Newcomer Kyle Magennis made his debut but had to be patient, only joining the action in the 60th minute Instead, it was Hibs’ other St Mirren acquisitions that had their chance in the middle of the park as the home side got off to a comfortable start against Brora Rangers
While one of the club’s Paisley alumni, Stephen McGinn, got his first start and was tasked with anchoring the midfielder and offering the defense the kind of protection usually provided by Alex Gogic, his fellow Buddies Mallen graduate operated in front of him, finding the gaps and arrivals necessary to rush the Premiership team into a two-goal lead in the first 11 minutes
Faced with a team operating four levels below them, the advantage was expected but welcome as it allowed Leith’s players to settle into the job of convincing manager Jack Ross that they deserve a role more complete when resuming league matches
This was a reshuffle of the field, in part out of necessity, as four of Ross’ regulars have taken care of international engagements, while Joe Newell continues to recover from the shoulder injury sustained during Friday’s league win over Hamilton
The limited role played by this group of players in the club’s brilliant start to the season was illustrated by the fact that of the starting XI, scorer for third base, Paul Hanlon had ten starts to his name, while the men around he had only succeeded eight of them
In guys like Dave Gray, Darren McGregor, Ross must have known what he was going to get, but the men ahead of them had the most to gain from this outing
Coming in from the cold, Mallan, McGinn and Hallberg needed the platform, as did young Jamie Gullan, for whom the lockdown came at the worst time
Aware of the success of Kevin Nisbet and Christian Doidge, the youngster was perhaps a little too desperate to make up for lost time and impress Ross Two early efforts went off and both left him with his head in his tracks. hands, obvious frustration
Hallberg, however, did not damage his reputation Playing in a more advanced role than what has been hunting for most of his Hibs career, while it must be remembered that he was against the lower league opposition he always seemed a lot more comfortable there
It wasn’t just the cut for the second of Stevie Mallan’s two goals, it was movement and diagonals as he crossed Brora’s baseline, finding space and demanding the ball.
Since joining Hibernian in August 2019, he has struggled to convince fans and has been singled out as one they considered unnecessary in the recent transfer window
But, in a different position and with two more years on the contract, he used this game to demonstrate that he can still prove a trump card.With two more cup games pending, he needs to use them to reinforce this message before that the men who were Ross’ first choice options come back
Hibernien FC, Brora Rangers FC, Easter Road (Hibernian FC), Stevie Mallan, Paul Hanlon, Jack Ross
World news – GB – Hibs midfielders claim as they come out of the shadows to offer manager selection options
