Hibs secure top six spot thanks to draw with Kilmarnock

Hibs claimed a place in the top six thanks to a hard fought 0-0 draw with Kilmarnock at Easter Road this evening.

Paul Heckingbottom made one change to the starting XI that beat Livingston at the Tony Macaroni Arena last Friday night with Vykintas Slivka replacing Darren McGregor resulting in Mark Milligan moving to the centre of the defence alongside Paul Hanlon.

On-loan Liverpool goalkeeper Adam Bogdan returned from injury and took a place on the bench.

In the opening minutes, Florian Kamberi picked up a knock and limped for several minutes before carrying on.

In an evenly contested first half, the main talking point was the contest between Stephane Omeonga and Youssouf Mulumbu.

Ofir Marciano did well to save a free header from Stuart Findlay from a corner kick whilst Daryl Horgan’s long rage effort was Hibs best chance.

Kris Boyd replaced Conor McAleny at the break as the visitors started brightly however it was Stevie Mallan’s trademark shot from long-range which tested Daniel Bachmann.

In the 55th minute Kilmarnock almost took the lead when Rangers bound Jordan Jones intercepted a carless pass from Paul Hanlon but Marciano produced a superb save to keep the score level,

As tempers frayed, Aaron Tshibola, Marc Mcnulty, Mulumba, Findlay and Milligan were all shown yellow cards by referee Steven McLean.

Darren McGregor replaced Slivka then Oli Shaw replaced Kamberi as Hibs pressed forward looking to secure a victory, With 14 minutes remaining Shaw went close from a Lewis Stevenson cross and the game ended goalless. Hibs now go into the Edinburgh derby on Saturday only one point behind Hearts who lost 3-0 at Ibrox.

After the game Heckingbottom told BBC Scotland: “That was a tough game. We played a good side there and it was evident there was a lot of experience because they made good decisions at good times.

“If we are going to continue on a good run and play football that makes teams respect us just a little bit more, there will be a lot more teams come here and do that and make it really difficult to break down.”

Hibernian: Marciano, Gray, Hanlon, Milligan, Horgan (Murray 77’), Slivka (McGregor 64’), McNulty, Mallan, Stevenson, Kamberi (Shaw 73’), Omeonga. Substitutes not used: Bogdan, Bartley, Mackie, Allan.

Kilmarnock: Bachmann, O’Donnell, Taylor, Broadfoot, McKenzie (Burke 71’), Dicker, Jones, McAleny (Boyd 46’), Findlay, Mulumbu, Tshibola (Power 71’). Substitutes not used: MacDonald, Bruce, Waters, Millar.

Referee: Steven McLean. Attendance: 16,588.