AN APPETISING STARTER
Horgan and Kamberi help make it bright beginning for happy Heckingbottom
AFTER the fire and thunder of Neil Lennon’s reign, it was perhaps only natural that Paul Heckingbottom should experience a relatively lowkey start to life as Hibs manager.
Warmly if not ecstatically welcomed by the fans before kickoff, the new man sent out a team that secured a comfortable win — and he got an instant reaction out of Daryl Horgan and Florian Kamberi, two players who had underwhelmed in the latter days of Lennon.
Stiffer tests than Accies lie in wait for the Yorkshireman but with Kamberi on the scoresheet for the first time in two months and Horgan looking lively on the wing, the new man could reflect on a fine start.
He promises there is more to come, too, saying: ‘I couldn’t ask any more of the players in terms of their attitude, application and what we asked them to do. The clean sheet was also pleasing — that kept the pressure off us.
‘We’re a young side and there’s a naivety to us but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.
‘We might have had two or three more goals on the break but we have to use that as a positive, embrace that and play with a carefree attitude and fearlessness.
‘We still have to improve. Without going into detail, there is a hell of a lot of things that I know will change.’
There were no curve balls in Heckingbottom’s maiden team selection. Although the same 11 who started last weekend’s Scottish Cup win over Raith Rovers were invited to go again, the shape was a more traditional 4-4-2, allowing Stevie Mallan and particularly Horgan scope to forage out wide.
Hamilton have themselves had a bounce from the appointment of Brian Rice as head coach and he also set up with an expressive formation that deployed Tony Andreu at the head of a midfield diamond behind strikers George Oakley and David McMillan.
Both teams threatened early but while Ofir Marciano had to think carefully as he smothered Andreu’s shot, Hibs were afforded no fewer than three shots at goal in their first cutting attack.
Kamberi forced a save from Gary Woods, Mallan’s shot was blocked by Ziggy Gordon and then Mark Milligan drove wide in an early display that showed Hamilton weren’t going to be quick enough to the ball. Hibs’ opening goal proved the point.
Whether Kamberi touched the ball was not instantly clear but the fact is the Swiss striker was the only man to react decisively to Horgan’s cross and created enough of a distraction to ensure the effort beat Woods as it arrived from the left flank.
The same combination almost drew a second, Kamberi this time outjumping Woods to the cross and heading off the bar.
The second came via the penalty spot after Leonard Sowah caught David Gray as he came down after winning a header.
‘The referee has given a penaltykick and that’s the end of it for me,’ said Rice afterwards. ‘I won’t be arguing about refereeing decisions and I won’t let my players argue about them.
‘I played under a manager who, if we spoke back to the referee, just subbed us. I want total concentration on the game.’
Marc McNulty remained calm through the short delay and slotted home the penalty.
Mickel Miller curled a shot over
after the interval for Accies but the Horgan-Kamberi axis was soon back in full swing, with the striker pulling down another pinpoint cross on his chest and forcing full-back Aaron McGowan to clear off the line.
Accies’ formation may have made them vulnerable but they continued to create several chances to suggest they can be potent enough to accrue the points needed for survival.
McMillan and Alexander Gogic both hit the target before Miller sped past Paul Hanlon and drove the ball against the post.
‘I’ll always have a go,’ added Rice. ‘I told the players at half-time that if anyone didn’t fancy it, they could get their clothes and go because I wasn’t just going to accept 2-0.’
A loanee from Genoa, Stephane Omeonga bears the distinction of being Lennon’s last signing and his arrival for the tiring Horgan almost delivered a goal as he cracked a shot off the outside of Woods’ post.
A third would have flattered Hibs but Heckingbottom was pleased with the way the players responded to him and his assistant, Robbie Stockdale. ‘The good thing is I had so long to prepare,’ he said. ‘The (appointment) process took a long time, so I got a lot of information and knew what I wanted to do.
‘We kept it simple for the players. That was the right thing to do because we could have flooded their minds with information and not seen anything we’d worked on.’