The Hibees head to Hampden tomorrow afternoon to face Aberdeen in the Viaplay Cup semi-finals. With no trip to the National Stadium last season, supporters have picked up tickets in impressive numbers ahead of the weekend’s big game.
The trip to Glasgow hands Nick Montgomery and his coaching team an early opportunity to experience the latter stages of Scottish tournament football, with Hibs keen to kickstart the first phase of a new era with the club’s first trophy since our 2016 Scottish Cup triumph.
Looking Back at County
Tuesday evening was a frustrating night at Easter Road. With a rotated side Hibs found themselves two goals up with less than 20 minutes to play and yet conspired to come away without the three points.
Goals from Elie Youan and Jair Tavares – his first for the club – had spirits high and confidence boosted before the weekend’s big one at Hampden.
However, with manager Montgomery ringing the changes, including another central defensive swap midway through the second half, Ross County got themselves back into the game, first through an unfortunate own goal from Alan Delferriere before Jordan White finished well on the spin to take a point back to Dingwall.
There has been plenty of talk about Montgomery’s substitutions, and in particular his decision to bring on Paul Hanlon in place of Rocky Bushiri in a game where the defensive line looked relatively steady.
In hindsight the change seemed unnecessary but regardless of the switch, the team which finished the game on Tuesday night should have been experienced enough to see it out regardless of the manager’s substitutions.
Goalkeeper
One of Montgomery’s changes on Tuesday saw Jojo Wollacott return to the starting XI for the first time since his comeback from injury.
With David Marshall receiving criticism in recent weeks for his performances, and with the side’s goal against column grim viewing so far this season, it was perhaps not a surprise to see Wollacott given the nod – despite Marshall contributing to an impressive clean sheet against Celtic at the weekend.
Wollacott’s performance on Tuesday night was probably best described as rusty, which is to be expected from a player who has been sidelined since the 6-1 win over Inter d’Escaldes on 3rd August.
His error of judgement from a Ross County cross resulted in the away side’s opening goal but he made some decent saves and will be pleased to get a competitive 90 minutes under his belt for the first time this season.
Wollacott’s return leaves Nick Montgomery with a decision to make ahead of Saturday’s semi-final. Does he stick with the summer signing for a big occasion this weekend or does he return to the experienced head of Marshall, who has been there and done it all when it comes to appearances at Hampden Park.
Time will tell if Wollacott can stamp his authority on the number one jersey over the course of the season, but one thing for sure is that we need to address our defensive frailties as a matter of urgency.
Team Selection
Montgomery made a number of midweek changes to the team which started against Celtic, and it’ll be interesting to see how many of the starters did enough on Tuesday to keep their place in the team this weekend.
Particularly interesting will be whether the manager decides to stick with Dylan Levitt in the middle of the park and whether it’s Joe Newell, Jimmy Jeggo or both who play alongside him if he does start the game on Saturday.
With an obvious preference towards a midfield four, could we see a slight change of shape to accommodate all three central players, or will Monty try Newell and Levitt together for the first time during his tenure?
There are also considerations in the defensive line, with Paul Hanlon and Rocky Bushiri battling for the starting jersey alongside Will Fish in the centre of defence. At left back it would be unsurprising to see Jordan Obita return to the fold in place of Lewis Stevenson – who captained the Hibees on Tuesday night – with both full-backs likely to have an important role to play going forward on the Hampden pitch.
While everyone expects Martin Boyle to return from the start on Saturday, it would likely mean either Jair Tavares or Adam Le Fondre dropping to the bench against Aberdeen. With Tavares on the scoresheet for the very first time in midweek it would seem harsh to leave him out, but there are considerations further forward with Boyle capable of playing either as a winger or up front alongside Dylan Vente.
Adam Le Fondre’s best work for Hibs this season has been from the bench, and with Christian Doidge currently struggling with a muscle problem we could see Boyle partnered with Vente from the start in Glasgow tomorrow afternoon.
Opposition
Before the midweek fixtures Aberdeen’s form would have given Hibs fans confidence heading into the semi-final – with two draws and two defeats on their record before a 4-2 win at Fir Park on Wednesday night.
Wednesday’s win in Motherwell shows Aberdeen’s capabilities going forward and Hibs will need to be wary of not committing too many players forward at Hampden tomorrow – especially with our recent record at the back.
In Miovski, Duk and McGrath Aberdeen have some handy forward players who will need to be guarded closely, while focus will be on winning the battle in midfield and on our wingers to ensure Aberdeen are kept on the back foot for long periods of the game.
Our 2-0 victory at Pittodrie earlier this season shows we have the players to take the game to Aberdeen tomorrow, and it’ll be interesting to see how both teams set up.
Without too many enjoyable trips to Hampden since our cup win in 2016, fans will travel tomorrow with excitement and hesitation in equal measure.
Fingers crossed we do enough to book a return trip to Glasgow on 17th December.
The East Stand 