‘Hurting’ Johnson left with long time to stew over latest Hibs set-back
1 0
IF A week is a long time in football then Lee Johnson has an eternity to stew on a result which piled further pressure on the Hibs manager in the final match before the extended World Cup break.
Defeat at Kilmarnock made it just one win in seven for the Easter Road boss and American owner Ron Gordon has shown no hesitation in the past in exercising his second amendment right to pull the trigger.
After a first half which saw two teams low on confidence prod tentatively at each other, both scared to take the swing that could bring a knockout counter-punch, Daniel Armstrong’s penalty gave the hosts the win and made it four away defeats on the spin for Hibs, whose travelling support made their feelings known on the whistle.
Johnson said: “I thought they [the fans] were great. Right until the 96th minute they were singing and we – and I – are desperate to do well for them. Desperate. We’re only three points off third still, and I think that shows how tight the league is. We’ve wasted far too many opportunities against sides we feel we should have been better than and it’s clear there’s a quality issue in the final third.
“I’m hurting, there’s no doubting that. It’s killing me, I hate not having that winning feeling. We all do. But when I look at the six losses out of seven, I honestly believe we should have had more. I’ve got to be careful what I say because people don’t want to hear that, but today we were much better than we were on Tuesday night.”
The first real opportunity of the game came as Rory McKenzie misjudged the flight of the ball, allowing Chris Cadden to scamper free. The former Motherwell sent in a low, inviting cross but Mykola Kukharevych couldn’t quite stretch to turn it home at the far post.
Hibs thought they had the lead after 25 minutes when the Ukrainian did manage to connect with Elias Melkersen’s delivery, but the Norwegian had been offside in the build-up.
Lewis Mayo had his teammates to thank for sparing his blushes shortly after the break, the Rangers loanee giving the ball away on the edge of his own box and allowing Melkersen a shot at goal that was blocked.
He’d be left to rue that miss as Killie took the leads minutes later – with that time span augmented by a lengthy VAR check. Liam Polworth did well to keep a move alive after a McKenzie shot was blocked, with the midfielder bundled over for a free-kick near the touchline.
The hosts spotted the ball but referee David Dickinson stood for what felt like an eternity with his finger to his earpiece before pointing to the spot. Armstrong stepped up to send David Marshall the wrong way.
The game became more stretched as the visitors pushed for an equaliser, Melkersen sending an overhead kick over the crossbar after Cameron had missed the chance to play in McKenzie at the other end.
It was aerial bombardment which looked the biggest threat to the Killie lead and it was no surprise when McInnes sent the robust presences of Chris Stokes and Ash Taylor into the fray.
Killie looked scrappy and nervous as they fought for the win that would move them off the bottom of the table, but they held on and it’s Johnson who faces a long, bleak winter with no chance to set things right.