Pundit spots the rare thing Hibs did vs Celtic as the Hearts tactic that unlocked Shankland of old pinpointed

Hearts talisman Lawrence Shankland ended his goal drought by scoring an excellent brace in his side’s 2-0 victory over Dundee.

The Jambos skipper, who won the Premiership Golden Boot award last year, looked much more like his former self after a poor patch of form at the start of the campaign. Shankland treated the Tynecastle faithful to both a trademark back-post header and an equally satisfying rebound, which suggest that his luck has finally turned.

The 29-year-old’s sudden dip in form coincided with his team falling to the bottom of the table in the early months of the season and fans will now hope he can be the man to inspire them back to their former heights. Shankland’s drought has been the subject of great debate with most football pundits and fans, with the man himself admitting: “It’s been a frustrating period and you just need to dig in and get through it. Mentally, it can be tough at times for a striker.

“I don’t think you can put your finger on exactly what it is. In every league, there’s strikers that go on runs like that. It’s not enjoyable when it happens to you.”

However, former Rangers manager Kris Boyd claims he saw a difference in the way that Shankland approached goalscoring opportunities at Tynecastle last weekend, claiming that the 16-time international acted on instinct instead of trying to overthink his strikes at goal.

Boyd explained to Sky Sports: “You look at one touch finishes. You look at Lawrence Shankland a few weeks ago. Taking a touch, trying to compose himself and then finish it.

“That was the Lawrence Shankland of old, just instincts getting it away. The bad thing though is he’s now suspended for the next game.”

Boyd went on to praise Neil Critchley’s decision to go with two strikers in attack. He argued that James Wilson’s ability to run in behind ultimately created extra space for Shankland to get shots away in and around the penalty area.

“The most important thing is that he just keeps it going.” Boyd added.

Pundit spots rare thing Hibs did in Celtic defeat

Hibs suffered a 3-0 defeat to champions Celtic which sent the club back to the bottom of the Scottish Premiership table.

However, despite the manner of the scoreline, Hibs were lauded for their tenacity throughout the game at Parkhead, and on another day, David Gray’s side might have left Glasgow with at least a point due to the number of chances they created and their ability to get in behind and penetrate the Hoops’ high defensive line.

Hibs hero Tam McManus, who made more than 100 appearances for the Easter Road side between 1997 and 2005 saw plenty to be positive about.

He tweeted: “Hibs have not created that many chances at Parkhead in a very long time but unfortunately could not take any of them. Not just chances but clear cut chances. Still a lot of positives to take out that game despite the scoreline for me. Onto Ross County at home hopefully same level of performance. “