James: ‘Hibs still have work to do’
● New defender admits rusty Easter Road side will need time to hit top gear
Tom James was happy to extricate the positives from an afternoon that took a while to spark into life but came good in the end.
His home debut, his first Hibernian goal and a win that gives the Leith side the opportunity to move to the top of their League Cup group when they meet current leaders Arbroath tomorrow night. The first half may have been a source of frustration but Hibs finally managed to plot a way past a dogged Alloa Athletic side, proving that while patience is a virtue, an ability to revise the game plan midmatch, finding a way to make greater quality count, is just as rewarding.
“We’ve got a lot of things to work on for the next game and the rest of the season but it’s still early doors,” explained the Welsh full-back. “We’re still trying to get to know each other on the pitch. There’s positives to take but we also still have work to do.”
The fact that one of the early stages of one of the nation’s major trophies is squeezed in as a season precursor makes it tough for revamped sides to tackle the ties in top form and, with more than a handful of new recruits, Paul Heckingbottom’s side will take time to get into their groovebuttherumblingsfrom the stands on Saturday served as a reminder that patience is a limited commodity.
“You know the expectations at a club this size are really big,” said James, who joined the capital club from Yeovil Town last month, “and our expectations are the same. We came in at half-time knowing that it wasn’t good enough. The gaffer said a few things in there to try and rile us up a bit and I think it worked.”
Heckingbottom, below, also threw on Scott Allan and Fraser Murray, asking his players to make better use of the width and get in behind the visiting defence. He also needed his men to start displaying more pace and intent.
Allowing the lower-league opposition to ruffle their feathers and enjoy more of the play than many would have expected was a worry for the home support until Christian Doidge made the breakthrough in the 68th minute and James made sure there would be no Alloa comeback by doubling the tally with 84 minutes gone.
“When you play a team from a lower league they drop in and don’t give you a lot of space around their box, so you can force it at times,” said James. “But you’ve got to be patient. We were and that’s how we eventually broke them down. Second-half was a lot better. We pinned them back in their half for most of it and I think they only had one chance all second half. But it’s always in the back of your head when you’re 1-0 up that they’ve still got a chance so the second was important.”
Doidge found the net when he latched on to a Murray through ball and his opener was a brutal blow for Alloa in more ways than one as their goalkeeper, Neil Parry, was injured attempting to foil yet another home attack. The man who had been a thorn in Hibs’ side was replaced by Chris Henry and headed to hospital straight after the match to deal with a head gash, while his colleagues continued to offer stoic resistance in his absence.
Parry’s stand-in was helpless when James, teed up by Stevie Mallan on the edge of the area, curled his effort into the top corner.
“We came in at halftime knowing it wasn’t good enough. The gaffer said a few things totryandrileusupabit and I think it worked”
TOM JAMES