Hibernian 1-0 Norwich City

Hibernian 1-0 Norwich City

Pre-Season Friendly

Sunday 24th July 2022

Some pre-season games can be quite entertaining; others can be quite boring - and this one at Easter Road won’t live for very long in the memory.

Although it wasn’t the most tedious I’ve ever witnessed; the award for that would probably be Mansfield Town vs Walsall in 2014, it lacked intensity for large parts, was quite lacklustre and there just wasn’t a great deal to get excited about - something which Norwich manager Dean Smith admitted himself in his post-match interview.

This was Norwich’s second game in the space of 24 hours; the other being a 2-0 defeat at Celtic on Saturday, and wholesale changes were made to the Canaries’ starting xi in a concerted effort to give everyone in their squad minutes on the pitch. 

For Hibernian, this was their first game after their ill-fated Premier Sports Cup campaign which ended in farce after they fielded an ineligible player in the 1-1 draw with Greenock Morton in midweek. A point apiece on the night became ‘nil points’ and a 0-3 defeat once the SPFL became aware, which ensured they made a Group Stage exit from the competition before their city rivals Hearts (in Europe) had even entered the competition. Not the way you want to start the season!

My sole purpose for going to it was because Easter Road was the first Scottish ground I watched a game at back on a baltic weekend in January 2010 when the Hibees beat Irvine Meadow in the Scottish Cup. The only change to the stadium since then has been the construction of the East Stand which was built in the space of just a few weeks not very long after my initial visit.

As already said - the game left a lot to be desired, but Hibs were the better team against a largely youthful and inexperienced Norwich team - especially defensively where a few gaping holes were evident at times, and the hosts had enough chances to win by a much greater scoreline than just 1-0.

The first 30 minutes was relatively even with both teams having chances to score, plus a few heavy challenges - one of which resulted in Aiden McGeady having to limp off earlier than expected, but Hibs upped the ante past the half-hour mark and seemed to get in-behind Norwich on quite a few occasions. Their pressure eventually paid off when Elias Hoff Melkersen did what others had failed to, and put the ball in the net from Joe Newell’s cross and Christian Doidge’s flick on to make it 1-0 on 40 minutes.

To say the second half was underwhelming is an understatement because, simply, not a lot happened. Norwich had more of the ball but, despite one or two openings, they seemed to lack a spark and it wasn’t until the last quarter-of-an-hour that decibels inside a flat Easter Road were raised by a few notches as Hibs finished strongly but failed to demonstrate that ‘cutting edge’ or bit of ruthlessness which they’ll need to show in the Scottish Premiership if they’re to avoid a repeat of a bottom half finish.

Not a lot can be read into the game because the side which starts for Norwich against Cardiff City on the opening day of the Championship campaign is likely to be vastly different to what played for the majority in this one. But fair play to Norwich on heading up to north and playing a couple of games with a ‘novelty’ factor to them as opposed to what many others do and stay local on a yearly basis. 

I’m sure the 400 or so Norwich fans amongst the close to 10,000 crowd and in their bright yellow shirts enjoyed their weekend even if the football left a bit to be desired.