Lee Johnson admits Hibernian need to learn fast how to handle the demands of juggling European football with domestic matters after they suffered a 3-2 defeat at home to St Mirren in their cinch Premiership opener.
The Easter Road side defeated Andorran side Inter d’Escaldes 6-1 in their Europa Conference League qualifier on Thursday – 7-3 on aggregate – but they fell flat on Sunday as their visitors raced into a two-goal lead through Mark O’Hara and Toyosi Olusanya.
Hibs raised their intensity levels after the break and got themselves level through Adam Le Fondre and Christian Doidge. but Saints claimed the points with a late header from substitute Alex Greive.
With home and away games against Swiss side FC Luzern over the next two Thursdays, Johnson is worried about his team’s ability to handle the demands of competing on both fronts.
“I’m super disappointed with the start,” he said. “If we’re going to compete in all competitions we have got to be able to play Thursday-Sunday-Thursday-Sunday.
“I obviously named the same starting XI (as Thursday), which is fair (criticism) to be thrown at me.
“But I feel individually the boys have a responsibility to be at their best physically and mentally, with the help of us and all the expertise we have got.
“I don’t think it was a fitness thing because you saw us take over in the second half.
“It was more a mental strength to be able to go again, when the focus had been on a recent game, if that makes sense.
“With St Mirren having a longer lead-in than us in terms of preparation they did a job on us. We made poor decisions.
“The boys showed in the second half it wasn’t a fitness issue. It looked like that in the first half due to not being as mentally focused as he should have been.
“We’ve got to get to grips with that quickly if we want to compete on all fronts.”
Johnson made a double substitution after just 28 minutes, taking off Josh Campbell and Allan Delferriere and switching formation while his team trailed 2-0.
“I love Josh to bits, he’s a fantastic player and has goals in him, but he has to bring his game more often,” said Johnson, explaining the changes.
“His game is a powerful game, he hits numbers in terms of getting in the box and can win second balls. For whatever reason he wasn’t on it today.
“Allan looked like it was too much for him to play two games in four days.”
St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson praised his side’s resilience after they overcame the disappointment of squandering their two-goal lead to go and win the match.
“I was delighted with the performance,” he said. “To come here and dominate the whole first half with the quality we showed was great.
“I thought to a man we were excellent. We were always going to face a comeback, this is a very good Hibs side who have recruited heavily and it was always going to be a test.
“When they launch things up to Doidge anything can happen. It became a little bit route one.
“We could have lived to regret not taking the amount of chances we created, but we were not happy to settle for a point. I thought we were excellent and showed real quality.”
Colorado Rapids v Vancouver Whitecaps: Armas demands response for home fans
Chris Armas called on his Colorado Rapids side to pay back the support of their fans when Vancouver Whitecaps visit Dick's Sporting Goods Park in MLS.
The Rapids fell to a 3-2 reverse at home to San Jose Earthquakes in their last outing, missing the chance to make it four wins in five league games.
Sixth-placed Colorado are one of three teams on 18 points, behind Los Angeles FC and also the Caps in the Western Conference standings, and head coach Armas wants to make home advantage count for this one.
"I'd like to acknowledge our fans once again, they came out in good numbers to support the team, gave us good energy on a rainy night [against San Jose]," Armas said.
"They still came out and supported us. We don't take that lightly.
"We have to do better and we will get back, dust ourselves off. Wednesday becomes really important again, so we'll ramp it up."
The Caps return to action after a 3-0 defeat to Los Angeles FC last time out, leaving them level on points with Colorado.
Vancouver head coach Vanni Sartini will be desperate for a response from his side after slamming their performance against the Rapids.
"I don't want to be misunderstood, it's not out of this world that we lost here," Sartini said of the LAFC defeat.
"You can sometimes lose away. It was the performance in the first half which was actually bad, so that's the thing that makes me a little p***ed off…
"We were losing every battle. We killed ourselves doing things that we never do."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Colorado Rapids – Rafael Navarro
Rafael Navarro has scored in consecutive games for the Rapids for the second time this year (also in April).
The only Rapids player to score in three straight games since the beginning of the 2020 season was Diego Rubio, who did so in August 2022.
Vancouver Whitecaps – Brian White
Brian White became the Caps' top scorer in history last month and leads the club charts for goals once more this season.
