McGregor stuttering but insists Hibs won’t falter

CHAMPIONSHIP

DARREN McGREGOR will not be in line to become TV’s next top pundit any time soon, but it was difficult to argue with his general analysis of this lively match. The Hibs defender and his team-mates were under pressure. They have been here before. Trailing at half-time after Kallum Higginbotham’s controversial penalty and flirting with the prospect of going six games without a win, Neil Lennon’s side went on to score three times in the second half. In McGregor’s view, it was their best 45 minutes of the season. But he had some difficulty describing the incident that led to the Pars taking the lead. Alan Muir pointed to the spot when he spotted a shove in the packed Hibs penalty area which McGregor later described as a ‘scramash’. It’s a description that would have had Arthur Montford, who knew one or two things about a ‘stramash’, squirming. But having ultimately survived the scare, Hibs secured the win to take them three points clear at the top of the Scottish Championship. Admitting there were some harsh words from Lennon (pictured with scorer Brian Graham) at half-time, McGregor was delighted with the team’s character. ‘I’m never one for calling out refs but he says he saw someone push a Dunfermline player,’ said McGregor. ‘He couldn’t identify who was involved. ‘There was a bit of a… how would you say it? Scramash. We’re none the wiser why he gave it. ‘They didn’t create much. As a defensive unit, we did okay but the cutting edge up top was missing. The gaffer had words with us at half-time and we identified we could give it a right good go. ‘We let our standards slip in the first half. But in the second, we showed character and the potential we have in the squad. ‘I’d say it was our best 45 minutes of the season.’ Slack play by penalty scorer Higginbotham led to James Keatings firing a shot which deflected off Nat Wedderburn to level the game. Then Hibs were awarded a penalty after Pars defender Lee Ashcroft misjudged a long ball over the top and fouled Andrew Shinnie. Grant Holt tucked home the spot-kick and sub Graham sealed the points in injury time when he met Shinnie’s cutback and slammed home from 15 yards. Pars sub Michael Moffat was then sent off for a kick at McGregor. The defender now wants this win to kick-start what Hibs hope will be a march back to the Premiership. ‘The main thing was to get over the stumbling block of drawing games and conceding,’ said McGregor. ‘To come back from 1-0 down and score three times shows our character. ‘Hopefully this is the kick-start we need. We’ve hit a sticky patch but if that’s our dip in performance this season, then we’ll take it.’

GRAHAM SWANN