IN a week when Neil Lennon recalled rival manager and close friend Tommy Wright’s penchant for donning grappling gear akin to Mick McManus in their playing days, neither of their sides was able to wrestle all three points from a fascinating encounter in Perth.
Wright’s third-placed St Johnstone secured a second-half advantage with August player of the month Michael O’Halloran’s fifth goal in as many games since being loaned out by Rangers but Paul Paton’s own goal earned Lennon’s dominant Hibs a fully merited share of the spoils.
But for late heroics from home keeper Alan Mannus, spectacularly tipping a netbound 25-yarder from Marvin Boyle on to and over the crossbar and a subsequent goal-line clearance from Steven MacLean, the Perth team’s unbeaten start to the campaign would have been brought to a halt.
“I’m happy with the point and we stay unbeaten but I’m not happy with the performance. We started on fire but struggled for the rest of the game,” conceded Wright, who criticised midfielder Murray Davidson for declaring himself fit to play after illness.
The midfielder was withdrawn at the interval, hard on the heels of concussion suffered in a 1-1 draw against Celtic before the international break.
“You can’t tell your manager you’re fit and have to come off. At Celtic it was an accident but I’m not pleased with that.”
Lennon, meanwhile, felt aggrieved leaving Tayside once again with a solitary point to show for an impressive display, saying it was a mirror image of the recent visit to Dundee.
“We totally dominated all aspects of the game. We matched them physically and our football at times was outstanding. Mannus made an unbelievable save at the end and we aren’t getting what we deserve based on our performances. We will play worse and win games.”
After surviving a couple of early scares the visitors created their first opportunity when on-loan Manchester City winger Brandon Barker picked out Simon Murray with a cross but the flame-haired striker’s close-range header soared harmlessly over the target.
Murray then latched on to a Steven Whittaker cutback only for David Wotherspoon to pick his pocket in the act of shooting.
With Hibs beginning to press, right-back David Gray seized the opportunity to gain ground but well-placed Murray lacked the control necessary to take advantage of his headed knock down.
The visitors’ captain then hooked a teasing chance wide following Boyle’s persistence to fend off O’Halloran and deliver a cross fraught with danger.
Davidson had produced a vital clearing header before replacement Liam Craig took over in the Perth midfield and quickly made his presence felt.
Hibs then missed two good chances within 60 seconds with the loss of a goal to O’Halloran rubbing salt into their wounds.
Mannus initially fended off Boyle’s fierce strike and required back-up from full-back Richard Foster to thwart Anthony Stokes and Murray in quick succession. But then the Perth side broke quickly and one-time Hibs skipper Craig whipped in a low cross from the left to pick out O’Halloran who was sprinting in at the back post and hoisted his point-blank finish into the roof of the net.
The Easter Road side drew level on the hour when back-tracking Paton desperately tried to deny Stokes a tap-in from Murray’s cutback only for his sliding last-ditch interception to trundle into the net.
Hibs’ summer signing Danny Swanson’s introduction with 16 minutes remaining was met, unusually, by applause from both sets of fans but with the visitors chasing a winner the former Saints favourite squandered an opportunity to divide opinion in the stands.
