A tale of two clubs from the one city
Hibs’ new era began with a bang as Motherwell were wiped out at Easter Road. With Jack Ross in the dugout for the first time, the Hibees showed both graft and craft to send the Well packing.
Having fallen behind early on, the home side found themselves under the cosh for long spells.
But a thrilling, Scott Allan-inspired firsthalf flurry and a second-half breakaway were enough to secure all three points on a rain-lashed afternoon in the capital.
For Hibs’ new gaffer, it was the perfect start. He said: “I’m obviously delighted with the result and large parts of the performance.
“I’ve had different experiences as a manager – coming in pre-season and coming in mid-season – and when you do come in mid-season it helps to get off to a good start.
“It helps to get that buy-in from the players. I’m pleased for them because there were parts of the performance which were very good.
“The first starting point for us this season is to get into the top six. This win takes us there immediately, but we need to build from that.
“There are some very good players here, I’m not coming into a group that doesn’t have ability – they have lots of that. And they are a good squad in terms of their willingness to listen and learn from what I’ve seen.
“I’m really encouraged by that and excited.” It ended perfectly for Hibs, but it took them a while to warm up.
Put it down to nerves, Motherwell’s early tactical discipline or a combination of the two, but after an early flurry, the home side found themselves on the back foot.
The Well, with Barry Maguire pulling the strings from deep and hitman Chris Long supported, when in possession, by Devante
Cole and Jermaine Hylton, pushed and pulled Hibs around until Liam Polworth pounced at the back post ten minutes in to knock a deflected Cole effort over the line.
Stephen Robinson’s side were sure-footed on and off the ball and slick in the transition. Then Scott Allan came to life.
That the Hibs man has a wand of a right foot and a laser-sharp eye for a pass has never been in dispute. It’s just he doesn’t always put the defining elements of his game together.
Against Motherwell, as against St Johnstone a fortnight ago, he clearly fancied it.
His perfect through ball to Florian Kamberi sparked the Hibees’ opener. The Swiss-born striker did his part too, sliding another terrific pass through to Joe Newell, whose effort was saved by Mark Gillespie.
With Easter Road holding its breath, the race for the ball was on, and was won by Christian Doidge, who tapped in his fourth goal in two games to level the scores.
Heart taken, Hibs pressed forward immediately, and claimed the lead four minutes after levelling when Kamberi, who was denied an international debut for Albania last week over a paperwork wrangle, showed strength to hold off two Well defenders before rifling a shot into the roof of the net.
Having looked so composed early on, Motherwell were suddenly reeling.
But to their credit, they regained a grip of the game early in the second half.
They were denied a penalty just before the hour when Polworth appeared to be hauled down by Ryan Porteous in the box.
Hibs should have stretched their lead when Christian Doidge fired straight at Gillespie from 10 yards with the goal gaping.
But the visitors refused to relinquish control, pushing Hibs on to the back foot once again and giving Jack Ross an immediate test of his credentials. He responded by switching to a 4-2-3-1 system, to little effect, and Motherwell continued to swarm forward.
But while Hibs may have crumbled in previous weeks, this time, with Easter Road behind them, they dug deep and sealed their victory on the break thanks to Daryl Horgan’s slick, tucked finish after a lung-bursting run.