Looking Back: Last week at Hibs

Well, where to start? 

As usual, it was a busy week being a Hibs fan. From two matches, a new kit and owners taking their problems to the media. So, let us run through the past week and recap what is going on around the club. 

FOLEY’S COMMENTS 

After a disappointing result at Kelty Hearts last Saturday, ‘Hibs twitter (X)’, as it usually does, went into complete meltdown. David Gray would have been hoping for a quiet couple of days leading into Tuesday’s friendly against Watford allowing the team to assess the weekend’s loss. However, that was not to be. Bill Foley (new Hibs stakeholder) made comments to the media surrounding his group the Black Knights’ relationship with those running the club. He claimed that “they (Hibs ownership) really haven’t been listening to our input. I believe they will listen to our input now.” 

This only caused more spiralling from fans. Already under pressure CEO, Ben Kensell received a lot of criticism from the Hibs faithful for allegedly ignoring the advice of the Black Knights. Plus, it has been making the rounds that the appointments of David Gray as head coach and Malky Mackay as Sporting Director were not the preferred candidates of the American’s group. Hibs are yet to officially acknowledge Foley’s comments, which left newly appointed Gray out to dry going into the friendly against Watford. 

WATFORD 

Tuesday’s match against the Hornets was all about getting minutes into the squad’s legs as we edged even closer to the start of the league season. The match-up was part of Ryan Porteous’ move down south in January 2023. Despite an early goal from Josh Campbell and a first Easter Road goal for Harry McKirdy, Hibs succumb to a 3-2 loss.

Gray fielded two different XIs for each half (Kanayo Megwa was the only starter to come out for the second half) and the match only made clearer the troubles that the club face with the depth of the squad. With what appears to be the head coach’s first XI was swapped for a youthful second half lineup. Despite this, there were positives for the Hibees as there were several periods of play where they were on top. McKirdy’s sharp second-half performance was happily welcomed by the Easter Road crowd, with him showing signs of the player Hibs signed, almost two years ago now.  

Eagle eyed fans spotted Elie Youan watching on in a leg brace up in the West Stand, which was an extremely worrying sight. However, Gray alleviated the fans’ fears by confirming it was “precautionary” and he should be back in “a couple of weeks.” After the match, he also confronted Bill Foley’s comments from the previous day head on: 

“What I do know is I’ve went through the process and been given this opportunity because the club believed I was the right man to take it forward. And I firmly believe in my ability to be able to do that. It’s up to me now to go and demonstrate that.” 

New 3rd Kit 

The Leith club revealed their stunning new 3rd kit, which is based off the side’s mid-nineties fan favourite shirt. With purple and green stripes, Joma have managed to pull off a great throwback to a shirt that was and still is, beloved by fans. The new top was extremely well received with reactions on the official club’s X (formerly Twitter) account such as, “best of the lot,” “peach” and even shouts to wear the kit every week! 

PETERHEAD 

Hibs guaranteed their place into the Premier Sports cup last 16 with an efficient 4-0 win over Peterhead. The Edinburgh side topped the group with their victory, despite Queens Park beating Kelty Hearts 6-0. This left the Spiders only a singular goal behind on goal difference. In what was at times not necessarily the best football this side have played, they managed to run out comprehensive victors, alleviating any fears that fans had about an extremely unlikely early exit from the competition. There was a double for right back Lewis Miller, with one coming as a fortunate left-footed cross that was not met by anyone in the box, flying right into the Peterhead keeper’s bottom right corner.  

Plus, another goal for young Rudi Molotnikov who has looked extremely exciting since he broke into the first team this season, with fans debating whether he should be given the nod to start next weekend in Paisley. The result was rounded off by an impressive volley from Nathan Moriah-Welsh, who was Hibs’ brightest spark throughout the match. His drive and tenacity are something that this Hibs side has lacked over previous years, and it looks like he will play a key role in the team performing well this season. 

Despite the positives, Warren O’Hora limped off injured which was a real worry for fans as he would be a real miss if he were to be out for any length of time. However, David Gray confirmed that it was an “impact injury” and “hopefully it’ll settle down in a day or so.” The head coach also spoke about potential signings: 

“Would I like someone in before the weekend to give us strength and depth? One hundred per cent, but it’s not as simple as that. There’s hard work going on every single day to do that.” 

Hibs have been drawn to face Celtic away from home in the round of 16. The tie will take place on the weekend of 17/18 August.

The Hibees head to Paisley on Sunday to face St Mirren in their opening William Hill Premiership tie. David Gray’s men will be looking to stamp their mark on what will hopefully be an exciting and successful campaign.

Link to original article: https://leithlights.wordpress.com/2024/07/29/last-week-at-hibs/