Hibs instant analysis as Rangers hand Montgomery first defeat

Under the eye of new manager Phillipe Clement, the hosts secured a comfortable via Abdallah Sima’s double, embellished with goals from Nicolas Raskin and Cyriel Dessers. Raskin’s strike, just before the break, was a hammer blow from which Hibs never recovered.

Montgomery stuck to his 4-4-2 shape and his determination to be aggressive in all areas. But his side were lacking in attacking verve and conceded goals the manager will consider wholly preventable.

Patrick McPartlin and Liam Bryce were at Ibrox to provide the instant analysis.

Worst possible timing

There’s no good time to concede a goal, obviously, but some moments are worse than others. The cusp of half-time is among those managers will preach as requiring solidity or, in more colloquial terms – ‘nothing daft’.

Psychologically, there’s a world of difference in heading back to the dressing room having conceded moments before the whistle. There appeared to be little danger when Raskin picked up the ball a considerable distance from goal, but his low shot squirmed its way past Marshall and into the bottom corner.

It’s not one the Hibs keeper will enjoy seeing back. He will know his positioning could have been far better – he probably keeps it out, if so. On reflection, it feels like the pivotal moment in the match, with Rangers returning for the second period with less tension in their play.

Even at 1-0, the Ibrox crowd remained restless at every misplaced pass, but that evaporated with a two-goal cushion, one that teed up a fairly comfortable second period for the home side.

Liam Bryce

Defensive struggles 

Much has been made of how much better Hibs have looked defensively since Montgomery’s appointment, with the rearguard heavily involved in the head coach’s favoured playing out approach but also contributing to an unbeaten run until the trip to Ibrox. Cohesion and communication had also shown a particular improvement, at least prior to this game. There has been a lot of discussion about the performance of Rangers’ attackers this season but they got a helping hand in this encounter from the visiting backline who collectively struggled. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say all four goals were avoidable - and there could have been more goals for Rangers who were denied by the post on one occasion, last-ditch defending, and poor finishing.

Patrick McPartlin

Attacking threat missing

We’ve been justifiably effusive about the potency of Hibs’ front four in recent weeks, but this was the first time under Montgomery that they’ve largely been posted missing. For much of the first period, the visitors were assured and brave in playing out from the back, inviting the Rangers press and regularly finding ways around it via Joe Newell and Jimmy Jeggo.

But the issues came in trying to make meaningful strides in the final third. There wasn’t a time where you felt a Rangers backline which has creaked and wobbled plenty this season were being put under a serious examination. Dylan Vente had a decent effort on target early on, but Hibs’ best chance came from a long throw in from Lewis Miller, at which Paul Hanlon launched himself but failed to make contact with the ball.

It was telling of how Hibs struggled to create opportunities from open play. The only notable opportunity after the interval came when Élie Youan fluffed his lines on the volley after an inviting cross to the back post. It summed up a disappointing day.

Liam Bryce

Options for changing the game

One of the possible downsides of Montgomery’s fluid front four is that, in games like this, there isn’t a lot of scope for making major changes. Christian Doidge and Jair Tavares were the only players with an attacking slant on the bench, and both came on in the second half. 

The rest of the changes - Rocky Bushiri for Paul Hanlon, Rory Whittaker for Lewis Miller, and Levitt for Jeggo spoke for themselves. 

But without dismissing the capabilities of those on the bench at Ibrox, it’s easy to understand why Montgomery is eager to have long-term absentees Chris Cadden and Harry McKirdy back and available to add to his options. He commented on Friday that one of the hardest parts of his job was picking a matchday squad and having to leave some out. After this display, he may quite like the idea of that decision being even more difficult.

Patrick McPartlin

Did Levitt give Montgomery something to think about?

It was noticeable during the pre-match warm-ups that Dylan Levitt, named among the substitutes, was warming up with the starting outfield players, with Riley Harbottle - not listed in the squad - joining the subs in their separate drills. 

Nick Montgomery spoke in glowing terms about the 22-year-old the day before the game, admitting to a little bit of disappointment that the midfielder had been away with Wales during the international break rather than remaining in Scotland where he could have been involved in the 2-0 bounce game victory over Livingston during the domestic football pause. 

The midfielder was introduced to the action at Ibrox on the hour-mark, coming on for Jimmy Jeggo, and his first action was to flight an inviting ball to the back post where Lewis Miller nodded it down, forcing the Rangers defence to hurriedly clear it out for a corner.

Jeggo and Joe Newell have been ever-presents in Montgomery’s starting team since he arrived - partially out of necessity, at least to begin with - but having someone who can use the ball like Levitt, particularly in games where the front four are struggling to create anything of note, is looking more and more vital. The big question is whether that's from the start, or off the bench.

Patrick McPartlin