Hibs’ on-loan midfielder Emerson Hyndman was delighted to score his first goal for the club since his summer move from English Premiership side Bournemouth during Saturday’s emphatic 6-0 win over Hamilton Academical.
The American international’s calm strike from a Martin Boyle pass put Hibs’ three goals up and effectively secured the points.
He almost added another with a header which flew inches over the bar and subsequently left the field to a well-deserved standing ovation from the supporters.
Speaking after the final whistle, Hyndman said: “I really enjoyed that game, that performance has been coming for a while. We’ve done well recently, but knew we could score more goals, so we were just waiting for a breakout like that.
“You want to score goals when you get opportunities, but it’s not fallen my way until now.
“To score, especially at home was a good feeling. The monkey is off my back now, so hopefully I keep getting in good positions and try to put them away.”
When questioned about whether Hibs can challenge for the title he responded: “If we keep winning games, I don’t see why not. We’re up there right now. We’re not looking at the table too much because it only becomes important at the end of the season.
“We know we have to work hard to keep up the form, we have to show up every week and put in performances.
“The form speaks for itself, we’ve had good wins recently and I think we’re in great nick right now, playing well together.
“It’s all down to trust, and the passing game. We’ve worked together for a while now.
“When new players come in, it takes time to get used to each other. You are now seeing the benefit of all the work we’ve been putting in on the training ground recently.
“We know there are areas where we can still improve and make better, but it’s going well.”
He also paid tribute to fellow midfielder Stevie Mallan who struck twice and won the sponsor’s man of the match award:
“It’s some shot Stevie has. That speaks for itself, nine goals, all from outside the box. You can see he’s got an unbelievable technique when it comes to hitting the football.
“When you see Stevie’s free kicks, and the goals he scored against Hamilton, he’s always such a threat.
“As a midfielder who works with him, as soon as he lines up to shoot, you just run in and hope for a rebound.
“But you know that it mostly goes top corner, so you don’t have to worry much about the rebound!
“Stevie’s a great player and obviously the stats speak for themselves.”
Hibs fans are now hoping that the loan-deal which is up in January can be extended but Hyndman insists that the matter is outwith his control and he is looking no further forward that the next game.
“When Neil Lennon spoke to me he relayed his intentions and what he wanted for the club. Everything was very positive, a very attacking mindset and as an attacking player it was really exciting.
“It’s up to January and I couldn’t give you any heads up on what happens then. At the moment, I’m enjoying myself. Right now, I’m enjoying my football, playing every game and trying to help the team.”
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.
