Luck was on our side says Ross

JACK ROSS admitted Hibs enjoyed a slice of luck as they moved level on points with Rangers at the top of the Premiership thanks to a dramatic last-gasp victory over St Johnstone. They sealed their fourth win in five matches when sub Stevie Mallan — making his first appearance in eight months — slammed home a stoppage-time penalty. The spot kick was awarded after Liam Gordon bundled over Ryan Porteous. Saints midfielder Liam Craig was shown a second yellow card for berating referee John Beaton at the final whistle but Ross insisted

the official got the spot-kick call right. However, he recognised his side were let off in the first half when Callum Hendry’s header for the hosts was wrongly flagged offside. ‘My first instinct was that I was disappointed at how soft the goal was from our point of view,’ said Ross. ‘If it was a goal, it looked onside. You see the flag go up and you doubt yourself but I watched it at half-time and it looked onside. So that is a break that went our way. ‘I thought it was a penalty. I’ve only seen it again from our footage. ‘By the time Ryan falls there are a lot of bodies around him. I can understand there being a bit of dubiety but I thought there was contact from Liam Gordon, two hands on the back quite early as the ball is in the air. ‘From that point of view it was a penalty but I understand people arguing for and against it. ‘Overall, I’m delighted to win the game at a difficult venue. We played well in the first half. Callum (Davidson) got a reaction from his team and I thought they were better than us in the second half.’ Mallan made his presence felt on a long-awaited return from a knee issue. Replacing Scott Allan after 66 minutes, his emphatic spot-kick gave Saints goalkeeper Elliot Parish no chance. ‘I said to him to go on and win the game for us,’ smiled Ross. ‘I didn’t imagine it would be in that manner. ‘I’m pleased and it will help his confidence because it’s been a difficult period for him.’ Hibs achieved the win without striker Kevin Nisbet. ‘He has a hamstring injury,’ added Ross. ‘We’ll see how he is this week.’ Saints counterpart Davidson declined to take a swipe at the match officials but criticised midfielder Craig for his sending-off. ‘I was disappointed with him,’ said the Perth boss. ‘He’s an experienced player and one I can’t afford to have missing. ‘You get frustrated, angry, annoyed. But you have to move on.’ Asked about Hendry’s disallowed goal, Davidson said: ‘I’m not in line so it’s difficult to see. You accept the referee’s decision. ‘For the penalty, let’s just say there were a lot of hands up in the box. What I will say is he (Gordon) gives the referee an opportunity by raising his hands. It’s hard to take, after the decision in the first half. ‘Have I asked for an apology? No and, listen, I don’t expect one. ‘It’s one of those, referees make decisions and it’s a hard job. We were on the wrong end of it today so we just have to move on.’