Debutant sets Gauld standard as Hibees coast to routine win
By Darren Johnstone sport@sundaypost.com
Hibs number two Garry Parker insisted Ryan Gauld showed enough glimpses of brilliance in the 4-0 thrashing of Elgin City to suggest he will be a big player for the Leith outfit in the second half of the campaign.
The on-loan Sporting Lisbon player capped a fine debut by setting up Flo Kamberi for the opening goal after 21 minutes and generally exhibiting a menacing threat in and around the box. Daryl Horgan and Stevie Mallan added to the lead before the break before the former notched his second in a one-sided Scottish Cup fourth round contest against the League Two part-timers.
Hibs will face sterner tests in the days and weeks to come but Parker was nonetheless encouraged by Gauld’s display.
He said: “You could see with Ryan that he’s a clever player. He can see a pass and that’s what we’ve been missing.
“You can see he’s going to be a player who will make a difference for us. His pass through for the Kamberi goal was excellent and he finished it well.”
Parker’s only grumble was that the scoreline was not more convincing, such was Hibs’ dominance.
He added: “We had more than a few chances to score so it should have been more. We can’t do anything about missed chances but hopefully we will get a few on Wednesday at Motherwell. But it’s a clean sheet and the most important thing is that we won the game.
“Horgan was good, he scored two goals and one of them was even a header so he did well.
“It’s not just Daryl who we need to have on form for the second half of the season. We need everyone to push if we are to get into the top six. That’s the target and that’s what we’ve told them.” The match was watched by a modest crowd of only 7,082 but those who did amble down to Easter Road witnessed a completely dominant performance by Hibs.
After the likes of Horgan, Gauld, Vykintas Slivka and Mallan were left frustrated in their attempts to break the deadlock, Kamberi did just that in the 21st minute. Newcomer Gauld played his part too, threading a perfectly weighted forward pass that encouraged Elgin goalkeeper Thomas Mchale to come running from his goal.
The Swiss got there first, rounding the shot-stopper before calmly slotting the ball into the net.
Horgan doubled the home side’s advantage four minutes later, bravely getting a head to Slivka’s cross before being taken out my Mchale.
Kamberi then missed a penalty after having his effort saved by the Elgin keeper before earning his side another seconds before the break.
Mallan stepped up this time and coolly sent Mchale the wrong way from 12 yards.
Gauld came within inches of capping his first start with a goal but an effort from 25 yards rippled the top of the net.
With prospective new Hibs signing Stephane Omeonga – the Genoa midfielder – watching on from the stands, there was no way Horgan could miss as he added the fourth in the 53rd minute, prodding in Steven Whittaker’s deep cross.
Elgin manager Gavin Price said: “The fourth goal went in fairly early in the second half and you start to fear.
“It can damage your confidence if you come out with a hiding but I was pleased with the way we finished the game.
“I said to the players after the game that the biggest thing for me is that they stuck together. “We were always going to be up against it playing against a team three leagues above you.”