Chris Cadden disappointed not to win on Fir Park return but praises Hibs new boys

As Chris Cadden prowled the touchline at the home of his former club, above the sound of the driving rain and the gusty wind, the jeers of the Motherwell supporters in the John Hunter Stand could be heard loud and clear.

Virtually every touch was greeted by booing as he got up and down the right flank in less-than-ideal conditions for football.

“It’s good to be back; think it’s my first time playing here since I left so it was nice to get a warm welcome,” the 25-year-old joked after the game.

"It was a hard shift in tough conditions with the wind but we played as much as we could and I thought we dominated the ball. It’s just in the final third we need to be a bit better but we’ve got the players to do that so it’s not a worry."

Chris Cadden said Hibs were disappointed after the goalless draw with Motherwell

Hibs struggled in front of goal for the third game in a row, with a Ewan Henderson effort and a rushed chance by Christian Doidge in the second half the closest the visitors came to an elusive goal.

Cadden played in an enticing cross midway through the second half but, frustratingly for the wingback, there were no takers despite plenty of bodies in the box.

"I’ll need to see it back, I don’t know if the wind catches it but I just tried to feed it in and hopefully someone would get a tap-in – it’s just that wee bit of quality that we missed,” he admitted afterwards.

Even after Liam Donnelly’s red card on 73 minutes, Hibs were unable to make the breakthrough, with manager Shaun Maloney conceding in his own post-match comments that Hibs perhaps hadn’t been patient enough as they sought a goal.

Wing-back Chris Cadden put in some decent deliveries, but no Hibs player was on hand to score.

"It was frustrating not to take advantage but it’s not always a foregone conclusion when a team goes down to ten, sometimes it can be more difficult if they just sit in, but we were disappointed in the dressing room. It’s a tough place to come and not many teams will come here and win, but we’re still disappointed,” Cadden added.

He had words of praise for debutant Demi Mitchell, as well as Rocky Bushiri, who was restored to the starting line-up after missing the Scottish Cup fourth-round tie with Cove Rangers.

"Demi will be good, he turned the afterburners on at one point and looked really quick. The club has been great in January in terms of the qualities of the players they’ve brought in, and there will be big competition for places which at a big club is what you need.

"You need competition, you need everybody to be on their toes and performing. If you want to play on a Saturday you've got to be performing in training and in games.

“I thought Rocky was excellent too. [Motherwell centre-forward] Kevin van Veen is tough and often gives centre-halves the runaround but Rocky was brilliant, he’s been great since he came in.

"I don’t think he’s played much football which is obviously a credit to him as well. He’s been great since he came in, I’ve been really impressed by him and I think he’ll only get better.”

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