ICT -V- Hibernian : Matchday Thread

[hislopsoffsideagain]

Marks out of five:

FRASER  :003: :003: :003: :003: I wish he would come for crosses more, but two outstanding stops today, and partial credit for dribbling round the Hibs striker in the first half

PROCTOR  :003: :003: :003: :003: Solid again.  For the love of goodness, Brew, keep Tokely on the bench next week

MCGUIRE  :003: :003: :003: Titanic battle with Donaldson.  Lucky not to be sent off for his shirt pull as Donaldson hit the bar.  We need to bust a gut to keep him

MUNRO  :003: :003: :003: :003: Only really lost Fletcher once all game.  Appalling passing out of defence though

HASTINGS  :003: :003: :003: Beaten all ends up by Morais a few times in the first half but comfortable in the second period

COWIE  :003: :003: :003: Quieter performance than most recently, but worked as hard as ever

BLACK  :003: :003: :003: :003: Another great effort, using the ball well when we had it and harassing Kerr and Noubissie tirelessly when we didn't

DUNCAN  :003: :003: Continues to protect the defence well but even by his standards the passing was atrocious.  Subbed late on with an injury

RANKIN  :003: :003: :003: :003: :003: My man of the match.  Nearly caught out Makalambay from distance twice.  Still pressing Hibs defenders in the 94th minute.  How can we possibly let him go?

MCBAIN  :003: :003: Worked hard but never really in the match much.  Subbed for Bayne

NICULAE  :003: :003: :003: :003: :003: Oh, Marius!  Two super finishes, he held up the ball really well first half, and looked different class when he came deeper after Bayne's introduction

Subs

BAYNE  :003: :003: :003: :003: Made the difference when we were shaky at 1-0 - he went in where it hurt to start the move for the second.  It's a long time since he's done that well

WILSON  :003: :003: Not really on long enough to do much

BREW  :003: :003: :003: :003: :003: Kudos for bringing Bayne and changing things while we were under the cosh.  We look better organised and fitter than we have in ages.

[Fanoffooty]

 

Excellent performance today , well done ICT  :clapping03:

Delighted for Marius  :021: well deserved MOTM (Almost a hat Trick too ! )

We must hold on to Rankin  he played great today too  :clapping03:

[Libero]

ratings are spot on hislopsoffsideagain  :clapping03:

[ictchris]

Brilliant result, delighted for Marius.  Sounds as though we played some good stuff and appear to have the old solidity and spirit back, that's the important thing.  We've got tough games coming up but I think we can take points from both.

Btw, last time we won three games in a row:

ICT 1 Dunfermlin 0 - 30/09/06

Rangers 0 ICT 1 - 14/10/06

ICT 3 Falkirk 2 - 21/10/06

Last time we had three clean sheets in a row:

Livingston 0 ICT 1 - 29/04/06

ICT 2 Falkirk 0 - 03/05/06

Dunfermline 0 ICT 1 - 06/05/06

[tm4tj]

Superb performance against a good Hibs side who made a very good game of it.  Some great performances from our guys anf the big guy up front for Hibs was a real handful.  Still, we kept at it and deservedly stuffed them with Marius oh so close to getting a tremendous hat-trick, we were all off our seats when he hit that rasper near the end after a lightning move out of defence.  However I will settle for 2-0 for us.  Marius was super as was Fraser Rankin and Proctor, Bayne came on and did the hard shift to ease the pressure on the defence and did it brilliantly, McGuire and Granty stood firm against a real handful and the rest did their job, Roy being a bit ineffective and Russell broke up play magnificently............then gave the ball away easily at times but thats Russell, now for my MoM the absolutely clear winner for me was Iain Black.  He was immense, got battered around all day but came back for more, was instrumental in everything we did, defended when required, played last man at times and almost scored a spectacular goal. My hero, well played Iain and despite the rough treatment he conducted himself impeccably, eat that.

MoM Iain Black, don't forget that.  Marius...........fantastic and I am so glad you gave me a birthday goal.  Michael Fraser, great way to answer the hard to please home fans, fabulous display.

Overall fandabbydosey.

[ICTodd]

Amazing performance and result today!

Every player did what they had to do, and at no point did I think any of them put a foot wrong. Once again it proved to be a great game and great result! Well done Niculae for not only getting one but two, and a very close to a 3rd!

I have to say this as a friend of mine is a Hibs fan and they are seemingly very close calls to the Hibs support, but what did everyone think of the 'penalties' Hibs 'should have had'??

I really don't want to take anything away from Caleys performance, but I thought I'd see how other Caley fans saw it??

[Yngwie]

Regarding earlier criticism of the officials, the radio commentators were very vocal that Hibs should have had a penalty 100% and McGuire should have seen red for it.

1-1 and clinging on with 10 men........the tone here tonight would have been much less positive!

