Hibs boss Jack Ross claimed red card was pivotal moment in 3-1 defeat by Aberdeen

Hibs head coach Jack Ross issues some instructions to his players at Pittodrie. Pic: SNS

Ross insisted he had no arguments with the two yellow cards shown to Whittaker for fouls on Aberdeen’s Lewis Ferguson but admitted it was the turning point in a match in which Hibs had taken the lead thanks to Christian Doidge’s 18th goal of the season.

Doidge had also been denied by a superb save from Dons goalkeeper Joe Lewis who then blocked a Jamie Gullan shot with his feet.

But Aberdeen struck twice in two minutes after Whittaker was sent off in the 58th minute, defender Adam Jackson turning a Niall McGinn cross into his own net, that goal quickly followed by another from Andy Considine.

Curtis Main added a third for the Dons seven minutes from time, leaving Ross to say: “I thought we were the better team, Lewis has pulled off an outstanding save and then another big save and even early in the second half I thought we looked comfortable.

“The sending off was pivotal but you can still win a game with ten men. We were ahead in the game which is not a bad starting point. We weren’t chasing the game or on level terms but we have to be better with our response to adversity because we are a good team.

“We showed that in the first hour of the game. Our response from Tuesday was excellent but the period immediately after the sending off was what cost us the game.

“The goals from our point of view were pretty soft. It’s mixed emotions, I was pleased and proud of the character they showed to respond from the derby but frustration that we were not resolute enough in that period.”