The Vancouver forward has five goals in just 10 games this term and will be hoping to continue that run against the Rapids.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
The Whitecaps have lost only one of their last seven visits to Colorado (W3 D3), dating back to 2017. That suggests Sartini will hope to leave Colorado with at least a point.
Vancouver also hold a record of W10 D3 L5 in Wednesday regular-season matches since the beginning of the 2021 season, with the 10 wins in that time more than any other MLS team.
Yet Colorado's loss to San Jose was just the fourth defeat in the last 15 regular-season home games (W5 D6), after losing three home league games in a row last May.
That three-match losing run is the last time Colorado lost consecutive home matches, which Armas will hope to avoid here.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Colorado Rapids win – 44.3%
Vancouver Whitecaps win – 27.5%
Draw – 28.2%
Girona 0-1 Villarreal: Traore strike lifts Yellow Submarine
Bertrand Traore's goal gave Villarreal a 1-0 win at Girona on Tuesday that prevented the hosts from reclaiming second spot in LaLiga.
Girona, who have enjoyed a superb campaign, are third with 75 points, trailing Barcelona, who moved a point clear with a 2-0 home win over Real Sociedad on Monday.
Alexander Sorloth and Goncalo Guedes went close for Villarreal in the first half, but Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga was in fine form.
Traore broke the deadlock in the 59th minute after latching on to a superb pass from Guedes, however.
Viktor Tsyhankov, Savio and Artem Dovbyk all went close for Girona, but could not find the back of Filip Jorgensen's net.
Villarreal were reduced to 10 men in the 95th minute after Kiko Femenia was sent off for a second yellow card after a push on Aleix Garcia.
Data Debrief: Rare home loss for Girona
Girona have suffered only their second defeat at Montilivi in LaLiga this season, following a 0-3 loss to Real Madrid in September.
The home side attempted 749 passes in this game, their highest total in a single match in LaLiga this season.
Minnesota United v LA Galaxy: Berry hails veteran Caceres
Miguel Berry was the hero last time out for the LA Galaxy, but he hailed veteran defender Martin Caceres.
Berry scored in the dying seconds as the Galaxy salvaged a 2-2 draw with Western Conference leaders Real Salt Lake at the weekend.
It was a point that saw Galaxy maintain the two-point gap between themselves and RSL, with Minnesota United – who sit second in the West – next up for Greg Vanney’s team.
Berry’s last-gasp equaliser sparked wild celebrations, and Caceres – the former Juventus defender – was heavily involved, despite being a substitute.
And Berry was quick to point out the 37-year-old’s importance to the Galaxy’s squad.
“[Caceres] is one of those people who makes your day better every single day. He's incredibly funny and unique and he's had a great career, and he's such a big part of the group,” said Berry, in quotes reported by The Galactic Tribune.
“For him to celebrate like that with us shows how much it means. He's played Champions League finals, won Champions League finals and played four World Cups. It's incredible, guys like that, celebrate with the team, means a lot.
“It's obviously a great feeling as a team to have those moments and when you look back on your career and your life, those are the moments that stick with you.”
The Galaxy have drawn their last two games, while Minnesota head into Wednesday’s meeting on the back of three straight wins.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Minnesota United – Teemu Pukki
Pukki has scored five goals in his first two matches against LA Galaxy, the sixth player in league history to score five or more times in his first two matches against a single opponent and the first to do so against the Galaxy.
LA Galaxy – Riqui Puig
Puig recorded the primary assist on both of the Galaxy’s goals on Saturday, setting up strikes for Gabriel Pec and Miguel Berry. Puig’s 10 primary assists for the Galaxy have set up goals for nine different players with Gaston Brugman the only teammate he’s set up more than once.
MATCH PREDICTION: MINNESOTA WIN
Minnesota have won three consecutive matches for the first time since August 2022. The Loons’ only winning streak of longer than three games in all competitions was a seven-match run in June-July 2019.
Dating back to last September, the Galaxy have lost only four of the last 10 matches in which they trailed by multiple goals (W2 D4), including losing only one of four this year (W1 D2).
Galaxy have won six of their first eight meetings with Minnesota United (D2, including playoffs), but have won just one of the six meetings (D2 L3) since.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Minnesota United – 53%
LA Galaxy – 21.7%
Draw – 25.3%
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