Liam is a tough act to follow
Henderson’s timely reminder Stokes is not only loan star
WHEN Hibernian fans shuffled through the turnstiles at Easter Road on Saturday, they expected to see their team inspired to victory by a player on loan from Celtic. His presence was supposed to herald a surge of goals to reignite their season.
They got all of that — but not from the man they expected.
Belatedly, as a 71st-minute substitute, Anthony Stokes did indeed make his return as a Hibs player. He marked it with a goal, too. But it was the performance of his fellow Parkhead loanee Liam Henderson which left the Leith masses purring.
Operating as the playmaker at the tip of the midfield diamond, the 19-year-old produced a masterful performance of poise and elegance. No pass was wasted. His use of the ball was invariably as intelligent as it was incisive.
He set Alan Stubbs’ men on their way to a comfortable victory over St Mirren with a stunning free-kick in the 10th minute. It gave Hibs the lead their early dominance merited and its execution was of such quality and precision as to render a full-stretch dive from Jamie Langfield nothing more than an irrelevance.
‘I ran to the bench to celebrate my free-kick with James Keatings,’ he said. ‘But I couldn’t possibly disclose what that was all about… it’s just a bromance we have.’
By his own admission, Henderson still needs to develop physically, but his performance here left little doubt why so many at Celtic still retain the belief he could be the future of the club’s midfield.
He and his Hibs team-mates now head into what could potentially be a trophy-laden second half of the season, with next week’s League Cup semi-final against St Johnstone being swiftly followed by an Edinburgh derby with Hearts in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup.
There is also the not-so-small matter of an ongoing battle with Rangers for the Championship title. This victory over Alex Rae’s men now puts Hibs just two points behind their Ibrox rivals, who travel to Cappielow to face Morton tonight.
Henderson spent three months on loan with Rosenborg in Norway last year, where he picked up a Tippeligaen winners’ medal. And when asked about the possibility of racking up yet more silverware over the coming months, he said: ‘I hope so — that’s definitely the aim.
‘My medal from Rosenborg is a really nice memento and I’d love to add to it with Hibs this season.
‘I feel as though I’ve came on leaps and bounds. I’m being toughened up. Playing football every week is exactly what a young player needs and Alan Stubbs has been superb with me. I want to repay that faith.
‘The League Cup semi-final next week will be a great occasion and one for the fans. It’s being played at Tynecastle. I’ve never played there before, so it’s something new for me. I’m looking forward to it.’
As part of his loan agreement from Celtic, Henderson conceded that he would most likely be unavailable to play if the two clubs were to meet in the Final.
‘I would probably have to miss out,’ he added. ‘But I would be trying my best still to play.
‘Playing St Johnstone next week won’t bother us. I think it actually suits us playing Premiership teams.
‘We showed against Aberdeen and Dundee United how good we can be by knocking them out of the League Cup.’
Henderson also expressed his delight at seeing Stokes finally make the move from Celtic to join him at Easter Road and added that, once the striker is fully fit, Hibs could possess the best front two in the country with the Irishman and Jason Cummings.
‘Everyone knows how good Stokesy is,’ he said. ‘He has played in the Champions League, the Europa League and has won a lot of caps for Ireland.
‘I’ve no doubt he will score a lot of goals for Hibs between now and the end of the season. You saw when he came on how big a lift the fans got from it.
‘I’m not sure there’s a better strike force in the country than Stokesy and Jason. We all know Jason is destined for the top and I’m sure playing with Stokesy every week will bring him on leaps and bounds.’
A hesitancy blighted St Mirren’s efforts to find a way back into the match after going behind so early, while Hibs looked capable of cutting through their opponents with devastating fluency. Their midfield quartet of Marvin Bartley, Fraser Fyvie, John McGinn and Henderson were a hive of energy and ingenuity. And it was to be McGinn who would score against his former club to double Hibs’ advantage on 44 minutes.
Cummings slid a clever pass into the midfielder’s path. McGinn showed composure to dummy two Saints defenders to create the yard of space he needed to slot a leftfooted shot low beyond Langfield.
But St Mirren found a route back into the match just seconds later with their first shot on target.
Bartley clumsily brought down Calum Gallagher on the edge of the box. Stevie Mallan curled a great effort up and over the wall past Hibs goalkeeper Mark Oxley.
The contest was never as close as the 2-1 scoreline suggested, but Hibs were made to wait until the 90th minute to make their advantage more comfortable. Keatings slalomed his way down the left channel, before rolling the ball across the six-yard box for Stokes to finish from close range.
Saints midfielder Rocco Quinn conceded that Hibs had been the better side, but insisted that there is enough quality in the St Mirren ranks for them to pull clear of relegation trouble.
He said: ‘Hibs are clearly a very good team and you need to give them credit. The rest of our season is not going to be judged on how we do at places like Easter Road. We need to beat the teams in and around us.
‘But the gaffer is only just through the door and is still putting his stamp on the team. I only signed a couple of weeks ago but I can see without a doubt that we have quality in the squad to get out of trouble.’
HIBS have signed Finnish goalkeeper Otso Virtanen on a three-and-a-half year deal.
The 21-year-old joins from Finnish Premier Division side IFK Mariehamn and is an Under-21 international.
The 6ft 5in keeper becomes Alan Stubbs’ fifth signing of the January transfer window.
‘Otso is someone we’ve been tracking for a while and I’m delighted that we have concluded the deal,’ said the Hibs boss. ‘He is a keeper with lots of potential who we’re looking forward to developing.’