A furious Neil Lennon has accused Morton’s substitute Kudus Oyenuga of trying to break Jordon Forster’s leg then feigning a head butt from Darren McGregor in the aftermath.
In time added on, Oyenuga caught Forster with a late and reckless challenge in front of the dugout then went to ground holding his face after the Hibs’ skipper ran up to him to remonstrate.
Morton’s manager Jim Duffy and his assistant Craig McPherson got involved in the stramash along with Lennon and players from both sides as the referee Nick Walsh attempted to regain order.
When the dust settled, Walsh showed a deserved red card to Oyenuga then consulted his assistant before sending off McGregor and ordering Lennon and Duffy to the stand.
The game ended goalless which was a better result for Hibs than Morton as Hibs remain ten points clear having played one game more.
The teams meet again in Greenock a week on Saturday.
Speaking immediately after the game a furious Lennon said: “Here is my take on it. The guy tried to break my player’s leg then Darren McGregor goes over to him and he feigns a head butt, holding his face when Darren made no contact,
“Then the next thing I’ve got the Morton manager asking for a square go (metaphorically), fair enough, I won’t back down – their assistant manager, and their players coming at me.
“I’ve got the Morton assistant manager and the Morton players but it’ll be ‘bad old Lenny, Lenny’s fault’. Rubbish. I reacted in the way any manager would. It was disgraceful and the boy’s behaviour was embarrassing.
“I’m not having that. He (Jim Duffy) has come all the way from his technical area to mine. I didn’t do anything but shout at his player, which I had every right to do. He would do the exact same thing.
“He tried to break my player’s leg then got my captain sent off in an act of cowardice. I have to take that? No, sorry. No wonder I was angry.
“When you have a wave of people coming in your face you will stand your ground.
“I haven’t done anything part from shouting at his player and I was entitled to do that.”
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.
