HIBERNIAN’S pointless start to the Premiership continued as ruthless Livi scored three times at Easter Road, adding to the woes of a home team still looking shell-shocked from the salvo of strikes unleashed upon them by Aston Villa in midweek. As Hibs fans wonder what fresh hell awaits them in the return leg of that tie in Birmingham on Thursday, we look at five key pointers from this return to domestic drudgery.
Lee Johnson is in trouble He can plead for patience, explain the reasoning behind their slump, even point to Europe as a drain and distraction that has undermined his efforts on the home front. But Hibs manager Johnson wasn’t surprised to hear supporters calling for his head. Maybe Hibs are more of a continental side, though, right? Not Champions League. Not quite Europa League. And destined to fall out of the Europa Conference League this week. In carding nul points after their opening three league games this season, however, Johnson’s men have at least brought a little taste of Eurovision to the SPFL. The really worrying thing is that Hibs are stuck on zero after a relatively tame opening trio of fixtures. St Mirren, Motherwell and now Livingston – all fine sides but hardly title challengers – have now taken maximum points from a group of players and coaches who have openly expressed their ambition to compete at the business end of the Scottish Premiership.
Repeat, repeat and repeat It hardly takes a super-powered AI football bot to spot some of the repeating patterns in Hibernian games. Losing goals to crosses – specifically crosses from one side – is an obvious one. It’s not fair to pick on Riley Harbottle, the former Nottingham Forest central defender deployed at right-back for this one. But since when has football been fair? Livingston clearly targeted Harbottle’s area of the pitch, having decided that his positioning might not always be absolutely inch perfect. In quick succession, Hibs lost two goals and one goalkeeper – David Marshall was hurt competing for a low cross – from this part of the park. If you want to dig deeper in search of recurring themes, however, there’s a reason why generations of Hibs teams have been labelled soft. Doing things like conceding from kick-off, having just equalised, only adds to the mountain of evidence piling up against the class of season 2023-24.
Help us Martin Boyle, you’re our only hope … Without Boyle, where would Hibs be? Literally hopeless. The livewire forward made a goal out of nothing against Livingston – and that is increasingly part of his repertoire in a team struggling to break opponents down. The problem with this, of course, is that teams can double or triple team the danger man. Add in a new leniency when it comes to awarding fouls claimed for by Boyle, and it’s hard to see how he can single-handedly lift Hibs out of their slump. Once injuries clear up and Dylan Vente is fit enough to play more regularly, Johnson should have more weapons in his armoury. But watching them play the ball slowly and ever more slowly around the pitch against Livi, it looks as if their problems run deeper than simply a lack of oomph in the final third.
Joel Nouble is too good for this A playmaker with the physique of a target man. A dribble who can go left, right or straight over the top of opponents. A mischief maker who knows how to hurt teams in the most effective of ways. At the age of 27, having kicked around non-league football in England for much of his career, Nouble has to be on the wanted list of bigger clubs. In better leagues. At one point against Hibs, three would-be tacklers were either left flat-footed or bounced around by the big man with the silky touch. What are all the scouts waiting for?
Pittodrie should be Hibernian’s focus – not Villa Park The Europa Conference League is gone. There is no point, then, in fielding anything like a full-strength team in Birmingham. Sure, nobody wants an embarrassing scoreline. But nothing that happens in Thursday night’s game can have anything more than a psychological impact on the season. Fail to take at least a point against Aberdeen next Sunday, however, and the pressure on Hibs – not just their manager but the board, depending on what happens between now and the transfer deadline passing – will increase exponentially.
