Why Jack Ross has left Ofir Marciano out of Hibs team to face Queen of the South

Jack Ross has made just one change to his Hibs team for tonight’s Scottish Cup tie against Queen of the South with Matt Macey starting in goals.

Matt Macey, right, will deputise for Ofir Marciano this evening

With Kevin Dabrowski on the bench, some supporters have been questioning the whereabouts of Easter Road first-choice ‘keeper Ofir Marciano – while others on social media are congratulating the head coach for dropping the 31-year-old.

However, there is a very simple explanation for the Israeli’s absence.

Marciano only returned from international duty on Saturday, playing three games for Israel in six days against Denmark, Scotland, and Moldova. The final match, a 4-1 win for Willi Ruttensteiner’s team, was played in Chișinău and Marciano had to travel back from Moldova to Israel via Germany before finally returning to Scotland.

Ross hinted during his pre-match press conference that Marciano might be rested given his huge amount of travelling, saying: “We will assess him to see how he is after all his travelling.

"He also played three 90 minutes in that period as well. He is one we will give consideration to in terms of the demands that have been on him.”

Macey chance

Marciano’s absence gives Matt Macey another chance to showcase his abilities with the gloves.

The former Arsenal shot-stopper arrived on a short-term deal in January and with Marciano departing in the summer the 6ft 7in ‘keeper may have one eye on the No.1 jersey at Easter Road.

Macey and third-choice goalie Kevin Dabrowski are already in talks with club chiefs over their respective futures and with Ross keen to keep both, the 26-year-old will relish the chance to remind the gaffer of his talents.

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