THE ENTERTAINER
Lennon comes up trumps again as exhilarating Hibs edge Killie in goal bonanza
IF the Manager of the Year award was decided purely on entertainment value then Neil Lennon would be the clear front-runner.
The upshot of this eight-goal thriller was a win that brought last season’s Championship winners to within three points of Aberdeen in second place, a league position that on its own makes the Northern Irishman’s candidacy for the accolade thoroughly deserved.
Killie’s Steve Clarke is one of Lennon’s rivals for the crown but even he was forced to abandon his more pragmatic instincts and submit to the end-to-end flow of a basketballesque shoot-out that was tremendous to watch.
Key to it all was Scott Allan, the playmaker Lennon secured on loan from Celtic in January and the scorer of the opening goal. Allan has instincts only to attack and, with two strikers to feed, he was in his element as he prodded and pushed passes into the final third with an impressive range of distance and spin. There would have been temptation for Lennon to stick with a team as close to the XI that defeated Celtic last weekend but, with Dylan McGeouch out with a damaged cheekbone, at least one change was required.
Ineligible to face his parent club last weekend, Allan came in but not as a direct replacement. Instead Darren McGregor started at the back, Steven Whittaker moved up into McGeouch’s anchor role and Allan took Danny Swanson’s place behind the strikers.
Swanson had made a fine job of pinning down Scott Brown in last weekend’s game but this match called for a more inventive approach against a strong Killie midfield built to protect.
The entire trio drew the attention of referee Don Robertson in the opening half. Gary Dicker and Alan Power were booked for hefty challenges while Aaron Tshibola was twice ticked off and eventually cautioned on the cusp of the break.
Killie’s frustration with the officials was a running sore during that opening period as both Jordan Jones and Stephen O’Donnell claimed in vain for penalty-kicks.
Allan was linking especially well with Florian Kamberi and the two’s give-and-go routine earned Hibs the opener at the second attempt.
Leo Fasan kept out Allan’s earliest effort low to his left but was beaten by the midfielder’s forceful finish from a tight angle after another clever one-two with the Swiss.
The lead didn’t last four minutes. Hibs’ three-man defence had been posted a warning when Kris Boyd headed straight at Ofir Marciano from O’Donnell’s cross and the Player of the Year nominee was not about to miss twice when Jones flighted one in from the left flank.
Perhaps there was an assumption that the striker was offside as he drifted in between defenders and goalkeeper but the flag remained low and Boyd punished their negligence with an angled downward header.
Clarke confronted Robertson at half-time and, as a result, was ordered to watch the remainder of the match from the stand. As he settled into his seat, he could not have envisaged the deluge to follow.
Nine minutes after the break, John McGinn arrowed a diagonal over the head of Stuart Findlay, with Whittaker covering the ground to get in behind and finish beautifully with a first-time cushioned volley that looked effortless.
Yet again, Hibs could not settle on their lead as Jones delivered a fine assist, weaving off the left to deliver a cross which Findlay clipped into the far corner on the volley.
There are large portions during games when you forget Jamie Maclaren is playing. Yet, just as the Australian ghosted in at the back post to score Hibs’ winner last weekend, he was again there to control a McGinn cross, swivel and squeeze home the finish that put Hibs decisively in front.
Clarke threw on Youssouf Mulumbu and Eamonn Brophy by way of response but Hibs merely extended their advantage.
Once again, that Allan-Kamberi link-up did the business with the former slotting through his striking colleague for a drilled left-foot finish.
They would need the cushion as Boyd rattled home a 20-yard free-kick into the top corner, his 23rd goal of the season. Killie thought they had claimed another equaliser in the 89th-minute when another Jones run and shot resulted in some penalty-box pinball. The ball cannoned off Hibs captain Paul Hanlon and over the line but the offside flag ruled out the goal.
Back at the other end, substitute Brandon Barker got on the scoresheet with a forceful run that carried him in off the left and into a shooting position around the penalty spot.