Hibs kick on but injury list grows
HIBERNIAN 2 Hanlon (45), Graham (76) DUMBARTON 0
HIBERNIAN manager Neil Lennon praised the performance of his injury-hit team after they overcame Dumbarton.
The Easter Road side made life difficult for themselves but goals from Paul Hanlon and Brian Graham earned the win that keeps them top of the Championship ahead of Dundee United on goal difference.
The injury list in Leith has grown in the recent weeks, with influential midfielders John McGinn and Fraser Fyvie among those out of action.
Striker Jason Cummings returned to the starting line-up for the first time in two months and Lennon was satisfied with the ‘bubbly’ 21-year-old’s display.
‘Jason hasn’t played for a while — he’s a bit rusty,’ said Lennon. ‘It was good for him to play 90 minutes. I’m satisfied with his performance. It has hurt him being out the team. He has looked sharp in training and there wasn’t much wrong with his work rate today.
‘He’s always a threat. He knows he had to bide his time. No one has a God-given right to start.
‘He’s a bubbly boy. He hasn’t sulked once or been banging on my door.’
Acknowledging the roles of man-of-the-match Andrew Shinnie and Martin Boyle, Lennon added: ‘We played Andy in the midfield and he was excellent. He has been a stand-out player for us for the last six or seven weeks.
‘Martin Boyle found it difficult in the midfield, too, but once he got into good positions he was able to drive with the ball.
‘It was good performance in the end. We started sluggish. I don’t know why. Probably because we were coming to terms with how Dumbarton set up.’
Lennon was also missing Israeli goalkeeper Ofir Marciano, who has been ruled out for the rest of the month and will undergo a knee operation tomorrow. He was replaced by Ross Laidlaw.
Hibs faced a Dumbarton team who were dumped out of the Scottish Cup in midweek by Junior side Bonnyrigg Rose.
Clearly happy to take their time to settle into their groove, it took 26 minutes for Hibs’ first decent chance to arrive.
Shinnie’s corner from the right was met by Hanlon, but he headed wide of the target. But the hosts struck right on half-time when the unmarked Hanlon met Cummings’ corner and smashed home from 10 yards out.
Dumbarton did not let their heads drop at the start of the second half.
Daniel Harvie’s 25-yard free-kick deflected narrowly wide before Robert Thomson met a knock-down from a corner but fired wide.
Hibs continued to be frustrated in their search for a second goal.
Cummings headed the ball into the net from close range on 70 minutes but he was denied his ‘goal’ by an offside flag.
However, Hibs finally added a second on 76 minutes when David Gray’s cross was met by Graham, who took the ball on his chest and fired home from 15 yards.
Dumbarton boss Stephen Aitken was pleased with his side’s display after their cup exit and said: ‘We got a good reaction after Tuesday. Everybody knows we let the club down.’