Jair Tavares is becoming one of the main men in the Hibs dressing room – the same one he couldn’t even get in earlier in the season.
Will Fish reckons the midfielder was a standout for his team, netting the first and impressing in this hard-fought victory over Dundee. The defender admitted Tavares was so far out of the picture under Lee Johnson he wasn’t even getting changed with the first team. The arrival of Nick Montgomery has opened the door and he is quickly becoming a key man for Euro-chasing Hibs.
Fish said: “Massive credit to him. I don’t think he was in our changing room before the new gaffer came in. Fair play to him, he’s moved countries, he’s left everyone behind and hats off to him, he’s stuck at it and now you can see the talent he’s got. I feel like the squad and the fans have a good connection and it’s nice for him to do that [celebrate in front of support]. He deserves it and hopefully he can kick on – you never know what might happen.
“I’ll be honest with you, when he wasn’t training with us I didn’t actually see too much of him but since he’s come back under the new gaffer, the way he wants to play, he looks like a totally new player.”
Dundee had been the form team going into the match but after it Hibs extended their unbeaten run to five and moved back into the top six. Hibs took the lead by playing out from the back and finding Tavares. He fed Dylan Vente and then the Portuguese playmaker timed his run into the box for a cutback and to fire it low past Trevor Carson. It was a good goal.
Fish said: “Playing out from the back, it was a cutback and Jair finished it. That’s something we work on and it goes to show the stuff we are doing on the training pitch is starting to come out in the games.”
Hibs went 2-0 up after Lewis Miller headed in from a corner. The Australia international then took some of the gloss off as he got sent off for a second yellow card, as he took down Owen Beck. He definitely fouled the defender in the first instance but there looked to be little contact as he made his way into the box.
It left Hibs up against it. Dundee got one back when a good attack and pick out from Charlie Reilly set up Beck. His shot was blocked but he put it in at the second attempt. The Dark Blues pushed for an equaliser but Hibs held out, much to the relief of Miller. Fish said: “He’s alright – because he scored he’s got a bit of leeway!
“He’s still a young player and red cards happen, it’s one of those things. We got the win and that’s all that matters.”
Hibs have been criticised for dropping points from winning positions this season. They bucked that trend with keeper David Marshall and his defence impressing.
Fish, who is on-loan from Manchester United but plans to stay at Hibs for the season, added: “It’s something we’ve not been doing recently. We’ve chucked away a few leads but I thought we defended well, especially when we were down to 10 men. That’s what it takes to get three points in this league.
“If we want to go far then we’ve got to do that more often. When you are in the game you focus on your job. It definitely does cross your mind but hopefully Saturday can help us turn a corner and kick on.
“Red cards happen in football and everyone has to dig in. The last half-an-hour was a good test of our character. You’ve got to keep going at it. We did manage to hold out and that will be a big confidence boost for the boys.
“It’s still pretty early in the season but under the gaffer, his coaching team and the way he wants to play, I think a few more tweaks and building on leads, we can easily push for the third spot.”
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