FIRST PORT OF CALL
Ryan rises above Dons defence to get Shaun’s reign off to a flier 1
RYAN PORTEOUS handed Shaun Maloney a perfect start to life in the Hibs’ hotseat as his header downed the Dons.
It was just the pick-me-up the Leith faithful needed three days after their Hampden heartache.
There was agony on the slopes of Mount Florida as Porteous and Co fell short in their quest for Premier Sports Cup glory against Celtic.
But the club will hope there are brighter days ahead with former Belgium coach Maloney now at the helm at Easter Road.
As first impressions go, it wasn’t a sparkling display as fifth-placed Hibs failed to get a grip on the excellent Aberdeen midfield duo of Lewis Ferguson and Dean Campbell during a patchy first period.
But new boss Maloney got his message across at the break and Hibs responded with a much more energetic showing after it. And they got their reward for a much improved display when centre-back Porteous beat the sleeping Declan Gallagher to head home in 64 minutes.
They held on to secure a debut win for Maloney and climb back above Aberdeen into the top six.
As Scottish football braces itself for the depressing prospect of weeks without fans in attendance, the Hibs support will have seen small morsels that should keep them hungry for a return to the terraces.
It has been a grim campaign for the club but the early shutdown should give Maloney all the time he needs to bash his squad into shape.
Maloney was a frustrated figure at Hampden on Sunday.
With the finer details of his appointment still to be thrashed out, he was forced to watch from the stands while David Gray led the team out in the 2-1 defeat to the Hoops.
However, with the deal to lure him away from working as No.2 to Belgium boss Roberto Martinez now rubber stamped, he wasted little time putting his own mark on the side.
His first-team selection saw Scott Allan, Josh Doig and Chris Cadden all return as the former Celtic and Scotland forward made his attacking intent clear.
Veteran left-back Lewis Stevenson and Jamie Murphy dropped to the bench from Sunday’s starting line-up, while Joe Newell missed out entirely after suffering a dead leg.
Maloney’s predecessor Jack Ross got his jotters earlier this month on the back of a miserable run of seven defeats in nine league games.
Now Maloney will be hoping this is just the start of a winning run.
Dons boss Stephen Glass has had to face down his own critics after enduring similarly bleak periods this term.
But the Pittodrie men rocked up at Easter Road on the back of a dream December so far, consisting of three straight wins.
However, there was mixed news on the injury front for Glass.
While Scotland stopper Gallagher – recalled along with Campbell – was back to start for the first time since Aberdeen last faced Hibs back in October, a knock meant Scott Brown missed out alongside the suspended Ross McCrorie.
Maloney only had two training sessions to get his ideas across to his new charges.
However, it was already clear they’re
on board with his pressing beliefs given the way they hounded after the Dons in the early stages.
But there’s a reason why this side had only won two league games since September and it’s going to take the new boss time to raise standards and confidence levels.
Skipper Paul Hanlon will still be seeing his late horror miss at Hampden every time he shuts his eyes.
He was lucky another blunder didn’t hand Aberdeen the opener last night.
His misplaced header sent striker Jay Emmanuel-Thomas lumbering towards goal before Doig got back to put a block in.
Aberdeen are clearly getting to grips with Glass’ methods after his sticky patch and they dominated the first period.
Campbell saw a strike fade just wide on 25 minutes before Ferguson came close, forcing Matt Macey to palm the ball behind for a corner. Hibs’ single sight of the Dons goal came on the half-hour as Doig got to the byeline before cutting back to Martin Boyle.
Gallagher produced a brave block but Kevin Nisbet should have done better than put his header over Joe Lewis’ goal.
An injury to Jake Doyle-Hayes forced Maloney into a rethink as Alex Gogic took over from the Irishman in midfield.
Half-time gave the new manager the chance to remind the home players of what he was looking for and they gave him the perfect response after the restart.
The tempo went up a couple of notches, the passing was tightened up and, bit by bit, Hibs regained control of the midfield battle.
After all, they had been second best to Ferguson and Campbell for the majority of the first 45 minutes.
Boyle used his initiative when Allan rolled a short free-kick to him. The Australia international opted to skip past a couple of tackles instead of taking the shot on first time. But, unfortunately for him, Dons keeper Lewis read the flight of the ball well when he did eventually pull the trigger. The keeper had no chance, though, as Porteous bulleted home his second goal of the season in 64 minutes after climbing high to meet Boyle’s corner with a firm header. Macey ensured the Leith team did not repeat Sunday’s trick of handing the opposition an instant response when he clawed away a Marley Watkins header. In-demand Dons youngster Calvin Ramsay – a half-time replacement for EmmanuelThomas – did his bit to spur his side on in the final stages. But Macey came to collect a couple of big crosses to ensure that Maloney made a victorious start in Leith.