Hibs were forced to settle for a share of the points after a hard-fought 90-minutes against Livingston at a wet and windy Easter Road this afternoon.
Head Coach Jack Ross selected the same starting XI that beat Kilmarnock on Sunday but an injury to Joe Newell in the warm-up resulted in Lewis Stevenson replacing him.
Former Hibs’ defender Efe Ambrose started for Livingston and immediately demonstrated the skills which made him such a favourite but calmly clearing the ball after being hemmed in near the corner flag.
The game kicked off in dreadful weather conditions with sleet, snow and a swirling wind making good football difficult for both teams.
Robbie McCrorie did well to save from Greg Docherty before Jon Guthrie managed to cut out a low cross from Martin Boyle with Christian Doidge waiting to pounce.
Hibs should have taken the lead in the 24th minute after Aaron Taylor-Sinclair handled a Boyle cross and referee Alan Newlands had no hesitation in pointing to the spot however the normally reliable Scott Allan’s penalty was well saved by McCrorie.
Hibs continued to press forward and McCrorie was the hero once again with an acrobatic save to deny Marc McNulty.
On the half-hour mark Ofir Marciano produced a superb save to prevent Steve Lawson’s long-range effort from giving the visitors the lead.
Just before the break Docherty broke clear but shot just wide and although McNulty managed to keep the ball in play, the danger was cleared.
Hibs opened the scoring four minutes after the restart when Boyle found McNulty whose shot was deflected into the path of Stevenson. The wing-back’s low cross evaded everyone, but Paul McGinn retained possession and found Docherty whose shot was knocked into the net by Doidge.
Taylor-Sinclair almost equalised in the next passage of play but his header from Scott Pittman’s cross flew just wide.
Moments later he did level the score from close range after a superb cross from Lawless.
Fraser Murray replaced Allan then Jamie Gullan who scored four goals for the reserves in midweek took over from Vykintas Slivka as Hibs pressed for a winner, but it was the Lions who had the best chance but Pittman’s shot from eight yards went over the bar.
Daryl Horgan replaced Stevenson for the last 10-minutes then in time added on Docherty set up Boyle but McCrorie did well to block the attacker’s effort and the game ended all square.
After the final whistle Ross told BBC Scotland: We’re a little frustrated because we wanted to win – we always do at home.
“I’m loathe to be critical of the players though. We weren’t at our best but didn’t play badly against a team that, for me, is a top-six side.”
Hibs: Marciano, Hanlon, McGinn, Slivka (Gullan 71), Doidge, Boyle, Stevenson (Horgan 80), McNulty, Docherty, Jackson, Allan (Murray 62). Unused substitutes: Bogdan, Hallberg, McGregor, Omeonga.
Livingston: McCrorie, Brown, Pittman, Dykes (Souda 76), Sibbald, Lawless (Robinson 85), McMillan (Jacobs 71), Ambrose, Guthrie, Taylor-Sinclair, Lawson. Unused substitutes: Lamie, Crawford, Menga, Schofield.
Referee: Alan Newlands.
Attendance: 15,533.
Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership – Hibernian v Livingston. Easter Road Stadium, Edinburgh, Midlothian, UK. 22/02/2020. Pic shows: A hard fought 1-1 draw as Hibs play host to Livingston in the Scottish Premiership at Easter Road Stadium, Edinburgh. Credit: Ian Jacobs Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership – Hibernian v Livingston. Easter Road Stadium, Edinburgh, Midlothian, UK. 22/02/2020. Pic shows: A hard fought 1-1 draw as Hibs play host to Livingston in the Scottish Premiership at Easter Road Stadium, Edinburgh. Credit: Ian Jacobs Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership – Hibernian v Livingston. Easter Road Stadium, Edinburgh, Midlothian, UK. 22/02/2020. Pic shows: A hard fought 1-1 draw as Hibs play host to Livingston in the Scottish Premiership at Easter Road Stadium, Edinburgh. Credit: Ian Jacobs Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership – Hibernian v Livingston. Easter Road Stadium, Edinburgh, Midlothian, UK. 22/02/2020. Pic shows: A hard fought 1-1 draw as Hibs play host to Livingston in the Scottish Premiership at Easter Road Stadium, Edinburgh. Credit: Ian Jacobs Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership – Hibernian v Livingston. Easter Road Stadium, Edinburgh, Midlothian, UK. 22/02/2020. Pic shows: A hard fought 1-1 draw as Hibs play host to Livingston in the Scottish Premiership at Easter Road Stadium, Edinburgh. Credit: Ian Jacobs Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership – Hibernian v Livingston. Easter Road Stadium, Edinburgh, Midlothian, UK. 22/02/2020. Pic shows: A hard fought 1-1 draw as Hibs play host to Livingston in the Scottish Premiership at Easter Road Stadium, Edinburgh. Credit: Ian Jacobs Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership – Hibernian v Livingston. Easter Road Stadium, Edinburgh, Midlothian, UK. 22/02/2020. Pic shows: A hard fought 1-1 draw as Hibs play host to Livingston in the Scottish Premiership at Easter Road Stadium, Edinburgh. Credit: Ian Jacobs Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership – Hibernian v Livingston. Easter Road Stadium, Edinburgh, Midlothian, UK. 22/02/2020. Pic shows: A hard fought 1-1 draw as Hibs play host to Livingston in the Scottish Premiership at Easter Road Stadium, Edinburgh. Credit: Ian Jacobs
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
