Marauding Centre-Back
Something that’s been highlighted a lot more of the last few years or arguably become more fashionable is the modern-day, ball-playing centre-back and one man who certainly fits that bill is Ryan Porteous.
Some supporters may have noticed this over time, but certainly in our last two wins, the role Porto plays as we build from the back is incredibly important.
Blessed with the natural ability to pick a pass, the 23-year-old often breaks through the opposition lines with his pin-point passes.
But what Lee Johnson’s system allows him to do is have more of a free role, if the right moment occurs.
In our 1-0 win against Kilmarnock and our 3-1 victory over Aberdeen, supporters may have seen a couple of lung bursting Portoeus runs down the right flank (above), underlapping Chris Cadden, and creating an overload in the wide areas.
Why does this work and how are we not left short at the back? Well, that’s the beauty of Nohan Kenneh’s role. The 19-year-old by nature is a ball-winning midfielder, but was utilised by Leeds United as a centre-back for a considerable amount of time; that means that if the right time comes for Porto to progress the ball up the pitch or he sees an opportunity to create an overload, then Nohan will be able to fill in for him.
This has been significantly supported by the statistics coming out of this weekend’s games with Porto ranking first amongst centre-backs in the division for ball carry success, ball carry distance, and deep ball progressions, alongside being second for his pass accuracy.
Whilst, of course, his main job is to defend and to help us achieve clean sheets, it’s evident that his role in the team is far greater than what many might think.
Easter Road Turning Into A Fortress
Saturday’s impressive victory means we’re still unbeaten at Easter Road this season picking up eight points from our first four home league games.
Whilst many people may say, we’re only four games into the campaign, you have to take a wider look on the run and focus on the calibre of opponents we’ve faced on our home turf this season.
Going back to February earlier this year, we are now unbeaten in our last 10 league meetings at Easter Road.
That run of positive form, combined with the excitement of the last-minute equalisers against the likes of Hearts and Rangers, and the dominant performance against Aberdeen at the weekend, highlights how influential our home form will be this season.
There seems to be a growing connection between pitch performance and a relationship with the supporters. When Johnson’s side were 1-0 down after just four minutes at the weekend, the crowd continued to back them and almost forced an equaliser in the first half, very much like they forced the ball into the back of the net in our first two home games of the current campaign.
The Lampard Role For Josh Campbell
When supporters think of Josh Campbell, what do they think? He’s got a great engine on him, he’s one of our own… well sooner or later they’ll be thinking of goals!
The young midfielder has been sensational in front of goal since the start of the 2022/23 campaign popping up with influential strikes and bagging four goals in the opening seven games.
How has this transformation happened? Well, it’s an accumulation of things, but it’s stripping everything back and focusing on what he’s good at.
Now playing in a higher role – the more advanced of the front three – Campbell has been tasked with arriving into the box more regularly and looking for second balls that fall around the area.
He admitted himself that he struggled last season and had a real battle with his self-confidence, but under Johnson it looks like he’s gone to that next level.
"I think simplifying his game is important so he can be that Lampard-type character with fewer touches, getting more in the box and getting up with the front man. He is a very fit player who can make a lot of runs in behind the back four,” said Johnson after the Aberdeen games.
At the tender age of 22, Campbell’s game will no doubt continue to develop as he continues to be one of the first names on Lee Johnson’s teamsheet.
A Focal Point
Our 6ft 4’ new man Mykola Kuharevich made his debut on Saturday and put in an extremely positive performance, especially after only three days in training!
Once his work permit was approved, the Ukrainian striker got straight to work putting himself through a double session on the Wednesday before single sessions on the following two days.
After impressing Johnson threw him straight into the deep end, and he helped with the fluidity at the top end of the pitch.
Being a focal point, he was the constant out ball and could hold the ball up with the pace of Martin Boyle and Elie Youan either side of him.
Alongside this, his movement was smart, he was incredibly mobile, and grabbed an assist for Josh Campbell’s second goal of the game.
As he gets up to speed with Johnson’s style of play, there should be more to come from Mykola!
Further Progress On The Pitch
Finally, supporters will have seen the next stage of development for Lee Johnson’s side in the win over Aberdeen.
The “attacking” brand of football he promised was clear for all to see, and studying the statistics post-match, the Hibees had 109 attacks and 85 dangerous attacks – that’s compared to 16 dangerous attacks for Aberdeen.
Alongside that, his side had 25 attempts on goal and eight on target.
Prior to this game, Johnson spoke a lot about analysing statistics and showing the players something he called the ‘Justice League’, which essentially assessed where a team should be going off data. That league had us sitting third in the league instead of our current sixth-placed position.
That shows that data and figures aren’t everything because there’s a number of other things that affect football games whether that be a players’ decision in the final third, their final action or other factors, but what it does tell you is progress is being made.
Johnson and his staff are working incredibly hard to create a team that supporters can be proud of, and like he said after the game “we’re nowhere near finished, we’re early in the project, but there are positive signs and shoots of progress.”
