‘Revelation again’ Boyle earns tribute from boss

before Oli Shaw accepted one to grab the equaliser.

“I’ll leave that to others to decide,” said Lennon when asked if Boyle was due an international call-up. “I know he’s eligible to play for Australia as well but I’d rather he stayed with us for the time being as he’s playing a lot of football.

“But he was fantastic last season and is proving a revelation again. His fitness, his drive, energy and spark are superb. He’s a very exciting player to watch.”

Lennon reckoned his team deserved to win. “I thought we missed some great chances, especially in the first half, and most obviously when Jamie’s [Maclaren] shot was blocked on the line and the ball came back to Lewis [Stevenson].

“We had good control of the game and then they scored with a bit of good fortune with a deflection. After the break we got the goal and dominated possession. We looked a bit rusty up front with Maclaren still finding his feet. But I’ve got to be happy with the level of performance – just disappointed we haven’t won.”

St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright saw the game differently, believing his side managed to match their opponents. “Hibs are a quality team – you just have to look at the players they are able to bring on – and I thought we matched them,” he said.

He praised Tony Watt, scorer of his side’s goal. “Apparently it’s been put down as an OG, I haven’t seen it back. But that’s what Tony does well – you won’t need to ask him if he’s going to shoot or not. He will shoot on sight. It was a decent strike, whether it was deflected or not, but I’m pleased for him to get his first league goal and it’s a good point for us.”