Hibs 1 Dundee United 1: How Hibs' lack of ruthlessness cost them second place in the league

This was a boot in the proverbials for a Hibs side who should have had the victory all wrapped up by half time and would have done had it not been for Benjamin Siegrist in the away goal.

Dundee United goalkeeper Benjamin Siegrist saves an effort from Hibs striker Christian Doidge during their sides' draw at Easter Road. Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group

There were a couple of sensational double saves, as well as a few more top notch interventions from the Dundee United keeper as the home side were allowed to run free and, given that kind of space, guys like Joe Newell were always going to conduct proceedings from his central midfield berth.

But the midfielder was left on his knees agonising over a late, late deflection that set up United substitute Luke Bolton to fire home at the back post and allowed Mickey Mellon’s side an unlikely share of the points.

Siegrist’s stunning performance was largely responsible for the goalmouth frustration in the opening 45 minutes but Hibs need to accept responsibility for their own part in that as they showed an increasingly-disappointing lack of ruthlessness which left manager Jack Ross fuming as their profligacy meant they passed up the opportunity to again move into second place in the Premiership.

Given the amount of possession enjoyed by the home team, and the momentum gained throughout an opening period of a match where they seemed to have a far greater sense of direction and purpose, that was surprising.

On the front foot from the off, they were undaunted by the magnificent double save produced by the Swiss goalie, in just the second minute. Having produced a superb fingertip save from a Christian Doidge header, he reacted swiftly to swat away the loose ball as Kevin Nisbet pounced.

Nisbet was back in the starting line after his injury law-off and, along with Doidge, and Martin Boyle and Kyle Magennis on the flanks, there looked to be a potency to the Hibs ranks,

But for all they could conjure up - and they threw a lot at their visitors - without the required cutting edge, they could not do enough to put the result out of sight.

They broke the deadlock in the 12th minute when Magennis sent in an inviting delivery which just evaded Doidge but flew inside the far post anyway.

That should have been the first of many. In the 25th minute Siergrist was the barrier once more as Boyle burst up the right wing and drove in a dangerous ball which Mark Reynolds almost diverted into his own goal but the defender’s blushes were spoiled by his keeper who, despite being wrong-footed by the deflection, kept it out, showcasing his reflexes as he recovered quickly to also deny Doidge with the follow-up.

Producing a more cohesive display than United side, who seemed to have forgotten their gameplan, Hibs came at them again and again, with Boyle enjoying the best opportunity after a lovely first time pass from Paul McGinn left him through on Siergrist just before half-time.

United rejigged their formation and personnel in the second half, and while that allowed former Hibs striker Marc McNulty to make some inroads, the majority of the chances belonged to Hibs. There were enough openings to win three or four games but Boyle, Nisbet and, in particular, Doidge will all have an uncomfortable weekend as they replay the misses in their mind.

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