Talking points from Dundee United 2, Hibs 1 - Hanlon missed, European hopes, below-par Youan, Cadden v Miller

Hibs fell to a fourth straight defeat at Tannadice on Sunday as Jamie McGrath’s late penalty secured a vital three points for Dundee United, after Mykola Kukharevych had cancelled out Steven Fletcher’s opener.

Lee Johnson rang the changes from the disappointing home defeat by Motherwell, with Élie Youan returning from suspension in place of Matthew Hoppe; Harry McKirdy replacing Jake Doyle-Hayes; Marijan Čabraja preferred over Lewis Stevenson, who was carrying a slight knock, and Joe Newell returning to the starting XI with Paul Hanlon dropping out of the squad altogether through injury. Steven Fletcher scored an early opener that was cancelled out by Mykola Kukharevych’s strike, before Jamie McGrath’s late penalty kept the points in Dundee.

Lacking defensive nous

The absence of Hanlon robbed Hibs of an experienced centre-back, and Stevenson only being fit enough for the bench meant it was a somewhat inexperienced backline in terms of Scottish football experience. CJ Egan-Riley hasn’t played much at centre-half and Hanlon’s influence on Will Fish has been clear to see. The total switch-off for the opener was alarming as Aziz Behich found Fletcher, who had the fairly simple task of picking his spot and beating David Marshall. At the other end, Charlie Mulgrew wasn’t giving the Hibs forwards an inch until he misjudged Čabraja’s cross for Kukharevych to equalise, but Fish was certainly naive when fouling Fletcher for the penalty. The game wasn’t quite a tale of two experienced centre-backs, but wasn’t far off.

Hibs' Joe Newell challenges Craig Sibbald of Dundee United for the ball

Youan

Hibs missed Youan against Motherwell but he struggled to have the same impact as in previous matches. He has been virtually unplayable in some encounters but wanted too long on the ball or tried to beat one more man than was necessary. Hibs don’t really tick unless he’s at the races and he should have done much, much better with his one-on-one chance at the death.

The big fear is that he has lost some confidence after his red card against Celtic and below-par performance at Tannadice and he needs to rediscover that swagger he so often plays with ahead of next week, because Hibs often don’t tick unless he is on song.

European hopes

Will Fish fouls Steven Fletcher for the penalty award

Hibs go into the derby having lost four games on the bounce. Qualifying for Europe is looking a bigger ask with each passing week. Johnson described the derby and the final pre-split trip to Perth to face St Johnstone as ‘cup finals’. With Motherwell resurgent under Stuart Kettlewell and four points behind, and St Mirren four points clear of Hibs in fifth, the Easter Road side are looking up and down. Six points in the final two matches before the split are a must if they are to take one of the coveted European spots. But time is running out.

Cadden v Miller

Lewis Miller hasn’t had a start since the 3-1 defeat by Celtic at Parkhead, in which he came in for Chris Cadden and kept Jota relatively quiet. Speaking afterwards Johnson explained it was a tactical decision, with the Australian full-back more defensively-minded than Cadden. Aziz Behich scored against Hibs here in October and he got a lot of joy down the Hibs right-hand side again at Tannadice, notching an assist, and perhaps Miller might have been a better option to deal with his compatriot.