Bell aims to secure No 1 berth after Marciano red card gave him the chance to shine

Every goalkeeper knows he needs to grab chances as assuredly as he does crosses.

Cammy Bell did that on Friday, replacing the red-carded Ofir Marciano after 14 minutes of the 1-1 draw with St Johnstone. He secured a point for Hibernian with a late save from Scott Tansey’s free-kick.

Like Scott Bain at Celtic, Bell has waited patiently for his chance and is bidding to make it difficult to be dislodged. He can expect to start next weekend’s clash with Partick Thistle. Marciano, who was sent off for handling outside his box, must serve a one-match suspension.

“Look at what happened to Scott Bain,” said Bell. “He went into the Old Firm game and had a great game. Everything can change after one game.”

Bell sat on the sidelines for the first half of the season at Kilmarnock. He was delighted with the opportunity to join Hibs after Bain, briefly at Easter Road, was allowed to move on loan to Celtic by Dundee.

Bell, pictured, looked sharp against St Johnstone despite not featuring in a first-team game since the Premiership play-off final defeat by Hamilton Accies last season while at Dundee United.

“It’s been a strange season for me, but here at Hibs it’s worked out well,” said Bell, who has signed until the end of the season.

“That’s football,” he added. “Obviously the next game he [Marciano] will be banned so I will play against Partick Thistle and we’ll see what happens after that.”

Hibs fans will feel confident they are in safe hands after Bell’s debut performance. His save from Tansey’s free-kick was particularly eye-catching.

“As soon as [David] Wotherspoon ran over it I knew he [Tansey] was going that side so I had to gamble he was going to get it up and over the wall. But when I took the dive I honestly didn’t think I’d got enough on it. “I thought I had touched it into the net but managed to touch it on to the bar. It fell on to the line and into my arms. But you need that luck going down to ten early on.”

There was mild panic when Bell sustained a dead leg shortbehind ly after replacing Marciano. But he carried on – and was aware he had to.

“I knew it was just a dead leg and that it was going to bother me for the rest of the game. It was probably going to get worse during the game,” he said. “But it was nothing serious, just an impact injury. It would have taken a lot more than that to get me off.”

As for which outfield player had been earmarked to take his place, he added: “I wouldn’t have trusted anyone!”