Tag: scottish-football

  • Hibernian 25/26 Season Preview

    Hibernian 25/26 Season Preview

    Hibernian have recovered well from a atrocious start to the 24/25 season to record an impressive 3rd place finish but how will they fair next season?

    Hibs were unlucky to lose out on guaranteed European group stage football, as Aberdeen unexpectedly claimed the Europa League playoffs through their victory over Celtic in the Scottish Cup final, which would have otherwise been awarded to Hibs. The Hibees now have to settle for the 2nd round of Europa League qualifiers, which will prove to be a considerable challenge as they face European football regulars FC Midtjylland. The Danish team will pose a significant challenge and may prove too much for the Edinburgh club to handle. It is likely Hibs will be forced to drop into the Conference League, where they have a good chance of qualifying for the league stage.

    Hibernian have so far made two statement signings. Firstly, they have acquired 28-year-old Jamie McGrath on a free following the conclusion of his Aberdeen contract. McGrath will prove to be an excellent signing for Hibs if they can keep the Irish international fit, with him amassing 10 goal involvements (4 goals and 6 assists) in just 21 starts last season. The versatile playmaker can play on either wing as well as the 10 position, and has been unlucky to miss a large part of last season with a shoulder injury. It’s a slight gamble, but if McGrath can continue his league form and remain injury-free, then Hibs may have got themselves a bargain.

    Hibs’ second significant acquisition has been the signing of 29-year-old Austrian goalkeeper Raphael Sallinger. The Austrian shot stopper impressed last season for Austrian Bundesliga side Hartberg and will almost certainly be a considerable improvement between the sticks, as the position was a critical weakness the previous season, especially during the early stages. If the Austrian can adapt to the Scottish League, then Hibs have repaired an evident weakness in their side.

    Overall, Hibs have so far utilised the transfer market effectively, making key acquisitions in strategic areas while retaining many of their core players. I believe that if they can retain all these players while finding a suitable Triantis replacement and have a decent number 9 who remains fit throughout the season, then Hibs could definitely hold onto their third-place position.

    Predicted Position: 3rd

    Player of the Season: McGrath

    Surprise Performer: Rudi Molotnikov

  • Liechtenstein vs Scotland Player Ratings

    Liechtenstein vs Scotland Player Ratings

    Scotland breezed past Liechtenstein to secure a 4-0 much-needed international win. Here, we will highlight the key players who contributed to our victory as well as those who could have provided more.

    Ross Doohan – 7

    Doohan was able to keep a clean sheet on his international debut; however, Liechtenstein never tested him, and other than collecting a few over-hit balls, he had nothing to do for most of the game.

    Anthony Ralston – 6

    Ralston was solid defensively, making no mistakes all game; however, he was somewhat lacking in an attacking sense, with him being anonymous in the final third.

    Jack Hendry -7

    Hendry made his first appearance since Scotland’s lacklustre Euros campaign. He was once again sure at the back, dealing easily with any challenge from Liechtenstein.

    Scott McKenna – 7

    McKenna did everything that was asked of him with no fuss and looked calm and composed on the ball. He could be staking a significant claim to start in the World Cup qualifiers.

    Andy Robertson – 6

    Robertson, like the others, was solid defensively and dealt with the opposition easily. Picked up the ball in some attacking areas but was pretty ineffective on the whole. Seemed fatigued after a long season.

    John McGinn – 6

    McGinn, like Robertson, looked tired after a long Premier League campaign and offered very little going forward. Was able to hold the ball well but his performance lacked energy.

    Billy Gilmour- 6

    Gilmour adopted more of a holding role and passed the ball with ease, but maybe didn’t have the amount of influence on the game that you would’ve expected or wanted from the league winner.

    Lennon Miller – 8

    An excellent performance from the youngster. He was fast and precise while other players seemed to walk through the game. He took his opportunity well and got a deserved assist for his efforts.

    Lewis Ferguson – 6

    Ferguson had a quiet game, not really making the opportunities you would’ve hoped he would against such poor opposition.

    George Hirst – 7

    Hirst managed to secure his first international goal and made some good attacking runs, but was unfortunate to be caught offside a couple of times.

    Che Adams – 9

    Adams had his best game in a Scotland shirt. He secured a perfect hat-trick and got the first Scotland hat-trick since John McGinn in 2019. He was also instrumental in getting the flick on to provide for Hirst’s goal.

    Josh Doig – 6

    Will be glad to make his international debut. He came on in the 59th minute for Andy Robertson and was solid defensively, while also creating a few moments in attack, but he was largely anonymous.

    Andy Irving – 6

    Will also be glad to have secured his first international appearance after replacing John McGinn. Similar to most midfielders, he struggled to create any real opportunities but retained the ball well and rarely lost it.

    Nathan Patterson – 6

    Replaced Anthony Ralston in the 71st minute. Came on to make his return to the national team after a long spell out through injury. Struggled to meet the pace of the game and lost a couple of duels, but reacted well.

    Tommy Conway – 7

    Came on for Lewis Ferguson in the 71st minute and proved to be a willing runner, making many runs, and was able to grab an assist with a cross ball into the box to give Che Adams his hat-trick in the 92nd minute.

    Overall, a solid win against Liechtenstein, but it was more a case of Liechtenstein playing poorly, rather than Scotland playing well, despite having a lot of creative players who failed to have the desired effect on the pitch.

  • Scotland Suffers Injury Crisis in the Goalkeeping Department

    Scotland Suffers Injury Crisis in the Goalkeeping Department

    It has been well known that Scotland has been lacking a wealth of solid Goalkeeping options over the last few years, but the problems reached a head on Friday when second-choice goalkeeper Robby McCrorie suffered an injury in the warm-up before the match against Iceland. The woes continued when the first-choice keeper, Angus Gunn, was forced off in just the 7th minute, leaving the 3rd-choice goalkeeper Cieran Slicker to step in and make his international debut. However, it was not a debut to remember for Slicker as he struggled throughout the game, most notably, he was at serious fault for Iceland’s first goal just a minute after he came on when he gave the ball away too easily when playing out from the back which resulted in him being completely out of position. The Icelandic striker simply curled the ball around Slicker into the goal to give the visitors the advantage.

    Slicker is not the answer to Scotland’s goalkeeper crisis. The 22-year-old should’ve never been in that position, having only made one 9-minute appearance this season and only recording a total of 6 professional appearances in his whole career. With Liam Kelly, Zander Clark and Craig Gordon being left out over injury concerns, who does this leave to fill the void in the squad for the upcoming game on Monday?

    Steve Clark has chosen to call up two uncapped players in an attempt to plug the holes. The first and probably favourite to play on Monday is Scottish Cup winner and soon-to-be Celtic player Ross Doohan.

    Doohan has primarily played as the Aberdeen backup this season, filling in for the injured Mitov on 18 occasions. He has been impressive in spells and has been solid when called upon by Aberdeen. His highlights include a penalty save in the last minute against Hearts to secure his team a point in a 0-0 draw, as well as an impressive performance in a 3-0 loss to Rangers, where he managed an impressive 8 saves. Doohan has agreed to join Celtic following the conclusion of his Aberdeen contract this season.

    The second call-up has been that of 18-year-old Callan McKenna. Steve Clark has stated that the Scottish Under-21s goalkeeper has been training with the first team, making him an obvious option to fill in for the injured first-teamers. McKenna is currently a youth player for English Premier League side Bournemouth, but has yet to make any first-team appearances for them. He has only managed 9 appearances in his entire career, all of which came during a spell at Queen’s Park during the 2023/2024 season before he made the switch down south for a fee of approximately £300,000.