[4ize]

If Russell made mistakes, then so did Proc, getting dispossessed or giving the ball away in very dangerous situations - remember him and Cowie standing off Donald down the Hibs left wing? Big Phil gave Chip dog's abuse for that, but isn't David supposed to be the defender (besides which Cowie was behind the player and stood a good chance of giving away a free kick with a challenge from there)? Still not convinced that he's got the Rossco's-gonna-getcha factor but, aye, he's making the case for a start.

They should definitely have had the first penalty claim, and McGuire should have been off, but we all know this stuff evens itself out over a season - the officials seem to be pretty unbiased in their breathtaking incompetence  :rolleyes02:

Can't really disagree with anything else said. Cracking game (I was running very late and missed what the commentators said was a slow first fifteen), one of the best matches I've seen at TCS for a while. Something about the Hibees seems to suit us, and I've always enjoyed these fixtures. No exception today. Well done all  :021:

Marius - absolutely made up for you, you deserved a third. It was obvious what that first one meant to you and to the rest of the boys; I haven't seen anyone so clearly elated to score since the sublime Mr. Rankin's first goal in an ICT jersey.  :clapping02:

[dead_ball_specialist]

Agree with most of whats already been said but McBain certainly doesn't deserve 2 stars  :32: he had a sound game. Hibs barely created anything down the right hand side in large part due to his tireless covering and pressing throughout the 90 minutes, and he combined pretty well with Hastings going forward on a few occasions.

Rankin had his best game ever, he had a hat-trick of near misses. His shot from the centre circle only looked inches away from where I was sitting. 5 stars richly deserved.

MF also had a 5 star performance. That's 3 clean sheets in a row, who would have predicted that a few weeks back?! He's had some performances this season where you'd be forgiven for thinking that he was 'out of his box' - today it was the Hibs no 1 (as usual) who was LITERALLY out of his box with the ball in his hands on at least 4 occasions. :024:

We were so dominant towards the end it was like shooting practice, our fitness levels must have improved because at the start of the season we were hanging on for dear life in the closing stages.

Our first game without Park was a stroll in the park. The participants in the Flybe half time challenge have scored more goals up here than Hibs. How can they be so good against the old firm and so bad against us? Who cares.  :tic01:

[CELTIC1CALEY3]

I do agree we should be cautious. It seems the match officials helped both sides today. On the face of it Macalamby should have been sent off for handling outside the box - has anyone seen TV footage?

Collins seems to think Hibs 'goal' was over the line. Anyone seen TV footage of this?

If it was, I have to say Michael reminded me of Jimbo and the disallowed Kilmarnock goal. Was the Hibs 'goal' more than a metre over?

[ICTodd]

Regarding earlier criticism of the officials, the radio commentators were very vocal that Hibs should have had a penalty 100% and McGuire should have seen red for it.

1-1 and clinging on with 10 men........the tone here tonight would have been much less positive!

As i saw it, it may have not been so clean cut. Granted McGuire did have his hands on the striker, but as many people around me said and I have to agree, had it not been for McGuires 'intervention' the resulting shot may have not got anywhere near the goal. The player turned into a position that would have seen his shot past but it was McGuire that pulled him into the sight of goal. As rules are, advantage was played...and it didn't go in.

At 10 men though I could still see Caley winning the game as Hibs had no presence on the park watsoever and Rankin had a belter of a game that could have seen a 4-1 result if gravity had applied!

[4ize]

Agree with most of whats already been said but McBain certainly doesn't deserve 2 stars  :32: he had a sound game. Hibs barely created anything down the right hand side in large part due to his tireless covering and pressing throughout the 90 minutes, and he combined pretty well with Hastings going forward on a few occasions.

Roy had a good first half but I though he faded in the second - the commentators seemed to think he'd picked up a knock, though he was fizzing at being hooked.

[ICTodd]

ok i'm just coming back into this thread after hearing what john collins had to say about the match. Aparantly they were all over us, but did he see the number of times Rankin had shot on goal (not that he missed sitters, he was excellent) and how close Niculae was to adding a third? OR how many times his keeper held it outside the box?

Also he said the ball DID cross the line after hitting the bar. HOW THE **** could he have seen that from the dugout? *****...he just knows he aint going to be in that seat for long!

[caleyblue]

though it was a great game today we deserved the win thought all players contributed to the win as for collins interview who cares the score was 2-nil to us get it up yeh 

[MichaelICT]

my ratings...

Fraser 8 - Dealt with everything that came his way

Proctor 8 - Who needs Rosscoe...

Hastings 7 - Did his shift very well and contributed to attack

McGuire 8 - Outstanding , should be signed in January as he has strenghthened things

Munro 7 - Won his fare share of chalenges and had Fletcher in his pocket

Cowie 7 - Very impressive, contributed a lot to the team

McBain 7 - Great game for Roy , did very well

Duncan 6 - Did his shift but faded in second half. Could have been the knee knock?

Black  8 - Wow, he impressed today good to see he didn't give away free kicks and Kenny Clark kept his cards in his pocket.

Rankin 8 - Why sell him with a performance like that?

