‘Biblical’ team talk helped Johnson turn the tide
LEE JOHNSON issued a ‘biblical’ half-time address to his players in order to provoke the reaction that delivered a point against nine-man Rangers.
Unhappy with the performance in a first half that saw his team trail to a disputed spot-kick from James Tavernier, Johnson ordered his men to exert greater pressure on their guests — a ploy he believes led to the red cards shown to John Lundstram and Alfredo Morelos.
Although Hibs trailed 2-1 going into stoppage time, an equaliser eventually arrived from the left boot of midfielder Josh Campbell.
‘My take is that for the first 30 minutes we were really poor,’ said Johnson, who took the unusual step of making a double switch midway through the first half. ‘I envisaged a much better and aggressive performance.
‘I made the change, which nobody wants to do, and that at least gave us a better structure to go at them.
‘Even then, things went wrong, and so I had to have a biblical team talk at half-time to get us going.’
On the red cards, Johnson offered a balanced view, while referencing what he felt were injustices in both penalty boxes.
He said: ‘The Lundstram sending-off is probably a yellow, a tactical foul in my eyes.
‘At the same time, I didn’t think it was a penalty (in first half to Rangers).
‘With VAR, I think it’s 5050 but (Rocky) Bushiri should have had one at the other end that was more like 85-15.
‘I’ve looked at the Morelos incident and he has a little go on the second one.
‘At my height I got a lot of elbows, so you’re never sure whether he’s meant it or not. Only he knows.’
Before the two red cards, each team had scored a fine goal created down their respective left flanks.
Elie Youan was the architect of a slick equaliser for Hibs, providing the assist for Martin Boyle, while Borna Barisic picked out Tom Lawrence with a pinpoint cross for the midfielder to head his team back in front.
Faced with a depleted opponent determined to hold their lead, Hibs had to be patient for their big moment. ‘I have played in games like that and it’s difficult to break down when it’s four defenders and four midfielders,’ continued Johnson.
‘The numerical advantage is really important in that situation and that’s why I was trying to get Josh to play further forward as he was trying to knit the play.
‘It was a fantastic finish from a player who has grown in stature.’
Although his team have five points from four games, Johnson expressed displeasure with a start to the season that has already seen the club exit the Premier Sports Cup.
He added: ‘Overall, I’m not happy. I’m not going to sugarcoat where we are.
‘I want to deliver to these fans high-tempo, front-foot, aggressive football.
‘In the first half we didn’t, but in the second half we did. What we need is a 96-minute complete performance, which I don’t think we’ve seen yet. ’
Marijan Cabraja, who was given compassionate leave to return home to Croatia last week after the death of his father, broke down after the final whistle.
And his manager made a point of praising the spirit shown by the 25-year-old left-back.
‘He has shown amazing effort, resilience and character,’ said Johnson. ‘He’s an amazing human.
‘I don’t know how he managed to speak at the end but he pulled the lads together and thanked them for all their support.
‘Those situations bring you together and closer as a Hibs family.’