|
Misato, Sunday 15th April, In a dour battle with few quality chances between them, the Hibs and Swiss fought to a draw at Misato. The result likely ended both teams' chances of edging out the BFC for the league title . Both teams were missing players for this game but the Swiss haven't done much in terms of recruiting and looked to be worse off at the start. The Hibs come at you with a large back line, that never seems to move forward, and leaves the entire game to its creative midfielders.
On this day, the Swiss had speed in defense but were lacking the quality to keep up with Tomo, Kuni, and Rob in the Hibs. midfield. The Moti boys controlled possession for most of the half while the Swiss defense would boot it out and hope that Kirk or Karl could hold it up for the rest of the team (unlikely with a 100 kg + wildebeest named Jurgenator and his playmates Jay & Rob!). The occasional counter attack by Kai with some nice crosses by Aoki produced 1 chance for Kirk but he blasted it right at Hitoshi and wasted the Swiss' only clear chance of the half. The Hibs got through a few times with Tomo running around and getting some nice through balls but shots went wide or big Peter shut them out in the Swiss goal. The Hibs new center forward showed up about 20 minutes into the half and he provided a good target for Rob and the other Hibs. midfielders - fortunately the Swiss defense was up to the task and kept the attacks at bay . The Hibs definitely looked more dangerous but the Swiss defense was getting more organized and hopefully things would improve going forward in the 2H.
Unfortunately, about 10 minutes in the 2H, the Swiss lost possession in midfield, Tomo carried the ball forward before shooting to Peter Pauli's left and it went straight in. This put the pressure on the Swiss and they didn't look to be doing much until about 20 minutes left. They finally started pushing forward in numbers and more crosses started coming in. Aoki and Koin on the right were connecting better and Ogata was trying to wriggle free from the occasional bear hug. Unfortunately, nothing resulted from these huffs and puffs as the Hibs back line was as firm as ever. The Hibs had a few counter attacks going the other way but whether it be due to the turf or the defense, nothing produced a second goal. One corner kick nearly found its way in but Peter batted it away at the last minute. In the end, it all came down to a little Italian style in the box for the scores to be drawn even. Raffa even said that the front line needed a little help so he came forward for the first time all day, controlled the ball and went down under a challenge to produce a PK chance with 4 minutes to go. Kirk knocked it in to draw the teams level. The last 5 minutes produced little of note and the Hibs definitely walk away knowing that they missed an opportunity. That's the 2nd time this year in the league that the Swiss came away with a result with the Hibs, even though they were overmatched. Unfortunately, it is a little bittersweet as both teams have essentially gifted the title to the BFC and the last few games are for 2nd place.
Report by Cap'n Kirk.
|