White brings back familiar feeling for Hibs
HIBERNIAN slipped back into their old ways in Dingwall as they took an early lead before gifting Ross County an equaliser, and eventual winner, despite dominating for large spells of the match.
In an end-to-end game with the hosts desperate for three points to boost their efforts to haul themselves out of trapdoor territory at the foot of the cinch Premiership, it was the visitors who took the lead. Myziane Maolida reacted quickest after Rocky Bushiri had struck the post from Martin Boyle’s corner. But Hibs’ lead lasted just six minutes as Bushiri made a meal of clearing a Yan Dhanda cross and the ball sat up nicely for former Hibs player Simon
Murray, who slotted home to restore parity.
Ross Laidlaw thwarted Hibs on a number of occasions and the hosts nearly took the lead when Murray’s low effort was diverted towards goal by Bushiri – not that the defender knew much about it – but the ball, although evading Jojo Wollacott’s dive, was cleared off the line by Chris Cadden.
It was more of the same in the second half, and Murray hit the crossbar with a vicious downward header which bounced up, before Boyle was denied by a brave block from Laidlaw. Maolida found the base of the post with a placed effort but despite Hibs looking likelier to score, substitute Jordan White popped up with the winner – another late goal conceded by Hibs.
George Harmon latched on to Wollacott’s undercooked pass out from the back and picked out Murray, who squared it for White to finish into the centre of the net.
It is getting repetitive, but we are seeing with every passing week just how badly the heart of the Hibs defence needs serious surgery this summer. They were at the proverbial sixes and sevens when Murray pounced to cancel out Maolida’s opener. Bushiri, who has looked solid as the left-sided centre-back since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations in February, made a rare start on his favoured right side to accommodate Paul Hanlon. But an apparent disregard for the basics has been Hibs’ downfall this season and they were guilty of it again in Dingwall.
Successive managers have failed to properly address the issues and Nick Montgomery tried to do so in January with the acquisitions of Owen Bevan and Nectar Triantis but the former returned to parent club Bournemouth without recovering from injury and Triantis has proved a better fit as a defensive midfielder. With Will Fish and Triantis due to return to their respective parent clubs in the summer, and Hanlon’s future uncertain, it is vital that the club gets the recruitment right in the close season.
Maolida’s goal was not his flashiest finish, but it was his ninth goal of the season, which is good going given he only arrived towards the end of January, and he showed the traditional striker’s instinct to pounce after Bush
ROSS COUNTY interim manager Don Cowie felt match-winner Jordan White showed exactly the mindset against Hibernian that the Staggies squad will need to remain in the cinch Premiership.
The striker came off the bench to score a late winning goal as County defeated their visitors 2-1 in Dingwall. Myziane Maolida had opened the scoring for Hibs only for Simon Murray to equalise before half time.
White has not started since April 6, but he was determined to take his chance when given an opportunity and Cowie has no qualms with that attitude.
“I felt it was a very open game, and both teams had plenty of opportunities,” Cowie said. “We probably should have scored more between us, but we’re in a situation where we want to win football matches. iri’s effort from Boyle’s corner had come back off the post. In a season that has been largely forgettable for Hibs, Maolida’s regular moments in front of goal have been a rare bright spot in the murk and the gloom.
Could he be here next season? Hibs fans would certainly love him to come back one way or another but there are a lot of moving parts. His spell at Hibs has largely served as a chance to put himself in the shop window but he has fully bought into the cause and while it is a tired cliche, it does not bear thinking about where Hibs would be without his goals. He could have had a brace yesterday, had his second-half effort been a couple of inches to the left, but as has happened on numerous occasions this season, Maolida did his part, but the team, as a whole, did not.
“We’re on a really good run at home, and credit to Jordan for coming on and scoring the winning goal.
“I’m sure there are a lot of people who are frustrated, but it’s not about the individual, it’s about the group.
“That’s the mindset we need to achieve what we want to achieve.”
Hibernian boss Nick Montgomery, meanwhile, felt like a broken record watching his side fail to take their chances before falling to defeat.
“It’s easy for me to say we should have won the game,” he said.
“We had 20 shots on goal and created a lot more openings, had one-on-ones with the goalkeeper, but if you don’t put those chances away you know you are going to have to deal with stuff.”
Wollacott made his first appearance since March, and his first start since October 31, in place of the injured David Marshall but the Ghanaian internationalist did not look particularly comfortable and whether it was rustiness or possibly even nerves, it spread to the defence and there were noticeable jitters throughout the game.
Marshall has had a better second season since signing a two-year deal last summer and that might well explain why Wollacott has not had more of a chance between the sticks. With the caveat that it is difficult for a goalkeeper to come back into the starting line-up after a while out – and Wollacott has not even had reserve-team games to keep his match sharpness ticking over – he looked like a goalie who has not played much football in recent months. His distribution was inconsistent and his under-hit pass to Cadden that led to County’s winner was unforgivable.
Much depends on the nature of Marshall’s injury, and with Montgomery eyeing as many points as possible from the post-split fixtures it is unlikely that he will make too many changes.
But there may be little to lose by giving Murray Johnson a chance in the final couple of games. The 19-year-old is another who has not had a great deal of game time but he, at least, has been playing for Hibs’ second string and it would give him some much-needed first-team experience.
That being said, perhaps he would be best served by not being thrown into the team given how things have been going recently.
Cowie says striker set the standard for Staggies