Hibs leave pundit open-mouthed as 'amateur hour' absolves Sunderland loanee of loss blame despite red card

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Hibs dropped down to 10th in the Scottish Premiership table after a defeat to Motherwell

BBC Sportscene pundit Michael Stewart was left open-mouthed at a poor defensive moment for Hibs in their 2-1 defeat to Motherwell - and defended their Sunderland loanee.

Hibs currently find themselves 10th in the table with just one win from their opening seven league matches under new head coach David Gray. The capital side fell behind in the 56th minute when Motherwell’s Apostolos Stamatelopoulos made the hosts pay with a clinical near post finish. The goal sparked a quick reaction from Hibs who equalised just three minutes later through experienced wideman Junior Hoilett, who took advantage of an error from Stephen O’Donnell.

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Gray’s defence failed to deal with aerial balls into the box throughout the afternoon and their difficulties were only compounded further when Sunderland loanee Nectar Traintis was shown red for a late challenge on Tony Watt. Moments later Hibs fell behind through a long throw, with an unmarked Andy Halliday volleying the ball in from close range.

Stewart described the goal as a ‘school boy’ error and claimed that the organisation from the Hibs defence was ‘amateurish’. Triantis’ red card was a key factor in the game but the ex-midfielder refuses to lay all the blame at that door.

Speaking about the long throw threat, Stewart told the Sportscene panel: “He (Gray) said his players were more than aware of it and were working on it. But whether Kwon was not involved in those set piece drills, I don’t know. But regardless of whether you're involved in that. It’s just ball watching and concentration.

“He’s literally drifting away from the danger area and creating a huge gap for Andy Halliday to run into. I mean credit to Halliday he gets into the space and finishes it.

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“But for Hibs to concede a goal like that is absolute amateur hour. It’s incredible. And as much as you want to blame Triantis because it was a silly second yellow card to pick up, that is unbelievable defending. It’s schoolboy stuff.”

Hibs are currently 10th in the Scottish Premiership table with just five points from seven matches heading into the international break. They return to action with an away trip to Dundee United on Saturday 19 October before playing host to a Hearts.

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