Cowie's ref gripe does Hibs a disservice as Gray's men seize control of own destiny - talking points and video

Altitude sickness remains a fairly minor risks for Hibs players suddenly elevated – results later today pending, of course – to the heady heights of eighth place in the Scottish Premiership. But they’ve certainly improved their outlook as a result of yesterday’s typically madcap encounter at Easter Road.

One of the recurring themes of this season has been the fact that, in terms of overall quality, Hibs at their absolute best are not that much better than the same team at their very worst. Performance levels under David Gray have been, in general, fairly consistent – with only glaring howlers and changing fortunes the difference when it comes to results.

So no, there won’t be many Easter Road regulars feeling like they’ve seen a corner being turned as a result of a hard-fought 3-1 home win over Ross County, a team without a league win away from home since September of last year. There wasn’t enough pizzazz about this showing to make it stand out.

But long-suffering supporters will be damned if they haven’t earned the right to celebrate a battling win against doughty opposition. After everything they’ve been through, this’ll do. For now.

On a day of intense drama and fraught emotions, then, let’s take a look at the main talking points from a victory that will have been celebrated with a little extra zest.

Timing is … everything

Referee Lloyd Wilson certainly LOOKED as if he was going to blow his whistle as Hibs launched a counter-attack five minutes into time added on at the end of the first half. According to Ross County boss Don Cowie, indeed, the official had received communication that injury time had elapsed – and confessed that he’d actually “thought about” stopping play for half-time.

The truth? Hibs were moving forward with the ball. Common sense – admittedly not always football’s forte – and a desire to avoid unnecessary confrontation suggests it’s only wise to let the attack play out before blowing for time up. The problem, of course, is that every fan of every team can draw upon dozens of examples when half-time or full-time has been called at just the ‘wrong’ moment.

What can’t be denied is that Hibs benefited from play being allowed to carry on and score a crucial equaliser. That they deserved to be level at the break. And that County could have been a lot more streetwise to prevent the situation arising in the first place.

Rare quality

So much of what Hibs did yesterday was rushed, hurried, imprecise and lacking accuracy. Until their equaliser, when Junior Hoilett seemed to see everything in slow motion as he paused before crossing for Dwight Gayle’s glancing header.

“I think the big thing there was just end product,” said gaffer Gray. “There was a really good cross, good movement for Dwight and a really good header.

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“I think even in the first half, we did get into decent positions, but maybe just the decision-making or the end product wasn't quite there. And then there were certainly moments in the second half as well, maybe just a little bit anxious, lashing at things, rather than showing that little bit of composure and that clinical nature.

“But then that kind of gets turned on its head when you look at when Elie Youan runs through and has the composure to slip it to Josh Campbell for the third goal. A lot of people maybe would have just gone themselves there, but Elie showed the composure to pass it there in that situation, which is great.”

On a day when both sides struggled to find team-mates with the ball, Hibs still have plenty to work on. Players can get a bit snarky about passing drills. But they might just feature in the session plans being drawn up ahead of Saturday’s trip to Pittodrie.

Life in the bubble

Hibs didn’t get anywhere close enough to their opponents for much of a rickety first half at home. At times, it looked as if every County player was operating in a personal five-metre exclusion zone. While the home stars were being harassed at every turn.

But the visitors were never going to be able to maintain their pace of play without the ball. And that eventually forced them into more mistakes in possession.

On balance of play, Hibs more than earned their 19 shots and EIGHT big chances created. And any time you can get 43 – that’s FORTY-THREE, for fans of the old BBC results service – touches in the opposition box, you must be doing something right.