A late Paul Hanlon goal secured a share of the points in an ill tempered encounter between Hibs and Falkirk at Easter Road this afternoon.
The Bairns played three quarters of the game with ten men after former Hibs’ midfielder Tom Taiwo was sent off for a reckless challenge but Neil Lennon’s men were unable to capitalise on the extra man advantage
Lennon kept faith with the outfield players who started in last week’s victory over Ayr United, including John McGinn who was part of the Scotland squad that lost to England at Wembley last night.
The only change was in goal with Ross Laidlaw replacing Ofir Marciano who suffered an injury whilst on international duty with Israel.
A piper played ‘Flowers of the Forrest’ ahead of the game and in the first minute McGinn had the crowd on their feet with a run which saw him beat four players before being brought down.
Neither side were able to get any rhythm as the game was littered with niggly fouls.
Falkirk almost took the lead in the 18th minute when Craig Sibbald volleyed a Myles Hippolyte cross over the bar from 15 yards out.
Five minutes later, Taiwo saw red after lunging into a tackle with McGinn and referee John Beaton had no hesitation in sending him off.
Falkirk immediately started to waste time with the main culprit being keeper Danny Rogers, much to the fury of the home fans.
In the 27th minute McGinn fired a powerful 25 yard toward the top corner but Rogers was able to tip the ball over the bar.
Grant Holt then had a header cleared off the line as Hibs pressed for an opener. The former Norwich striker had the ball in the net but the referee had already blown for a free kick by Hanlon.
Hibs continued to dominate and Rogers produced a fine point blank save to deny Holt then just on half time, Easter road erupted when Andrew Shinnie won the ball in midfield and ran into the box. He was challenged by two defenders and the ball fell to Martin Boyle who fired it into the net but the linesman flagged for offside.
Hibs started the second half brightly and both Fraser five and Liam Fontaine went close.
Falkirk’s blatant time wasting infuriated the Hibs fans as did Beaton’s failure to act. He did however speak to rogers in the 62nd minute but failed to produce a card and his warning made no difference.
Despite Hibs’ dominance, they were unable to break down Falkirk’s well organised defence.
With 13 minutes remaining, the Bairns took the lead against the run of play. A John Baird run won a corner which Mark Kerr sent into the box. The ball was won by a Falkirk head and the ball fell to Baird who hooked it into the net sparking wild scenes in the south stand.
To add insult to injury Baird was lucky to still be on the pitch after three fouls which were each worthy of a yellow card.
Lennon then brought on Dylan McGeouch for Andrew Shinnie as Hibs pressed for an equaliser and their hard work paid off in the 82nd minute when Hanlon headed home McGinn’s cross from the left.
McGinn almost grabbed the winner in time added on but his 25 yard strike was tipped round the post and the Bairns held on for the point.
After the game a dejected Lennon said: “Fakirk were never in it but they defended manfully. Our final ball was poor on too many occasions. we lacked a cutting edge today. For me there were not enough clear cut chances.
“It feels like two points dropped.”
“McGinn said: “I got back into the flat at 3am so it wasn’t ideal. I wasn’t 100% but I was fit enough to play the 90 minutes.
“I think we deserved the three points overall.”
Hibs remain top of the Championship, one point clear of Dundee United.
Hibs: Laidlaw, Gray, Hanlon, Fontaine, McGinn, Fyvie, Holt, Stevenson, Boyle, Shinnie, McGregor. Subs: Virtanen, Forster, Bartley, McGeouch, Harris, Graham, Cummings.
Falkirk: Rogers. Leahy, Muirhead, McCracken, Taiwo, Kerr, Baird, Sibbald, Hippolyte, Gasparotto, Miller. Subs Mehmet, Grant, Craigen, Shepherd, Rankin, McHugh, Watson
Referee John Beaton
Attendance:14,550
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.
