Hibs’ Head Coach Alan Stubbs was happy to collect the three points from yesterday’s game against Dumbarton although he was disappointed at losing two goals in a game that his players dominated from start to finish.
With the score at 4-1, Stubbs made three quick substitutions to allow some players a rest and give others some game time which disrupted the rhythm but with important games against Falkirk and Raith Rovers on the horizon, none of the Hibs’ fans minded the Head Coach looking at the big picture.
Speaking immediately after the game, Stubbs said: “We were a little bit slow then a bit of quality from Dom (Dominique Malonga) brought the game to life, then a little bit of craziness brought the game back level.
“After that we stepped things up and got ourselves into a commanding position and at one point, every time we went forward we looked like we were going to create and score.
“Maybe the substitutions slowed things up but it was more important getting those lads off, like Jason (Cummings) who had played two games in four days and Fraser (Fyvie) who has been four weeks out and the result was never in danger. Once we scored that fourth we looked to get some of the lads off. To be honest I would have liked to have made four or five substitutions. I wanted to take John McGinn off but he is just full of energy at the moment.”
Despite collecting a valuable three points however Stubbs could not hide his disappointment at the manner in which his team lost two goals. He continued: “I was disappointed in the manner in which we lost two goals today and I’m still boiling a bit now to be honest. We shouldn’t concede goals like that. It’s hard enough winning games of football. Today I just wasn’t happy at the way we conceded the two goals. It’s not like us and that’s what disappointed me.
“The four goals we scored really excited me. We were intelligent going forward with clever one touch lay offs with good movement and good running off the ball. That was great and I expect that, but I don’t expect to give two goals away. Even at 4-2 I wanted the team to be more ruthless.”
He did however single out James Keatings who scored the fourth for a special mention. “I’m delighted for James Keatings. Even in the first half, his intelligence was evident. he doesn’t have to look, he knows people are there. He is very clever. As soon as he got the ball, I knew he was going to score. It didn’t surprise me at all. That’s the confidence he gives you and it was great to see him back on the pitch.
“Paul Hanlon was rested. It was a game that I thought we could do that because of the strength in depth we have got.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
