Depleted and uninspiring Hibs just avoid Forfar shock as Nick Montgomery laments missed signings - 'we need players'
After a deeply unpleasant afternoon in Angus, Hibs can at least take solace from heading back down the A90 with what they came to Forfar for: a place in the last 16 of the Scottish Cup.
That is the only positive from a sub-standard performance from a rusty and depleted Hibs team against a part-time outfit sitting third bottom of League Two. They were made to sweat by Ray McKinnon’s Loons, who caused the Premiership club no end of problems at a packed and raucous Station Park. It took Hibs until the 69th minute to break the deadlock, largely down to an unfortunate error from home goalkeeper Marc McCallum. He mistimed coming to collect a Jair Tavares free-kick and Christian Doidge headed into an empty net. It was particularly cruel on the stopper given he saved a penalty earlier from Joe Newell.
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Hide AdThe fourth round of the cup can often bring issues for top-flight clubs given the two-and-a-half week winter break. Hibs, who spent part of the hiatus in Dubai, were caught cold on Forfar’s artificial surface and by a biting wind. Their first-half display was especially wretched, with the hosts creating several dangerous moments as they saw the opportunity early on to cause a big upset. Hibs improved after the break and the introduction of two Dylans as substitutes – Levitt and Vente – made a big difference to their play. But they were never comfortable until referee Ross Hardie blew for full time.
There was no sugarcoating of the performance for Hibs manager Nick Montgomery, who admitted he had some choice words for his players at half time. “It wasn’t pretty, a typical cup game,” admitted Montgomery. “These games are not easy. We came here and made it really difficult for ourselves in the first half. We didn’t deal with set pieces, gave away silly free-kicks. So I said to the boys at half-time that we needed to be better at defending, stop making silly decisions, giving free-kicks away. I thought we were much better in the second half. What we didn’t need was extra time today. I think myself and David Gray would have had to pull the boots on because we are really struggling for numbers at the minute.”
It’s been a while since Station Park has been packed quite like this. Scottish Cup fever had clearly hit the town, with more than 1000 Forfar fans loudly supporting their team. Pre-match, mascot Baxter the Bridie got the crowd going and poor assistant referee Douglas Ross got it tight for his Tory tendencies. It had all the ingredients for a tasty cup tie. Hibs are not regular foes for the Loons. This was only the 13th competitive meeting between the two, the last coming behind closed doors in 2020, during the Covid pandemic, when no fans were present to witness Hibs win narrowly thanks to a late David Gray goal.
Forfar have not beaten Hibs since 1939 and they went into the night lamenting a real opportunity to do so. They were set up in a defensive 5-4-1 formation but caused sheer panic in the Hibs defence every time they manufactured a set-piece. Just three minutes in, the visitors did not deal with a cross into their box, the ball landed to Seb Ross and his hitch-kick was turned on the post by David Marshall. From the resulting corner, Stuart Morrison headed inches wide. Against the grain of the first half, a plodding and pedestrian Hibs got a penalty when Lewis Stevenson was fouled but McCallum saved well from Newell on 29 minutes. Hibs then became ragged and frustrated, needing the half-time whistle. “Hibs, Hibs are falling part again,” sang the increasingly boisterous home fans as the players sloped off. The visitors did not immediately improve after the break, Ross skipping away from the toiling Hibs back four on 55 minutes but he fired wide when faced with Marshall. Montgomery, at that point, had seen enough and called for his subs. Doidge’s goal came 14 minutes later during their best period of the match.
“We were really unlucky,” Forfar boss McKinnon said. “I thought the boys did great today against a really good side. I knew the environment would be tricky for them but I didn't think we would create as many chances as we did in the first half. We ran out of steam a wee bit in the last 10 or 15 minutes, we tried to change the shape and be more adventurous, but it wasn't to be. Fair play to Hibs, they withstood it and they've gone and won the game. I wish them well, on our personal performance we were great.”
If one mitigating circumstance can be given to Hibs, they really felt the absences of Martin Boyle, Adam Le Fondre, Josh Campbell, Jake Doyle-Hayes, Chris Cadden, Lewis Miller and Rocky Bushiri. They will hope to have a work permit for Myziane Maolida by the time Rangers visit on Wednesday on league duty. Rudi Molotnikov, just 17, was given his first start in attack and the fact Hibs only named six subs – Forfar had more – tells a big story.
“Myself and [sporting director] Brian McDermott are on the phone every single day,” added Montgomery, who is working on a tight budget and will not see a the £500,000 sell-on clause from Josh Doig’s transfer from Hellas Verona to Sassuolo in this window. “We were really close to a defender last week, then all of a sudden his circumstances change at his club and he wasn’t available the next day. It’s a day-by-day thing we have to monitor. We’ve got a couple of weeks and we’re working really hard to find the right reinforcements for the second half of the season. We need players.”
Given all of that, Montgomery vacated the premises glad just to have avoided the very real prospect of a cup upset.