Match Review: Hibernians FC vs Gaelic Lions FC

• GK Vishnu Murali
• DF Nick Edwards
• DF Joe Poulton
• MD Andrew Knott
• MD Julio Vasquez
• ST David Bolton
• ST Misra Maayan
• ST Daniel Martin
• -- Thorin Duffin
• -- Shazri Sofi
• -- Ben Raper

• MD Xav Simpson
• -- Jeremy Harvey-Samuel
• -- Robbie Thomas
• -- Mark O'Halloran

Last Gasp

Hibs and Gaelic played out an attritional 2-2 draw on the PSA with Hibs leaving it late to level with a Julio beauty. Hibs were sloppy from the off after talking about not being sloppy from the off. Gaelic started well and had few long range efforts but it was Hibs who took the lead. The home side finally put a couple of passes together and Julio played a delightful through ball for in-form Thorin to go through and score. MoM O'Brien had a really good chance to score for Gaelic but he lobbed wide with Vish stranded. Hibs picked it up after the drinks. Maayan showed some nice touches and forced a save but neither keeper was busy. Shaz's injury meant a reshuffle but Hibs were starting to wake up. The second half was one to forget for the home team. Gaelic were hungrier and more precise with their passing and Hibs felt aggrieved when a penalty was awarded for a strong shoulder to shoulder contact in the box with the ball safely in Vish's hands. What was equally frustrating was that Hibs had the last three touches before the penalty. A real mess. 1-1. The goal didn't change the pattern and although Vish was not being tested, Gaelic were on top. A succession of corners followed and the goal was a defensive disaster. The corner kick barely made the near post but Joey's uncontested slice and Knotty's shin pad deflected the ball onto a plate for a three-yard tap in. Comical. Gaelic had deserved it. Hibs finally started to push into the final third and things started to happen. Bolton flicked Joey's cross for Marko to tap in from there yards, but he somehow trod on the ball and the chance went begging. It was left to Julio to single-handedly rescue a point with a great goal. He drifted from the right and from 25 yards bent a left-footed curler into the far corner. Last year Hibs would have lost this game so a point has to be a positive considering how we played on the day. The dick-of-the-day debrief was a lot of fun and it made for a bumper fines week. Thanks to our friends Gaelic for joining for beers and for their kind donation towards Gilly's fund. We'd love to get the second half footage of Knotty's back-peddling stumble because that was ridiculous. On to the Cup

• Liam McGinley DF
• Rob Church DF
• Petesy O'Brien MD
• Dom Marwood MD
• Iskandar Björn Radewaldt MD
• James Devane --
• Paul Andrews --
• Shane Buttimer --
• Peter Lam --
• Tadhg Lowe --
• Allan O'Donahue --

• Wilfried Lapierre DF
• Alistair Hoskinson ST
• Darragh Frost --
• Markus Chua --
• Matt Heslop --
• Mike Brown --

Heartbreak Hotel

Good name for a song. And a hotel, for that matter. First points on the board this season for the Gaelic Lions and a enjoyable, well contested game against a spirited (violent*) and well matched Hibs side. The Lions started with two strangers we had never seen before in our team and a right-back in goal but you wouldn't have noticed that as we were REALLY good. Well, apart from when Hibs scored their goal by beating our previously imperious off-side trap and then scoring with a shot that an actual goalkeeper would have saved, quite easily. I'm not saying Liam did badly or anything but the plain fact of the matter is he didn't save that shot and if he had've we would have gone 1-0 up when we scored instead of equalizing to make it 1-1. #finemargins #class You could say it was a game of four quarter as had a water break in each half. The Lions amazingly equalized through a surprisingly well-taken penalty by Churchie after great work by Matt the Mathematician who protractor'd his way into the box and got clumsily bundled over and then we took the lead after a stramash in the box saw the ball land at the feet of new lad Paul, who gratefully toe-bogged it over the line to make it 2-1 with about 20 minutes to go. Paul is good at football. Fair play to Hibs who brought the game to us for the final 10 minutes and scored an absolute peach to equalize with the last kick of the game. It was a hard pill to swallow as it was a blue triangular shaped one but these things happen and a point is a point. MOM for the Lions was young Dom in the centre of the park who ran his arse off all day and for Hibs it was Andrew, well played sir. Good beers afterwards in the world's weirdest Irish pub as well, thanks to Nick and the lads for the invite. And on we go..... * Hibs aren't violent. They are nice.