Hibs Struggle for Consistency Despite Second Half Fightback

Hibs clawed their way to a point, but the questions hanging over Easter Road feel heavier than ever.

This was the end of a bruising week for the squad. The club’s hierarchy had already decided that David Gray – popular in the stands and relatively successful in the dugout – was not the man to carry them forward, the call coming after just six league games. Into that void stepped Adam Potter, back for a second spell as a coach, trying to patch up morale and talk up the positives.

For 45 minutes, it fell flat.

Aside from the liveliness of Callum Wright, Hibs looked tight and timid. Passes went astray, touches were heavy, and they repeatedly handed Aberdeen the ball in dangerous areas. The visitors, happy to sit and spring, feasted on the counter-attacking chances that kept dropping their way. The mood around Easter Road matched the performance: edgy.

Then the game turned.

Hibs came out after the break like a different side. They played quicker, went more direct, and snapped into challenges with a purpose that had been missing. The aggression lifted the crowd, and the crowd lifted them back. This time, they pinned Aberdeen in for long spells and, by the end, fully merited their equaliser.

The second half offered a glimpse of what this squad can be. It did nothing to quieten the doubts about what they are.

Why can Hibs not stitch together a full 90 minutes? Why do they drift through opening halves and only wake up when chasing the game? And, underneath all of that, is there enough quality in this group for the next manager to build something convincing? Those are the problems waiting on the other side of the international break, and the identity of the new boss now dominates the club’s three-week pause.

While Hibs wrestle with their direction, Aberdeen look like a team that has finally found theirs.

Stephen Robinson made headlines earlier in the season when, as his side laboured in a 4-3-3, he dismissed tactical systems with the line that “shape is for pundits”. Results forced his hand. The Northern Irishman has since gone back to what served him so well at St Mirren: three centre-backs, two strikers, and a platform built on solidity.

The difference is obvious. Aberdeen press with more cohesion, defend with more authority, and carry a real threat on the break thanks to the pace at the top end of the pitch. When they turn the ball over, they go. Quickly.

Two players have underpinned that shift. At the back, Mats Knoester has emerged as the standout defender at the club, reading danger and stepping in with a calm that spreads through the line. In midfield, Afeez Aremu has been everywhere – snapping into duels, regaining possession, and then keeping things simple to launch attacks. Between them, they have given Aberdeen a spine they badly lacked in the early weeks.

All of which made the finale even more infuriating for Robinson.

For all Hibs’ improvement after the interval, Aberdeen had done the hard work. Kevin Nisbet, in form and brimming with confidence, produced a superb touch, sharp turn and clinical finish to put them in front – his third goal in as many games. That should have been enough to bank another win and keep the momentum rolling.

Instead, a rash challenge from Jack Milne undid it. One moment of needless contact in the wrong area, and the chance of three points evaporated. For a manager who has tightened so much else, that kind of lapse will sting.

Nisbet’s streak raises its own issue for Aberdeen. He is scoring, and regularly, but who else will shoulder the goals over the season? The reliance on their main striker is already clear, and as the campaign wears on, that question will only grow louder.

Even so, the broader picture at Pittodrie looks far healthier than it did during that grim start. The system fits, the key men are emerging, and the performances carry a sense of structure and purpose that was missing.

Robinson leaves this match with frustration, yes, but also with something he did not have a few weeks ago: the feeling that Aberdeen now have the foundations of a season they can actually build on.