Hibs instant analysis as two points surrendered in late collapse

Nick Montgomery's side were cruising via goals from Elie Youan and Jair Tavares, but an Allan Delferriere own-goal opened the door for the Staggies and they soon made Hibs pay via Jordan White's well-taken equaliser. Montgomery made three changes to the team that drew with Celtic, bringing in Jojo Wollacott for David Marshall, Dylan Levitt for Joe Newell and Lewis Stevenson for Jordan Obita.

His rotated team looked set to claim a valuable three points, but they left the home crowd incensed by conspiring to surrender their lead in the space of eight minutes. Montgomery must now pick his team up for Saturday's Viaplay Cup semi-final at Hampden.

Patrick McPartlin and Liam Bryce were in Leith to provide the instant analysis.

Hibs throw it away

Few inside Easter Road saw this result coming when Tavares slammed high into the net to earn Hibs a two-goal cushion with around 35 minutes to play. It hadn't been a vintage display by any means, but Montgomery's side looked to have done enough to secure three points, if only they could see out the remainder of the second-half. To be honest, by the time the referee called time on proceedings, they were fortunate to take even one. It was a quite inexplicable collapse from Hibs, with County carrying only a modest threat until they were offered a lifeline with 16 minutes. It was a really poor goal from Hibs' perspective, with goalkeeper Jojo Wollacott completely losing Yan Dhanda's high cross before the ball ricocheted in off Delferriere. The goal had quickly followed a number of Hibs changes, with Rocky Bushiri and Jimmy Jeggo among those being taken off, and they never really re-established control of the game. White's equaliser had an inevitable feel about it, and it took two decent saves from Wollacott thereafter to prevent County grabbing a winner.

Liam Bryce

No time to dwell

Make no mistake, this one will sting inside the Hibs camp, but they simply do not have time to wallow in what will be a deep disappointment. This was a game that was all-but won, and will be a harsh lesson in game management for Montgomery's players. But with Saturday's semi-final against the Dons looming large, picking themselves up quickly is a must. It will be a test of resilience given how they have squandered the momentum that would have come with two creditable results in a matter of days. A much-needed victory before Hampden would have sent Hibs down the M8 on the crest of a wave, now they face having to quickly sort their heads out, writing this result off and going again. Still, though, being booed off only days out from a monumental fixture is less than ideal.

Liam Bryce

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Did second string stake a claim?

Nick Montgomery hasn’t developed a habit of making wholesale changes to his team from week to week since taking the reins so it was a bit of a surprise to see him swap out four of the eleven who started against Celtic at the weekend with Jojo Wollacott taking over from David Marshall in goal, Lewis Stevenson making a rare start in place of Jordan Obita at left-back, Dylan Levitt coming in for Joe Newell in midfield, and Adam Le Fondre restored to the side in place of Martin Boyle. With places in a cup semi-final up for grabs, and a rather important league game against Ross County, it was little surprise to see the interlopers doing their best to catch the eye. This game also marked the first time that the Jeggo-Newell pairing didn’t start a match under Montgomery which felt significant given how successful they but Levitt was a good fit alongside Jeggo - and it was noticeable that Hibs lost a bit of control in the middle of the park when he went off. Perhaps it was a case of too many changes being made a bit too early.

Patrick McPartlin

Joy for Jair

There won’t have been many Hibs fans, if any, who last season could have predicted Jair Tavares winning a man-of-the-match award this side of Christmas but the Portuguese winger fully deserved it for an all-action performance that brought with it his first goal in green and white. The 22-year-old’s showing against Celtic earned him praise from Montgomery who highlighted the need for the former Benfica youngster to build up his confidence. It was clear to see what his fine strike for Hibs’ second meant to him, and it was cruel that the second-half collapse by Hibs robbed him of an even better memory. Strong back-to-back performances have probably given Montgomery food for thought ahead of Saturday at Hampden. Off the bench or on from the start, you wouldn’t bet against Tavares making his mark once again.

Patrick McPartlin

Boos on Hallowe’en

On the one hand you can look at this as another game unbeaten under Montgomery, meaning he has lost just one of his eight games in charge. But another view is that Montgomery has won just two games since arriving; one in the league against bottom-of-the-table St Johnstone and that Viaplay Cup quarter-final victory over St Mirren. In his first game in charge Hibs lost a two-goal lead at Kilmarnock to draw 2-2 but he spoke afterwards of his disappointment at not winning and there was a feeling that it would be unfair to judge too much on his first game in charge after limited time with the players. But that was mid-September, and we are now on the cusp of November. He has had much more time to work with the players, which might have played a big part in the howls of derision, jeers, and boos that greeted the full-time whistle - even as the players did their customary lap of the pitch to thank the fans. There will be little time to reflect on this disappointing result with such an important game on Saturday, but Hibs certainly need to stamp out these lapses in concentration which could harm their hopes of returning to European football. 

Patrick McPartlin