Fulltime: Caley 1-1 Hibs

We had a lot of reasons to believe this would be a win. Caley’s record against Hibs is very strong at home. Craig Brewster certainly believed it was winnable, by his starting lineup of three strikers (Imrie, Barrowman and Rooney). At halftime, everything looked to be going according to plan, with Caley up 1-0 and dominating possession. But it only took a minute of the second half for Mixu Paatelainen’s men to find their feet and equalize, in the form of a nice finish from Colin Nish. Nish continues to be on very strong form for Hibs, scoring three in the past two weeks.

The second half, after the Nish goal, was very promising in a lot of ways. Caley continued to own possession, something we haven’t always been able to do. Considering how well we were holding onto the ball, I was a bit perplexed by the decision by Brewster to go defensive in the 57th minute, subbing in new defender Lionel Djebi-Zadi for Dougie Imrie. Bringing in a midfielder would have seemed a reasonable choice, and I would have liked to see Barry Wilson earlier. Barry came on in the 80th for Andy Barrowman. Of course, getting Don Cowie back in the scoring way is a great thing for the team. If he can do anything like his nine league goals last season, he’ll cement his place even further as a Caledonian Stadium favorite.

Obviously, you can’t celebrate a huge amount about points dropped at home to a team against which you’ve had great success in the past. This could have been a win. But there is a lot to be happy about here. First off, the midfield possession game was very good. Chances were created. The defense could have been better, often seeming to play a risky offside trap rather than a disciplined stand. We did catch Hibs offside a number of times (7 to our 1) but it also created a number of chances for them we could have avoided. Adam Rooney continues to look lively, but is still yet to find the goal for Caley. It was good to see a full match from him, and he was the only one of the three strikers left in for all 90 minutes, a testament to his quality on the day.

In short, could have been better – could have been worse. We’ll take the point, but to be at 6 would be a whole lot sweeter.

Season progress
At this point last season: 3 matches played, 0 points, 2 goals for, 7 goals against
This season: 3 matches played, 4 points, 3 goals for, 2 goals against

Comparable fixtures last season: 2 matches played, 3 points, 2 goals for, 1 goal against
Comparable fixtures this season: 2 matches played, 4 points, 3 goals for, 1 goal against

Category: Postgame

Tags: 1-1, Colin Nish, Don Cowie, Draw, Hibernian, Hibs, Postgame

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