HIBS PAY THE PENALT Y
THIS time it was Hibernian’s turn to reluctantly endure Covid- 19 disruption. It was as if Aberdeen, who have finally come out of the other side of the all the tumult that was triggered from eight of their players breaching safety guidelines on an illadvised night out, passed the baton to their hosts.
Firstly, to matters on the pitch. The Dons emerged with all the spoils from Easter Road courtesy of Lewis Ferguson’s first- half penalty.
In doing so, they came up against a Hibs team whose preparations for the game had been thrown into turmoil through midfielder Alex Gogic’s false positive test for the virus on Friday.
The Cypriot, whose two follow up tests came back negative, was forced to sit out this clash having been ordered to self- isolate for 10 days.
The former Hamilton player will also agonisingly miss the chance to make a dream debut for his country following his maiden call- up last week.
Hibs head coach Jack Ross was not impressed, highlighting that there is a different set of rules for the general public.
He said: “My understanding, and I’ll stand corrected if I’m wrong, is that that if you have a false NHS test then, I think it’s subject to symptoms within the household etc – there are some caveats to it, that you are free to go about your business.
“Alex not only misses today’s game but he is also in a period of self- isolation for 10 days.
“His first test result was at a level that he was never infectious.
“I have a player who was never infectious who had two negative tests that can’t play.”
The Scottish FA’s apparent dithering on the issue also left Ross frustrated as the club sought clarity on whether they could train on Saturday. They eventually took the decision themselves to call off the session.
“The one thing I would say is that the length of time it took
us to get clarity from the SFA was not good,” added Ross, who admitted Daryl Horgan was set to return to England in the wake of Jamie Murphy’s arrival from Rangers.
“I would have assumed that they would have had protocol in place to give a
club quick answers in this situation because I would have anticipated this would have come around because we’re testing a lot.
“We never really got clarity on it, we made the decision ourselves.”
Despite the upheaval, the hosts started this game well, exhibiting a confidence derived from making their best start to a season since 1946.
Indeed, they could have been ahead inside the first 60 seconds. Dons goalkeeper Joe Lewis spilled Joe Newell’s cross but Martin Boyle’s shot straight at the Aberdeen number one, with the keeper soon making amends by keeping out stinging drives from Josh Doig and Boyle.
It took the away side a while to find any fluency, but when they did they were pleasing on the eye.
Scott Wright and Ryan Hedges combined well in the 17th minute, culminating in the latter having a close- range
effort saved by Ofir Marciano. Hibs striker Christian Doidge fired over from inside the area soon afterwards but it was the goal at the other end that seemed more vulnerable.
And after Marciano was again called on to direct Marley Watkin’s cross- goal effort just wide, the visitors went ahead six minutes before the interval.
Watkins was taken out by Boyle as the winger attempted to clear the ball inside the area, leaving Ferguson to calmly send Mariano the wrong way from 12 yards.
It was perhaps credit to Aberdeen’s game management that the second half was a less than enthralling affair.
Despite their deficit, there was a surprising lack of attacking verve from Hibs. Drey Wright did take up a great position inside the box but instead of shooting, slid a square ball to straight through the area.
At the other end, Marciano got behind long- range efforts from Matty Kennedy and substitute Dylan McGeouch.
Dons manager Derek McInnes was naturally delighted with the victory and was gushing in his praise of Ross McCrorie after recruiting the midfielder from Rangers earlier this month.
“I just love the boy,” beamed McInnes. “I think he’s a dream on and off the pitch.
“He didn’t want to be in the shadows, he didn’t just want to be a Rangers squad player, he wanted to get out and get on with his career, and I love that about him.”
I have a player who had two negative tests that can’t play