NEctarios Triantis, who made just three appearances for the Black Cats in all competitions, signed a loan deal with Hibs in January after leaving Sunderland.
The Australian made a difficult transition to Scotland after giving up two penalties in as many games, but under Nick Montgomery, the manager of the Central Coast Mariners, he was moved up into midfield and has since started to show great promise.
In the Scottish Premiership, Triantis has now started Hibs’ last three games. This weekend, as they took on league leaders Rangers, he continued to play in the middle of the park.
Hibs lost 3-1 at Ibrox Stadium, dropping them to seventh in the standings, but Triantis made headlines for what he did during the
Triantis attempts a rapid free-kick to help his team advance up the pitch and fight for a point in a video clip that has since gone viral on social media.
But the first victim of the kick was teammate Joe Newell, who was knocked down after the ball struck him in the face.
Not only that, but the ball rebounded and struck Will Fish in the face, sending him tumbling to the ground as well.
Nectarios Triantis may have a better chance of breaking into Sunderland’s squad in the future if he plays as a midfielder at Easter Road.
Dan Ballard, who will eventually depart for a larger club, has essentially cemented his spot in the starting lineup.
But if he can keep up his strong play in midfield, he might give us another choice.
It’s looking increasingly likely that Corry Evans will be leaving in the summer if he can’t secure a new deal in the next month or two, while Pierre Ekwah and Dan Neil perform far better when allowed some latitude to advance up the field.
Though it still seems like Triantis will only be good enough for a spot on our bench in the foreseeable future, he could offer some much-needed cover right in front of the back four.
While it would be wonderful to be proven wrong, I don’t think Kristjaan Speakman has found a buried treasure in this case.
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