Niculae 9 - Best game for ICT . Could have had hat-trick near end but class shone through. More to come I hope

Bayne 7 - Did well when introduced

Wilson 6 - Added drive in the last quarter

Bring on Celtic!!! :021:

[CaleyD]

If Niculae is reading this - you can now claim to have the body of a God and a Goal Scoring Machine  :015:

(Private Joke)

[Guest TinCanFan]

Here's my matchday ratings:

1. Fraser - Great game today.  Some clearances weren't too great but some good saves. 8/10

3. McGuire - Looked pretty solid today. 7.5/10

6. McBain - Not Bad. 6.5/10

8. Black - Had a good game. 7.5/10

12. Duncan - Looked okay. 6.5/10

14. Munro - Looked fairly solid. 7/10

15. Cowie - Some good pace. 7/10

16. Hastings - Played fairly well. 7/10

18. Niculae - Some great touches and too well taken goals. 8.5/10

24. Rankin - Best I've seen him in ages and was unlucky not to score.  One for the keeps I say. 8/10

29. Proctor - Played well and should keep his place for next week against Celtic. 7/10

Subs: Wilson on for McBain

         Bayne on for Duncan

9. Bayne - Played well and looked good in the air. 7/10

7. Wilson - Showed some good pace. 7/10

Man of the Match - Marius Niculae

Referee: Kenny Clark - Gave decisions to both sides but wasn't that good overall.  5/10

ICT Crowd - Not too bad but could've been louder. 7/10

Steak Pie - Very good. 8/10

Weather - Bit Cold. 4/10

[Yngwie]

When he went to celebrate the second, he showed a turn of pace we've never seen from him before!

Having seen the highlights :

1) McGuire tugged Donaldson a wee bit, but it was outside the box.

2) Donaldson's subsequent shot MOSTLY crossed the line without a doubt, but it was impossible to see whether or not all of it did.

[kencar]

Agree with most of whats already been said but McBain certainly doesn't deserve 2 stars  :32: he had a sound game. Hibs barely created anything down the right hand side in large part due to his tireless covering and pressing throughout the 90 minutes, and he combined pretty well with Hastings going forward on a few occasions.

Roy had a good first half but I though he faded in the second - the commentators seemed to think he'd picked up a knock, though he was fizzing at being hooked.

Ah the enigma that is Roy McBain  :024:  Just can't see what, if anything, he offers the team. He was by far and away the least effective ICT player today quite ably combining new found chameleon skills with his usual invisibility powers  :tic01: Some folk on here really seem to rate him - I just want to know why?

[CaleyD]

BBC Match Report

I thought this stuff was written by people who might actually have some clue as to what's going on in the game!!!!

Marius Niculae scored his first Inverness goals as the Highlanders made it three league wins in a row.

Rankin released Niculae with a neat flick and the Romanian striker calmly lifted the ball over the advancing Makalambay for his first goal on Scottish soil.

And when you read the rest you wonder if this person was actually at the game with their talk of a "poor first half".

Wonder if the BBC highlights of this one will be any the less biased towards Hibs than the ones from our trip to Easter Road  :014:

[Guest WynessLegend]

[

Ah the enigma that is Roy McBain  :024:  Just can't see what, if anything, he offers the team. He was by far and away the least effective ICT player today quite ably combining new found chameleon skills with his usual invisibility powers  :tic01: Some folk on here really seem to rate him - I just want to know why?

I think this sums up the Caley forum.

Third win in a row, third clean sheet in a row (against a good Hibs side).

And still posters find time to criticise.

This was a good, well managed, team performance.

Sorry if that's not what you're looking for.

[CaleyD]

It's the small minded Highland mentality at work yet again  :tic01:

[CaleyCanary]

Sounds like all positives today but for me the greatest pleasure (and relief) has to be that Brew seems to have got the tactics right and he made good, well-timed substitutions.

:clapping03:

[CaleyD]

I was actually quite shocked, and a little puzzled, by the substitution of McBain...as was he given his reaction.

I think it was one of those decisions by Brewster which was always going to be seen as a great move if we held on to win and would have seen him chastised heavily if Hibs had come back in to the game.

I'm glad it was the former  :001:

[TSTtiger]

great performance all round and a well deserved win :021:

had my doubts about playing that formation at home but it worked out today.it can be pretty painful to watch at times sitting deep defending a one goal lead but on the other hand when we went forward we looked dangerous and played some great stuff so not going to complain. had hibs under the cosh for long spells although they had one of those days when you just knew they werent going to score.

good decision bringing bayne on at a point when hibs were turning the screw on us and thats what won the game for us. rankin had a belter of a game and  on that form now has to be one of the first names down on the team sheet which is a pretty good turnaround.

delighted for nicolae too who gave everything he had and finally got the reward he deserved and for the goals deserved the man of the match ahead of rankin.that'll be a big weight of his shoulders now. look out celtic marius is gonna get you.

fraser, another clean sheet, great save first half.enough said.

could give a few negatives but whats the point. a 2. 0 win and a great effort .sweet