Lennon sings the praises of Hyndman and Mallan

score, although Molde will have more of the ball over there and their rotation of the ball is good.”

Gaining experience and fitness with every tie, Lennon said his players had been streetwise in the way they had approached the 90 minutes.

“We are novices at this level but I thought we played a mature game tonight,” he added.

“We just lacked that little bit of oomph. We could have done a bit more in the final third at times but I’m not disappointed at all. We looked like we flagged at the end but that’s understandable. And we will be a week fitter next week.”

Without the talismanic John Mcginn following his departure to Aston Villa on Wednesday night, Stevie Mallan was the driving force in the centre of the park for Hibs. And while Lennon says he is still in the hunt for two new acquisitions, he was impressed by the man he signed in the summer from Barnsley and also believes that debutant Emerson Hyndman, who had a great chance to snatch the victory in the dying minutes, can make a positive impact in the coming weeks and months.

“I liked him at Rangers,” 0 Neil Lennon: Confident Hibs can score away goal in Norway.

Lennon said of the on-loan American midfielder who signed a six-month deal on Wednesday evening. “He’s got creativity and 18 months down the line [from his Ibrox stint] he has taken a stretch. He picks the right pass and he was unlucky not to win us the game. But I was pleased with his contribution.

“Stevie was brilliant. He was so unlucky not to score. He had a tremendous effort that hit the crossbar and his energy and all-round play was great. He’s been a huge source of encouragement for me.”