Hibernian manager Shaun Maloney has explained why he didn’t attack Celtic as his negative approach left Ange Postecoglou frustrated.
The Hoops manager launched a few digs towards Leith as he questioned post-match whether they even had a chance at goal [The National]. Yesterday’s 0-0 stalemate saw Celtic dominate the match with 61% possession and 13 shots at goal. Hibs, in contrast, only managed 2 [BBC].
The Easter Road side came into the match missing 8 players through injury [The Scotsman]. They saw a 9th head off in the first-half too when Kevin Nisbet had to come off injured.
And Maloney has stated that it was for those reasons that his side couldn’t afford to attack Celtic or open up to any real degree. As quoted by Edinburgh Evening News, Maloney said: “As the game wore on I would love to have had a go. But we have so many injuries at the moment that some of our attacking players had to go to the death today. They really had to go to the last minute.
“When energy levels are that low you drop deeper, you stop pressing as high. I would love us to have pressed as high for the whole 90. But they gave me everything and at that point you start to have a counter-attacking threat, which we did at times.
“We had to defend for large periods of the second half which brings a different kind of pride I have in them. I can’t ask for any more than what I got.”
Shaun Maloney’s Hibs go against their principles but Celtic failed to find the answers
Maloney has already laid out his principles to the Hibs supporters and Scottish football as a whole. He wants his side to be the most exciting and entertaining attacking outfit possible [The Times]. Bold words, and he was certainly backed in the January transfer window too with a host of new arrivals.
However, he had to go against his principles yesterday to get a result against the Hoops. Hibs’ negative approach in the second 45 in particular was as defensive as they’ve been against us in some time. You could tell we weren’t comfortable up against it, and even though Hibs got a point, it’s not something Maloney wants his side to be all about.
Whether this was an instruction from the former Belgium assistant coach or a natural instinct from a tired group of players, that much is unclear. What was evident, however, was how much it had us rattled. Not even the most optimistic of Celtic supporter would’ve felt as if the goal was coming as our old demons came back to haunt us once more.
Then again, you do look at the personnel Hibs had available yesterday and it does make you raise an eyebrow at Maloney’s words. He made 3 substitutions for a start – 2 more than Postecoglou. He brought on attacking players in Chris Mueller, Scott Allan, and Christian Doidge at differing stages of the match. It’s not as if he had no options.
Yet despite the attacking substitutes, Hibs continued to be a negative side throughout the half. Their focus was only on trying to stop Celtic and securing a point. Joe Hart didn’t have a save to make, and that tells its own story considering how tough a venue this is.
You still get the feeling Maloney could’ve been more attacking if he wanted to. He still had the legs available to be more ambitious and he used them too. If he’s making 3 attacking subs and his players are a spent force going forward, then maybe that should have some alarm bells ringing. Regardless, we have nobody to blame but ourselves and it’s a lesson learned moving forward.
In other news, Celtic can’t afford to blame opposition for poor displays as title race intensity grows
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