Sweet 16 unbeaten for Hibees as Maclaren’s late equaliser saves keeper Bogdan’s blushes
hibs 1 MacLaren (86) aberdeen 1 Hoban (45)
A super sub turn by Jamie Maclaren helped Hibs both protect and stretch their unbeaten home record in the calendar year. The Australian striker, brought in again on loan during the summer, had only been on the pitch some 10 minutes when he glided in at the back post to finish off an excellent move. And that was enough to bail out his team-mate Adam Bogdan, the keeper’s earlier error having allowed Tommie Hoban in to grab his first goal for the Dons. It made it 16 without a loss for Hibs, a run that goes all the way back to mid-December. “Had I been itching to get on? Absolutely!” said Maclaren with a laugh. “When you are told in the 50th minute to warm up you think. ‘OK, I have got 10 minutes of this. “But when you are standing out there for 25 minutes you are thinking, ‘C’mon mate, put me on’. “I always know, whether I start or come on, I will always create one really good chance. “I probably touched the ball three times in 15 minutes and one of them was a goal. “That is what the gaffer has brought me in for and I am just glad I could contribute.” “It means we are still unbeaten in 2018 and that is something we do say before each game, no matter who it is we are playing. “It is something we can take confidence from and I think the fans know as well because you could hear the noise as we tried to get the goal to try to win the game.” Hibs started well and had a decent looking penalty claim for an Andrew Considine’s push on Martin Boyle denied. Especially lively was new signing Daryl Horgan, who had already fired in a couple of shots by the time he brought out a stunning save from Joe Lewis. Lewis Ferguson has made a big