Lennon’s men toil towards the title
NEIL LENNON answered the incessant jibes of the Dunfermline faithful in novel fashion — by hoisting aloft an imaginary Championship trophy. However, he was left to concede that Hibernian’s protracted bid to claim that piece of silverware is becoming a source of frustration.
Hibs visited Fife amid a backdrop of rancour and controversy following the melee which marred their draw against Morton in midweek.
As a consequence, all eyes were on Lennon at East End Park and, having been barracked throughout by the home fans, he decided to give a little back following the full-time whistle.
‘They were giving me pelters so I was just laughing at them,’ he revealed. The result, however, was not a matter for levity for Lennon.
While content with his side’s performance — one that appeared destined to herald a victory when John McGinn’s wonderful early strike gave Hibs the lead — he was left to rue a host of wasted opportunities, most notably a staggering miss by Brian Graham. Kallum Higginbotham equalised from the penalty spot, meaning Falkirk were able to cut the gap at the summit of the division to nine points. While it remains a case of when, rather than if, Hibs guarantee promotion, the capital club are making heavy weather of crossing the finish line.
‘We are dragging this out,’ admitted Lennon.
‘It is frustrating, but we will keep going. We should have been out of sight and we missed gilt-edged chances. With Morton losing, it is another point gained, but I’m disappointed we haven’t won the game when we were in total control.’
On 12 minutes, McGinn seized upon a loose ball 30 yards from goal and unleashed a ferocious low drive beyond former Hibs keeper Sean Murdoch.
Dunfermline were almost gifted parity when Efe Ambrose, Darren McGregor and Ofir Marciano manufactured a bizarre catalogue of errors in the space of ten seconds.
The Nigerian slipped as he dribbled out of defence, forcing McGregor into a rushed back-pass to his goalkeeper which fell short, sending Paul McMullan scampering towards goal. Marciano won the foot race, but sought to dribble around the winger and lost possession. However, he recovered to smother McMullan’s point-blank shot, sparing blushes all round.
Marciano made a more conventional stop on the half-hour mark when a deep Higginbotham free-kick found the towering Callum Morris, forcing Israel’s No1 to tip his header over the bar.
Hibs should have doubled their advantage immediately after the restart, but Graham somehow contrived to scuff wide from six yards after Jason Cummings had afforded his strike-partner a tap-in.
‘It seemed harder to miss really than score,’ Lennon said. ‘He should tap that one in.’
Hibs were made to pay for that profligacy when referee Greg Aitken awarded the Pars a penalty for a perceived handball in the box by Lewis Stevenson.
Higginbotham, who missed two penalties in the space of 60 seconds in front of the Norrie McCathie Stand against Ayr United earlier this season, illustrated his mettle by doing the the honours from 12 yards at the same end.
Dylan McGeouch lashed over the bar from distance before McGinn nodded wide from eight yards as the visitors sought to restore their advantage.
In the end, however, the razorsharp reflexes of Marciano were required to ensure Hibs even claimed a share of the spoils, with the goalkeeper making a wonderful instinctive stop to deny Michael Moffat.
‘It was probably a fair result when you look at the game,’ said Pars boss Allan Johnston.
‘The players showed unbelievable character to come back against the team that’s top of the league and we’ve done that numerous times recently.’