Monty has new VAR gripe - but says Hibs have only themselves to blame for blowing lead

'If that's a penalty there will be 10 a game ...'

Hibs manager Nick Montgomery had plenty to complain about after Saints draw

Hibs boss Nick Montgomery was left rueing his team’s “naivety” – and railing against yet another contentious VAR decision – as they dropped another two points from a winning position on a frantic night in Paisley.

Speaking after a 2-2 draw that saw St Mirren come from behind twice, first from the penalty spot and then with an injury-time leveller, Montgomery criticised the decision that saw Jordan Obita penalised and booked for a pull on Saints captain Richard Taylor.

But his main concern remains his team’s inability to see out games, as they extended their winless run to seven games.

The Yorkshireman, ten games into his time as head coach, said: “It’s another game we could have got three points out of - but we only have ourselves to blame.

“We can talk about managing the game and finishing it off and I thought we had plenty of chances to do that even in the first half. We were outstanding.

“We expected them to come out and put balls in the box and we dealt with that, mostly.

“But the equaliser is of our own doing. There’s a minute to go and we just need to see the game out.

“We had a breakaway, and we somehow turn the ball over and the next thing it’s in the back of the net.

“It’s another game where we have led away from home, and it might be a good point come the end of the season but right now it’s a difficult one to take.

“We’ve put so much effort into the game tonight, played some great football especially in the first half.

“You expect the opposition to get a bit of momentum at some point away from home.

“And at the moment it seems like we’re getting punished for every decision.”

Bringing up the penalty incident voluntarily, Montgomery said: “I’m not here to talk about refereeing or VAR … but if that’s a penalty there are going to be ten penalties in every game. I’m a little bit frustrated by that one as well.

“Look, the ball wasn’t even going in that area. I’ve watched it and the lad has got in front of Jordan Obita – but he’s six-foot-five and he’s just dropped to the floor with no contact.

“If players want to just throw themselves on the floor and they’re going to go and look at VAR, there are going to be a lot of stoppages.

“Again, that’s not the reason why we didn’t take three points. Those incidents happen.

“We went in front twice, probably could have killed the game off – but again it’s that lack of experience, naivety, where we don’t see the game out and win ugly.

“The clearance just drops straight to the guys feet and ends up in the back of the net.

“I felt we could have had two penalty shouts tonight, but they weren’t looked at and it wasn’t to be. What we have to do is score more goals, more than two goals, and that is something we can do.

“Maybe we need to start scoring three, because every time we score two, we draw the game. It’s something we’ll talk about this week.”

St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson praised his team for showing resilience to fight back from a losing position not once but twice, saying: “Overall it was one of the best performances of the season.

“The way we played, the way we battled, the response we showed. Hibs are a very good side and, overall, I’m disappointed we didn’t win the game.”