Two sides to Hibs.

Hibs have shown two very different sides to their play in their last two games. A hard-fought and gritty win at Ibrox was followed by an entirely dominant and comfortable win at home to Dumbarton, and these two games are perhaps a good taster of what to expect from Hibs as this season draws to a close and we start to look forward to next season over the next couple of months.

So let's start with the win against Rangers. For possibly the first time in my lifetime, Hibs headed west to Glasgow as favourites. The aggregate league score between the two sides ahead of the game sat at 7-1 in Hibs' favour, and few would argue that was anything other than indicative of how one sided the fixture had been in the first two meetings this season.

The game was a different affair to the previous two. Rangers started on the front foot and looked in the mood with an early Kenny Miller shot being headed off the line by Liam Fontaine, with Hibs keeper Mark Oxley well beaten. Alan Stubbs had changed from his favoured midfield diamond in a 4-4-2 formation, to go with three centre-halves in a 3-5-2 set-up.

The change in formation meant that Hibs gave up a lot of possession, which has been the backbone of Hibs' play throughout the season, and for the first time since Stubbs took over, Hibs spent more time on the back foot than on the front.

As a supporter, it was frustrating to watch - recent (and no so recent!) experience of watching Hibs has taught me that when Hibs look like conceding, they probably will concede. However, we took the lead thanks to a sublime piece of vision and guile from Scott Allan, as he spotted Jason Cumming's run and picked him out with a fantastic pass that eluded the Rangers defence. Cummings effort was blocked by the stand-in Rangers goalkeeper, and Scott Robertson was first to the ball to put Hibs in front. Robertson had been far from the favourite to be first to the loose ball, and the goal was as much about his attitude and desire to get to the ball first as it was about the quality of the pass.

That goal encapsulated the change in Hibs since Stubbs and his backroom staff joined the club. A steeliness married with quality that was sadly lacking last season under Pat Fenlon and then Terry Butcher.

Once Hibs took the lead and had something to defend, they did a good job of keeping Rangers at arm's length, with the Glasgow side largely restricted to half-chances and long range efforts that were well dealt with by the Hibs defence.

Rangers had a fairly good shout for a penalty turned down, and the game was over a few moments later as Hibs broke forward with a passing move that culminated in a fine volley from Lewis Stevenson beating the Rangers keeper and nestling in the net.

Hibs saw the match out, and deserved the victory for their resilient defending and quality on the break, though it was a very different win to the 4-0 win at Easter Road in December. The victory saw Hibs leap-frog Rangers into second place, with Rangers having three games in hand.

Stubbs commented that he'd rather be in Rangers' position, chasing second but with the situation in their control. Hibs still have to rely on Rangers dropping points if they are to finish second, and more importantly, Hibs have to keep winning.

Rangers played on Friday night and deservedly beat Raith Rovers to move back into second before Hibs faced Dumbarton on Saturday. It was an interesting situation for Hibs to be in, having had opportunities earlier in the season to secure second place and not taken advantage, the visit of Dumbarton was going to be a test of their resolve and an indicator as to how much the team have progressed under Stubbs over the course of this season.

If there were any doubts, Hibs put them to bed with as competent a performance as I've seen from them in some time. On the front foot throughout the game, Hibs showed intelligence and creativity in their play. Despite missing Scott Allan, Jason Cummings, Liam Craig, and David Gray from the starting line-up, Hibs play was as fluent as you might have expected it to be had those players been present. Fraser Fyvie was particularly impressive in the midfield and was at the heart of most good things that Hibs did on Saturday.

Two goals from Malonga and one from Djedje gave Hibs a 3-0 win, and it could have been many more, a poor off-side decision halted Djedje when he was through on goal, two clear penalty appeals were waived away by the referee (who, it is fair to say, was appalling throughout the match), and a Paul Hanlon header was cleared from the line. According to the BBC stats, Hibs racked up some twenty-one shots at goal throughout the 90 minutes, that's a shot every four minutes or so, which gives some idea of how dominant Hibs were.  

Dumbarton, for their part, were very poor. They seemed content to sit back and even when behind there was little from them to suggest that they could come back into the game at any point. Hibs were professional and proficient throughout, and at the moment look as though they have the quality throughout the squad to compete for second, and crucially now they look as though they have the temperament for it.

For so long, Hibs have looked fragile, have been seen as an easy target or a possible scalp for other clubs. Right now, I'd think that there are very few clubs in Scottish football that would be relishing facing Hibs in a make or break tie.

In fact, in the last 10 league games since losing to Falkirk in December, Hibs have scored 26 goals and conceded 6, taking 24 points from a possible 30. To put that into context, league leaders Hearts have the same points from their last 10 games, but have conceded 4 more goals, and scored 5 fewer than Hibs. It's worth pointing out that in those ten games, Hibs faced Rangers twice as well, while Hearts abandoned match against Rangers isn't included in their run. There is also one derby, that ended in a 1-1 draw.

Some other stats from those 10 games, Hibs have totalled 139 shots (just shy of a 14 per game average), and averaged 56% of the possession.

Hibs have every reason to be confident at the moment. There's an away game to Alloa coming up, then Hibs have an excellent opportunity to get to the Scottish Cup Semi-Final with a home tie against Berwick Rangers following the Alloa match, and on current form it's hard to see past Hibs in that tie. There is a resilience and confidence about this Hibs side that Stubbs is moulding, standards have been set and bars raised, and crucially the quality of the squad means that if someone's not at their best, they can be replaced without dropping the standards of the eleven on the pitch.

