The classic image of Neil Lennon remonstrating with a referee or trudging off a pitch with the kind of scowl that could melt a tank will probably be immortalised in bronze one of these days. He may have kissed and made up with Jim Duffy ahead of Saturday’s tussle with Morton but Bobby Madden, the match official, quickly became the target of Lennon’s withering fire when the Northern Irishman hissed that there was an “agenda” against him after a seemingly clear cut penalty was not awarded to Hibernian.
Cue a unified, no-one likes us mentality from his players? Well, not quite. “I don't think there is any agenda against us, the refs try their best,” said John McGinn with a display of diplomacy that will probably get him a seat at the United Nations. “Sometimes they get it right, sometimes they get it wrong. I think on a couple of occasions today they got it wrong. But hopefully, next week things will turn in our favour."
For Hibernian, resplendent in a luminous away kit that looked like they’d just emerged from a spillage at a toxic waste factory, this was their 13th draw of the season as the Championship leaders, and champions elect, continue to shuffle towards the finishing line. For Morton, meanwhile, this was yet another terrific point which underlined all the club’s purposeful, industrious attributes.
The hoopla which accompanied the build up to this game, in the wake of the well-documented palaver between Lennon and Duffy in the previous match between the sides, was wearing a bit thin and Thomas O’Ware, the Morton defender, was more than happy to focus on activities on the pitch. The Greenock side remain 11 points behind Hibs but they continue to cement their place in the play-offs and with a local derby tomorrow against St Mirren, there is plenty still to play for.
“Our gaffer played it (the Lennon incident) all down and to be honest I think both managers have been made into too much of a laughing stock,” said O’Ware. “We've just concentrated on the game, we weren't trying to get back at anyone, we just wanted three points.
"Having said all that, though, you could say we're quite glad we've got it all over and done with. Now we've got Tuesday night to look forward to, the last derby of the season and a really big one. It's massive with our game in hand and it could put us second.”
Morton continue to enjoy an uplifting campaign and their draw with Hibernian was the third between the two teams in the league this season. Duffy’s troops have also taken points off play-off rivals Falkirk and Dundee United while they pushed Rangers all the way in the Scottish Cup and gave Aberdeen a good run for their money in the semi-finals of the Scottish League Cup. "For a club like us to be where we are is a great achievement,” added O’Ware. "The gaffer gets the best out of us and even when we played the likes of Rangers away in the cup our shape was good. We work really hard on it in training, it's one of our best traits. We might not score a lot of goals, but we defend from the front. Here, we're disappointed with losing a sloppy goal, but apart from that we dealt with them well. It was the same over at Easter Road the other week, but here we also had the character to get back in the game after going behind."
It was Hibs who seized an advantage just after the half hour when Jason Cummings darted clear and angled a fine finish high into the net. Morton rallied in the second half, however, and equalised through Lawrence Shankland’s penalty after Jamie McDonagh had been toppled in the box by Darren McGregor.
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