Not so fast, Well
Motherwell thought they had taken the lead at Easter Road yesterday, only for Jordan White’s ‘goal’ to be disallowed, much to the frustration of new signing, Steven O’Donnell (right).
Hibs missed the chance to be history makers after coming up short in yesterday’s late game.
Winners of their first three league matches, Jack Ross’s side would have matched their 1974 feat of opening with four-in-a-row had they seen off the Steelmen.
As it was, they had to settle for merely going top of the Premiership table and maintaining their unbeaten start.
That honour might not last long, of course, with Rangers, who also picked up nine out of their first nine available, in action against Livingston at the Tony Macaroni Arena this afternoon.
And there was food for thought for the Hibs boss here with the stalemate arguably flattering the home side.
They were made to chase the ball for large chunks of the first half as Motherwell showed more of the slick passing football which saw them finish third top of the table last season.
Both teams were quick into their stride with Motherwell’s Callum Lang forcing a full length save from Ofir Marciano when he cut inside from the left and fired a shot low towards the far corner.
Up on loan from Wigan Athletic, the 21-year-old Liverpudlian was a lively presence early on.
It was a couple of more familiar faces who soon came to the fore, though, with David Turnbull having two efforts charged down from tee ups by Alan Campbell as the Scots linked well in the middle of the park.
Hibs were nice and direct too and should really have scored when Daryl Horgan picked out the head of Kevin Nisbet just a few yards out in the middle of the Well box.
The striker got plenty of power in his effort but failed to get over the ball and it flew harmlessly over the bar.
At the other end it took a great defensive block from Hibs skipper Paul Hanlon to stop Stephen O’Donnell getting a quickfire goal for his new club after he swivelled on to a Turnbull pass and made to pick his spot.
Motherwell did get the ball in the net before half time, Jordan White volleying into the net with the help of a deflection from Hanlon but the goal was disallowed with Sherwin Seedorf ruled to have been offside and in the eyeline of Marciano.
With the visitors having the best of it in the middle of the pitch, it was no surprise to see Hibs boss Ross make changes in a bid to turn things his side’s way.
Off went Joe Newell, who had a quiet afternoon, and Daryl Horgan, who had performed reasonably well as it goes.
On came the Swede Melker Hallberg plus Scott Allan, one of the most obvious picks to turn a situation around with a bit of individual skill.
They added a bit of pep to the home side’s play with Allan, in particular, looking in the mood.
One tidy piece of play on the left saw him set Nisbet scampering free down the by-line.
The former Dunfermline forward got the ball into the middle but the late arriving Martin Boyle could not get an angle and shot into the side netting.
Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson also decided to mix things up a bit in an attempt to produce a breakthrough that would deliver all three points.
His attention was turned to the forward line with White giving way to Tony Watt and Lang replaced by Christopher Long.
It did not have the desired effect, however, and it was Hibs’ forwards who looked the more likely to grab the all-important goal and the points in the latter stages.
Christian Doidge briefly raised hopes when he threw himself up into the air to make an acrobatic overhead kick.
The effort was extremely wide of the target, though. It had been that kind of game.