COMEDY ERRORS OF
But lack of killer touch no joke for poor Hibs
Faltering on the frontline may sound like the synopsis of every Dad’s Army episode but it is gradually becoming a running theme among the troops at Hibernian.
the men in green and white leading the attack are not delivering. rivals are not doomed, being damaged or dealt with. and, in this production, supporters are not laughing.
evidence of the struggles at Hibs in their latest episode in the Premiership could be found during an intriguing closing few minutes at Hamilton on Saturday.
For the fourth game in a row, Christian Doidge started ahead of Florian Kamberi. Prior to the match, the Swiss striker had spoken about his desire to earn more game time under manager Paul Heckingbottom in a bid to force his way into international contention ahead of euro 2020. He made no secret that he could be forced to move on.
Doidge, who joined the easter road club for £350,000 in the summer, has failed to score in the league. Before the international break, he blew four clear-cut chances in a 1-1 draw at aberdeen.
against accies, his frustration continued. an early headed chance passed by. in the 88th minute, with the scores level at 1-1, he saw a goal ruled out for handball.
Within a minute, Kamberi was introduced to the action — the sarcastic cheers from Hibs fans as he raced back to the dugout from his warm-up ringing in his ears. and, with virtually the last kick of the game, he almost got a winner but his shot was tipped wide.
it would have been only his second league goal of the season, but sixth in all competitions. Welshman Doidge has two, but both scored in the Betfred Cup.
For the fourth game in a row, and fifth time in the Premiership this season, Hibs blew a lead after Stevie Mallan’s excellent strike was cancelled out by a second-half ross Cunningham penalty.
Heckingbottom, who served the first of his two-game touchline ban, witnessed a familiar tale of missed chances and lack of bite in attack. it’s a problem that needs sorted pronto.
Mallan’s focus is fully on putting chances away. Up front, causing danger, is where the team must improve. ‘it’s not about holding the lead — it’s being clinical when we are on top,’ said the 23-year-old midfielder.
‘especially the first half, we were on top for most of it and we had chances to bury the game. We’ve not been doing it recently, it’s about being more clinical and we’re not doing it.
‘We trained well the past two weeks, all about finishing, taking our chances and the manager and the boys have been happy.
‘everyone went out in high spirits and what we worked on just didn’t happen. the build-up play happened but the ball in the back of the net was lacking.’
asked if Hibs have the required mental strength, Mallan replied: ‘i would say so. Hamilton didn’t have that many chances. they had the penalty, but other than that i don’t think our goalkeeper had many saves to make.
‘things were going well, Maxie (Chris Maxwell) and our back four didn’t have much to do. We are doing the right things, but i think it’s us going forward that’s letting us down just now.
‘it was the same at aberdeen when we had a few chances — everybody knows about that. We had a lot of one-on-ones with the goalkeeper and didn’t take them. if we had, we’d have won.
‘it was the same today, balls flashed across the front. We should have taken them, we didn’t and it’s come back to bite us.
‘it should be another three points. that’s what the manager emphasised before the game: “get the three points, no matter how, then push on to the next team”.’
While Mallan’s first-time shot was excellent, Hibs’ inability to bounce back after Cunningham’s penalty equaliser must surely raise alarm bells.
the midfielder does not need reminding that Hibs are not expected to be languishing in the lower reaches of the Premiership.
‘the magnitude and the size of this club, we should definitely not be down there but we only have ourselves to blame,’ added Mallan. ‘We should be doing better. We have to start getting points on the board and it has to happen soon.’
Brian rice’s enthusiasm to see youth flourish at Hamilton is no secret and, six minutes after his introduction, Cunningham stepped up to deliver after Mallan had fouled Blair alston.
the accies boss revealed later that the 21-year-old has extended his contract until 2022.
‘i’ve got the new deal agreed and came on to score the goal which earned us a point, so it has been a good week,’ said Cunningham.
‘i’m confident taking penalties. i have been the penalty-taker this season and i knew as soon as the referee pointed to the spot that i was the man to take it.
‘the gaffer has shown a lot of faith in youth. He came into the club, gave me my first start and i repaid him with the goal.’