David Gray’s Hibs side moved off the bottom of the Premiership this afternoon with a well-earned 2-0 win at Pittodrie.
Second half goals from Adam Le Fondre and Christian Doidge were enough to secure the club’s first three points of the season and a much-needed victory against Aberdeen.
Defensively we were far more assured in our performance with David Marshall making good saves when required and looking comfortable after a difficult few weeks.
In front of the goalkeeper, the back four worked well together and limited Aberdeen’s threats with Lewis Miller performing particularly positively at right back against a difficult opponent in Duk.
We cleared our lines where necessary and provided the front six with a platform to build on as the game progressed. It was somewhat back to basics in the approach to defending with few chances taken when any opposition threats looked to be building.
As a team we defended our box well for large periods of the 90 minutes and didn’t give the home side’s forwards too many chances to take aim at Marshall’s goal.
While Josh Campbell may have been a little bit lucky not to receive a second yellow card in the second half, he worked hard alongside Joe Newell and Jimmy Jeggo – who carried out their defensive duties diligently when required.
All three midfielders kept possession better than they have done in recent weeks and the outlets of Elie Youan, Martin Boyle and both full backs provided threats and put Aberdeen’s defenders on the back foot throughout the afternoon.
The Dons struggled to cope with Youan and Boyle especially – with Elie proving to be our most dangerous option in the first 45 with some good runs in behind the home side’s back three.
Dylan Vente worked hard throughout his time on the pitch despite receiving little service in his solo number nine role.
One criticism of our wingers would be to get the Dutchman involved in our forward moves more often to provide an additional threat in the final third.
The summer signing has showed already he can finish instinctively when given the chance, so it’ll be key to give him the service he needs if we are to see the best of Vente this season.
The match winners this afternoon came from the bench with Adam Le Fondre and Christian Doidge introduced by David Gray after 66 and 71 minutes in place of Josh Campbell – who was tiring and on a booking – and the aforementioned Vente who had struggled to make his mark on the game against Aberdeen’s centre halves.
Doidge did incredibly well for the Hibs opener as he recovered a loose ball near the byline, fed Joe Newell inside the box who laid off excellently for Le Fondre to finish with class.
The ex-Reading man has looked sharp, hungry and with a keen-eye for goal in his time with Hibs so far and his ability to finish important chances will come in handy over the course of the season – as it proved today.
The second goal of the afternoon was enough to seal Aberdeen’s fate and it was Doidge who did the honours after great work from Lewis Miller and Paul Hanlon to keep the ball alive in the box from a corner.
The big Welshman hit the bar with an initial header before the ball fell back to him inside the box and he made no mistake with his second effort.
An isolated figure at times in the last 18 months, Doidgey has done excellently well to work his way back into contention and it’s credit to his attitude and his love for the club that he’s opted to stay at Easter Road and fight for his place in the side when it may have been an easier option for him to play his football elsewhere.
Doidge has worked hard when he’s been in the team and today was his third goal of the season. With Dylan Vente and Adam Le Fondre alongside him in the hunt for the centre forward jersey there is healthy competition for places amongst our attacking players.
Thursday’s trip to Villa Park was a positive experience for the travelling fans despite the scoreline and there were signs of improvement even with a 3-0 defeat against the Premier League side.
In reality though that tie was already over as a competitive event and today’s league match was far more important for the club.
It was particularly pleasing to see the side record a clean sheet at an historically difficult venue – the first of the season in our 11th competitive match of 2023/24 – and caretaker David Gray touched on how pleased he was to see the side do so this afternoon.
With largely inconsistent team selections in recent weeks there’s a huge amount to be said for having a settled side, particularly in relation to building a strong defensive record.
Hopefully with an upturn in results and a period with no injuries, fans can enjoy seeing a consistent, winning XI turn out before the October international break.
All in all it was a hugely important victory on the road this afternoon after a difficult start to the domestic season.
Credit goes to every one of the travelling Hibees who made the journey to Pittodrie today on the back of visits to Andorra, Switzerland and Birmingham in recent weeks – in addition to three bonus trips to Easter Road since the start of the campaign.
While the hunt for a new manager looks set to pick up pace over the international break, David Gray and his coaching team have given the club a boost ahead of our visit to Rugby Park on 16th September thanks to today’s win in the north-east.
Let’s see if we’ve got a new boss in charge when we head to Ayrshire later this month.
Glory glory to the Hibees.
Header image credit: Hibernian FC
The East Stand 