Neil Lennon was delighted with his players’ ‘technical level’ during the first half against Kilmarnock on Saturday despite conceding two ‘outstanding’ goals.
Hibs looked to be in control after taking a two-goal lead following a fantastic free-kick from Stevie Mallan and a superb header from skipper David Gray, but Steve Clarke’s men fought back to level the scores.
A disputed penalty from Florian Kamberi secured the victory after Kirk Broadfoot had brought Jamie Maclaren down inside the box although the visitors were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty of their own after Efe Ambrose appeared to kick Broadfoot whist attempting to clear the ball in the dying minutes.
The Head Coach took time to praise the man of the match Mallan and also young Ghanian international Thomas Agyepong who impressed the supporters after coming off the bench to replace Martin Boyle at half-time.
Speaking after the final whistle, Lennon said: “I’ve not seen the technical level in the first half bettered. It was a really good game with two accomplished teams.
“The first four goals were outstanding, but we were very passive for their goals. We shot ourselves in the foot a little bit but in the second half we had good control and had some chances.
“We got the break with the penalty and in the end it’s a brilliant win. I was concerned going into it because Kilmarnock had a great win at Aberdeen and not many teams do that.
“I thought that Stevie’s (Mallan) all round play was good. He had a real desire to get the ball back and keep things ticking over. He can be delighted with his contribution but that skill is tremendous but that’s seven goals and it’s a great return already.
Agyepong also did really well considering it was only his second outing.
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.
