop, more a comma - in progress.