FUN TIMES ON LEITH
Hibs now two points behind Hearts after a goals bonanza
FOR those Hibernian followers who rather enjoyed creeping up the standings, under the radar, maybe even content for Hearts to place themselves in the pressure spotlight. Your time is well and truly up.
Four wins and a draw from their last five. No goals conceded for 406 minutes. Their biggest win since 2006 (7-0 over Livingston) has sent rampant Hibs soaring into outright ownership of second place in the Ladbrokes Premiership, only two points behind their city rivals.
If Steven Gerrard regards the team at the top of the pile to be title contenders, then what does that make Neil Lennon’s men now?
We will doubtless know a bit more about that at the end of the month, by which time Hibs will have travelled to Celtic Park and Tynecastle. Lennon pleaded for longer — 20 games to pass — before judgments are delivered on his latest Easter Road rebuild.
But this is impressive so soon after Dylan McGeouch and John McGinn, the midfield powers behind last season’s second-half surge into the top six, departed for England.
Travelling in the opposite direction across the border, the recruitment of two-goal Stevie Mallan is a masterstroke. That’s nine for the season for the former Barnsley flop, who is just the type of talent Lennon handles brilliantly.
The Hibs boss went into the previous international break scowling after a loss at Livingston, vowing to make the necessary fixes to arrest a poor start to the season by his Hibs standards. He’s been true to his word.
He goes into this international break wishing there wasn’t one. Riding the wave of positivity from his Australia call-up, Martin Boyle kicked off the scoring before Mallan stole the show with two long-range strikes either side of Emerson Hyndman’s first goal for the club.
And with the foot firmly planted on the throat of abject Accies, Hibs got gluttonous about their goal difference in added time — a thoroughly deserved Flo Kamberi hit and an injury-time own goal from Matt Kilgallon.
The best home form in the top flight in 2018 just got better. Rangers were the last visiting team to win here last December.
Back in August of 2017, Accies struck three in a shock away win and also slowed Hibs up with a draw in Lanarkshire. So Lennon noted pre-match that his men had endured ‘difficulties’ with Accies last season. Among them were finding a killer passing lane through a disciplined defence.
Thankfully for Hibs, nothing of the sort presented itself to schemers Hyndman, Mallan and Vykintas Slivka yesterday.
Hibs haven’t conceded since veteran Aussie international Mark Milligan was parked in defensive midfield by Lennon in the second half of their 3-2 win over Kilmarnock. Accies considered the cutest way to navigate the problem was to very much cut out that middle man.
Ryan Porteous and Efe Ambrose allowed a long ball to bounce. Rakish Bingham was amazed to find himself staring down on Adam Bogdan and it was the goalkeeper who kept his cool to save with a right boot.
Accies were to regret that missed opportunity. From David Gray’s driven delivery, the ball cannoned off both Hamilton and Hibs bodies in the box after a Slivka shot and landed at the feet of the man of the moment. Boyle, who jets off to the Middle East for his first Australia call-up this week, struck from 12 yards with a measured finish high to the left of Gary Woods. Buoyed by that breakthrough, Hibs kept on coming. Within a minute, Boyle dragged another great chance wide and Hyndman headed narrowly over from Gray’s cross.
For the second goal, Kamberi knocked down a Lewis Stevenson ball for Mallan and Accies really should know better than to allow this talent to size up a strike from just outside the box. The angles were perfect for one of his right-foot digs and, while Woods placed a hand on the ball, there was sufficient pace to beat him.
Six minutes from the interval, an accurate reflection of dominance was scrawled on the half-time score of 3-0. Woods palmed away Kamberi’s attempt but Boyle briskly picked up the pieces and fired back another question of the horrible Hamilton defence.
Hyndman was hardly under more severe stewarding by Shaun Want and that enabled the American loan star to strike first time, burying the ball low into the bottom corner.
The selfless Kamberi deserved a goal long before he struck late on. In the second half, he sprinkled the spectacular into his grafting, hold-up repertoire with a stunning flick and turn of Kilgallon, but cursed making it too easy for Woods to scramble a save from his sidefoot shot.
Mallan showed the Swiss the easy way he knows to goal — from 28 yards. Again, the lack of attention paid to the danger posed by Mallan was criminal. And he made them pay with a vicious, dipping drive that spelled nightmare for Woods the second it left the midfielder’s boot.
Hamilton mustered one, fleeting secondhalf attempt. Scott Martin’s deflected effort from 25 yards was scooped up by Bogdan.
It was a day for the home fans to feel a touch sorry for former favourites and there was a warm reception for James Keatings, a Scottish Cup hero, as he and Tom Taiwo appeared as Accies substitutes.
The Hibs changes allowed their supporters a sight of former Feyenoord full-back Miquel Nelom, a first-team debut for 19-year-old forward Jamie Gullan and a busy cameo from Daryl Horgan, who teed up Kamberi to slip home No 5.
Seconds later, Hamilton were scythed open one last time. Kilgallon walked into making the fatal touch after Kamberi dinked over Woods.