The change in some of the players that survived the pre-season cull at the club has been remarkable. Scott Robertson, for example, came in for criticism last season, and when he conceded a penalty before getting sent off in the derby at the start of the season, it looked as though the writing may have been on the wall for him at Hibs. However, he's relishing the role he's playing and the freedom he's been given, and he has been at the backbone of a strong Hibs midfield. Liam Craig, too, is slowly but surely showing why Pat Fenlon brought him to the club initially.

A comment from Robertson in an interview I read caught my eye, I can't remember the exact quote but to paraphrase he said it was good to be instructed to get on the ball rather than being told to chase the ball and win 'second balls'. It goes to show how much damage a bad manager can do to a good player by using tactics that don't play to the team's strengths.

This new-found strength in depth is going to be crucial if Hibs do manage to progress in the cup, as the play-off place looks increasingly likely, Hibs could find themselves with a lot of games to play between now and the summer. From a purely selfish point of view, I hope we do, because this current side is as entertaining a Hibs side as I've seen since Mowbray's team, and the more I get to see of them, the better.

Boo When You're Winning.

It's early Saturday evening with the clock approaching ten to five. Hibs are two nothing up against Alloa at Easter Road, and a section (albeit a small section) of the support are booing. The target of their ire appears to be Liam Craig - a player still trying to win over a support that saw him as a very culpable figure in our relegation last season. Why are they booing Craig? Well, he's passing the ball back, keeping possession and seeing out the game.

I had changed seats for this game, moving from my seat for the last few years in the West Lower stand, to the second highest row in the West Upper. The boos came from a few guys to our left, and thankfully they were shouted down by some more reasonable supporters, but the whole episode made me question just what exactly is it the Hibs fans want from their team?

If I think back a few weeks to the last derby, Hibs had played very well, keeping the league leaders at arm's length for more or less the whole match. It had been a dominant derby performance, not really in keeping with Hibs' standard in this fixture over recent years. We didn't keep the ball at the end, and dropped two points courtesy of a long range shot from the Hearts centre-half.

Alloa themselves had shown that they were capable of turning around a two goal deficit in the closing stages of a match by beating The Rangers in the Petrofac Training Cup a couple of weeks prior to this fixture, so to my mind there was very good reason to see out the game by keeping the ball away from the Alloa players. If they don't have the ball, they can't score.

Hibs are playing a possession game this season. Alloa barely threatened the whole game, and it has been a similar story for most of Hibs' home games this season where a cursory glance at the stats would show possession, chances, corners, etc all heavily weighted in Hibs' favour.

We've seen how exciting this can be, the good derby performance and the 3-3 draw against Dundee United showcasing the tactic at its best. However, it would be fair to say that against teams that will let you have the ball, and who aren't interested in committing men forward to attack, then the possession approach proves more methodical and plodding than fluid and thrilling.

The win against Alloa could not be described as exciting, though it was effective. Hibs chalked up their first home win in three months - an astonishing statistic given the level that we are competing at this season. Alloa, for their part, looked terrible. There is an argument that suggests that Alloa looked so terrible because Hibs were so effective in the way that they kept the ball. I think that there is merit in that perspective and I'll explain why.

Hibs never seemed to get out of second gear in the game. The players looked like they cruised it, when Alloa cleared it was invariably a Hibs player that collected the ball and started another attack. We used the wings, we played through the middle, we had players switching positions and dragging markers about. Hibs controlled everything about the match, including the pace. One of the arguments put forward by a boo-er was that there was no need to keep the ball at the end of the match as Alloa had never looked like scoring. There was a very good reason for that -they never looked like scoring because we kept the ball.

We could have scored more goals, however I think the vocal minority would have reacted the same way had we been closing the game out at 4-0 up, rather than 2-0. I think that booing reaction, that impatience, is borne from our terrible home form over the last couple of years. Booing has almost become a default position for some fans, like they've forgotten how to appreciate the team. It seems that with some fans even when the team wins, the team can't win.

Coming out the game I was content that we'd won. I was disappointed that the game hadn't been more exciting but I'd take a comfortable two nil win any day of the week. I was satisfied and I felt there were real signs in the match that Stubbs' influence is definitely starting to tell on the players. Hibs no longer look like a forlorn rudderless outfit. The players played to a coherent system, knew their roles, and in Scott Allan we had a player willing to try something out of the ordinary to create chances.

That bravery to try something has led to some criticism, but from my point of view I'd much rather have someone try something fantastic and get it wrong now and again, than have someone stick with the safe, mundane option for fear of making a mistake. The problem we have with a support that boos at the first opportunity, is it's much easier for a brave player to stop making brave choices and take the easy option than it is for them to persevere and put up with the stick.

The support have to recognise the part they play in impacting individual players, and the team overall. Recognising when we've done well and applauding a win is right and justified. Booing a team for doing the sensible (if uninspiring) thing in the closing minutes is just ridiculous. We all want to see Hibs rattle seven goals past teams, but the reality of where we are just now is that scenario is unrealistic. The team has to prioritise wins first, style second. We are chasing the leaders, three points are all that matters for the time being.

Stubbs has had one transfer window to rebuild a team that was decimated morale-wise and numerically. He took on the role from a standing start and we are at a very early stage in that rebuilding process. The football club is going through root and branch change and the rewards of these changes won't be reaped immediately. We approach the January transfer window knowing that Stubbs has an eye on improving the squad for that final push.

The manager and the players need the support onside for the run in to the play-offs. Promotion is still well within our own hands and if the fans can learn to love the team again then we have a great chance of going up. We might even be able to sing when we're winning!

p.s. A small mention (and thanks) to Lee McLennan for sharing my blog via Twitter, but also for calling Malonga's hat-trick against Dumbarton the night before it happened, just a shame you never stuck a couple of quid on it, Lee! I had planned on doing a Malonga-based blog on the back of it but didn't manage to get the time to do it.