Every Hibs 'keeper of the last 20 years as Ofir Marciano departure sparks reshuffle in goal

AuthorJames Delaney
Published date14 March 2021
Publication titleEdinburghLive (Scotland)
On the deck after palming away Keith Watson's powerful effort with Hibs back in the game at 1-1, the Israeli international reacted quickly to grab Jordan White's admittedly tame effort on the rebound to preserve parity.

Within minutes, Kevin Nisbet had scored the winner at the other end to secure a victory from behind for the men in green white -the first time they had come back to win in the Premiership this season.

Jack Ross confirmed Marciano would leave the club at the end of the campaign and that was a shop window moment on an otherwise quiet afternoon in the Highlands.

News of his departure has come as a bitter blow to those of a green and white persuasion, but where does Marciano rank among Hibs' best over the past 20 years?

As a disclaimer, we have limited this to goalkeepers who actually played a game. Apologies to fans of Ian Westwater, Morten Hyldegaard, Tomas Cerny and Scott Bain but them's the rules.

Here is every keeper to represent the club since 2000/01:

Nick Colgan

Hibs won promotion back to the SPL in 1999 with Icelandic basketball player Oli Gottskálksson in goal, and if that sounds like an absurd sentence now, imagine what it was like at the time.

Once described by Jim Duffy as 'a drunk man trying to catch a balloon,' it became clear fairly quickly that Oli would not cut it for Alex McLeish in the top flight and he was packed off to Brentford before a 'colourful' end to his career.

In his place arrived Colgan from Bournemouth, creating the foundations for the side that would go on to finish third a season later.

The Irish international was a steady presence behind a good Hibs defence and remained number one for four years before leaving to join Stockport County on loan, then Barnsley permanently.

He recently joined the backroom staff of Nottingham Forest under Chris Hughton.

Mike Franks

An international teammate of popular defender Paul Fenwick, the imposing 6'5 stopper had a 'blink and you'll miss it' career at Easter Road - though never lost in a Hibs jersey.

Brought in as cover for Colgan from PSV Eindhoven, the Canadian only played twice, once as a sub in a goalless draw with Celtic and once in a 3-1 win away at Motherwell.

He was unable to dislodge the Irishman though and returned home to join Vancouver Whitecaps in 2001 after suffering a broken finger which curtailed much of his involvement.

Tony Caig

Not a regular starter for the Easter Road side under any manager during a two-year spell and for that, the green and white faithful should be thankful.

Hibs run of ropey custodians between the sticks may have started slightly later, but Caig was a precursor of what was to come. Picked up from down south, where he played in the Premier League for Derby County and later became back up at Newcastle, he was mainly number two for Hibs behind Colgan and then Daniel Andersson, but still found time to fit in a few awful displays in an admittedly poor Hibs side.

Now a goalkeeping coach at Livingston, who have had a run of good keepers over the past few years, suggesting his talents may be on the teaching rather than playing side.

Daniel Andersson

A Hibs cult hero, Andersson made just 47 appearances for the Easter Road side - a remarkable 44 of which were in a single campaign.

In the 2003/04 season, the popular Swede was the only player who kept goal for the Leith outfit, but few were left doubting his abilities after a series of stunning displays.

He may be best known for his Hampden performance when Hibs upset Rangers on penalties, with Andersson saving two in the CIS Cup semi-final shootout, but arguably his best display came months earlier in an Edinburgh Derby win.

Garry O'Connor's late goal may have grabbed the headlines, but it was only Andersson's ridiculous performance at the other end which kept the scores level. Now back in his native Sweden, he remains among the best the Easter Road side have had between the sticks in recent memory.

Ally Brown

Hibs entered into a third-string European competition without a goalkeeper at the start of the season. If that sounds familiar, it could be what happens to Ross' class of 2021 if recruitment plans cannot be carried out.

Brown's situation was slightly different in that the Intertoto Cup tie with FK Vetra - played in torrential summer rain - came slightly too early for Tony Mowbray to get his first choice signing over the line, leaving the teenager as the only option for the visit of the Lithuanain side.

At 19, it was always likely to be a struggle for Brown stepping up and he never quite made the grade in any of his four appearances.

He stayed on the books until 2008, four years after his last first team appearance, before carving out a decent career in the lower leagues.

Simon Brown

By no means the worst of the Hibs goalkeeping line up around this time, Brown had big gloves to fill coming in to replace...

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