Sunderland defender Nectarios Triantis went viral yesterday after Hibs’ defeat to Rangers.
Nectarios Triantis joined Hibs on loan from Sunderland in January, having only managed three appearances in all competitions for the Black Cats.
The Australian endured a tough start to life in Scotland after giving away two penalties in as many games, however he has since been pushed up into midfield and has really begun to impress under his former Central Coast Mariners manager Nick Montgomery.
Triantis has now started Hibs’ last three games in the Scottish Premiership and continued his role in the middle of the park as they faced league leaders Rangers this weekend.
Hibs moved down to seventh in the table as they were beaten 3-1 at Ibrox Stadium, but it was Triantis that hit the headlines for something he did during the defeat.
Nectarios Triantis clip blows up
In a video clip that has since been shared all over social media, Triantis attempts to take a quick free-kick to help his team get up the pitch and fight for a point.
However, teammate Joe Newell got the initial brunt of the kick, with the ball hitting him in the face and knocking him over.
It didn’t stop there either, with the ball then rebounding and hitting Will Fish in the face, causing him to also fall to the ground.
Triantis can then be seen in the middle of his two injured teammates looking baffled as to what he had just managed to do.
Social media went crazy for the clip and were actually really impressed by what Triantis had done, though I think the ‘amazing‘ 20-year-old was more bothered about the defeat.
Does the defender have a future in Sunderland’s midfield?
Nectarios Triantis becoming a midfielder at Easter Road could arguably improve his chances at making it into Sunderland‘s team in the future.
Dan Ballard has pretty much nailed down his place in the starting line-up until he eventually leaves for a bigger club, while Luke O’Nien’s display yesterday proved exactly how much we had missed him too.
Triantis has just looked so out of his depth in defence for both us and Hibs, and I could see us buying another defender before we start giving him regular first team football in the backline.
However, if he can continue to impress in midfield then he could provide us with another option.
Corry Evans could well be on his way out in the summer if he can’t earn himself a new contract over the next month or so, while it has become very clear that Dan Neil and Pierre Ekwah are much more effective when they are given some freedom to move further up the pitch.
Triantis could provide some much-needed cover just in front of the back four – though it still feels like he will only be good enough for a place on our bench in the near future.
To be proven wrong would be great, but I’m not convinced that Kristjaan Speakman has unearthed a hidden gem here.