Loan Watch: Fish makes 'big step' with first Hibs goal
Manchester United loanee Will Fish was on target for Scottish Premiership side Hibernian on Saturday, as the Edinburgh side stunned Aberdeen 6-0.
Fish started in the heart of the Hibs defence and played the full 90 minutes, as the home side went 3-0 up within the first half, through two goals from Josh Campbell and another from Elie Youan.
Kevin Nisbet made it four on 73 minutes, before Aberdeen centre-back Liam Scales was dismissed for a second bookable offence.
Campbell completed his hat-trick in the 88th, before Fish rose high at the back post to power an injury-time free-kick beyond the grasp of Joe Lewis, notching his first goal since arriving on loan in September.
Will Fish makes it 𝗦𝗜𝗫 😍
— Hibernian Football Club (@HibernianFC) January 29, 2023
Drop a ❤ for @_wfish! pic.twitter.com/G8upaGbH8Q
Following the match, the centre-back received praise from Hibs boss Lee Johnson.
“I thought Will Fish really showed everything he’s about today for a young player,” he said. “He’s a very, very good player, obviously it helps playing next to Paul [Hanlon] because Paul has got the experience – Paul’s a good talker, there is a natural balance there.
“If you wanted to build a centre-half, I’m telling you, Will Fish is what you’d build – he’s quick, he’s strong and he’s good on the ball. I felt he’d been a bit timid in his first couple of games and not played forward anywhere near enough.
“Aberdeen allowed him to have the ball and he made good forward-thinking decisions – there was no fear in his decisions. I thought he showed just really good pitch personality today, and for him and us that’s a really big step, and I’m looking forward to watching him play between now and the end of the season.”
Elsewhere, Amad played the full 90 minutes as Sunderland forced a replay with Fulham in the fourth round of the FA Cup, drawing 1-1 at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
The Black Cats took an early lead through Jack Clarke, before Fulham midfielder Tom Cairney struck just after the hour-mark, setting up the replay at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday 7 February (19:45 GMT). Amad moved into a 'false-nine' position when Ross Stewart was injured and produced a hard-working and lively display.
Hannibal is also set for a replay, against Blackburn Rovers, after Birmingham City drew 2-2 with the Lancashire side in fourth round.
The Tunisia international was introduced in the 64th minute, with the Blues trailing the hosts after Reda Khadra’s early opener had been overturned by efforts from Bradley Dack and former Red Joe Rankin-Costello.
And Hannibal had the desired impact, driving down the right and laying the ball into the path of Jordan James to level the scores in injury time.
🔛 '89
— Birmingham City FC (@BCFC) January 29, 2023
⚽ '90+1
Instant impact in the #EmiratesFACup, @JordanJaj66! 💪 pic.twitter.com/W61GoUNs89
Alvaro Fernandez was eliminated from the competition, coming on in the 78th minute as Preston North End fell to a 3-0 home loss to Premier League big guns Tottenham.
In League One, Shola Shoretire started and played 56 minutes of Bolton Wanderers’s 2-1 away win at Charlton Athletic.
Matej Kovar’s Sparta Prague drew 1-1 away to Sigma in the Czech First League while Ethan Galbraith played every minute of Salford City’s 3-2 loss away to Crawley Town in League Two. In the same division, Charlie Savage is still awaiting his Forest Green Rovers debut after being an unused substitute, as Duncan Ferguson's first game in charge ended in despair with two injury-time goals conceded to lose 2-1 at Shrewsbury Town.