Dundee United manager Micky Mellon admits his side were rewarded for throwing caution to the wind as they picked up an unlikely point at Hibernian on Saturday.
The Tannadice outfit were outplayed for long spells at Easter Road and had goalkeeper Benjamin Siegrist to thank for pulling off a series of stunning saves after Kyle Magennis gave the hosts a 12th minute lead.
Mellon made offensive changes at the start of the second half by bringing on the likes of Luke Bolton, who grabbed an injury-time equaliser, Paul McMullan and Peter Pawlett.
And the former Tranmere boss was delighted those changes paid off as his team emerged with a share of the spoils.
He said: “I thought we played with the handbrake on in the first half.
“We said we had to come here, play on the front foot and be aggressive in certain areas.
“We knew Hibs would play out from the back but we were not as aggressive as we wanted, it was a bit of shadow boxing.
“We might have made a change at half time but wanted to let it roll and see if we could get more out of them.
“But we made the change, changed the shape to get pace in wide areas and get Marc McNulty nearer to Lawrence Shankland.
“We knew that would open us up a little bit to the pace of Hibs but it was a bit of risk and reward at times to try and force an equaliser and I’m pleased we were able to do that.
“The boys kept going, if I’m honest I think Hibs went for the line too fast and let us get into the game.”
Hibs head coach Jack Ross claimed after the game that it was “probably the angriest I have been with the players this season”.
However, the former Sunderland manager insists his anger was mirrored by his team.
Ross, whose side host St Mirren on Wednesday, added: “The players feel the same as me, they’re a brilliant group and I don’t have any issue with that.
“Their willingness to do what we ask of them is great.
“The last two minutes of the game colours what was a really good performance in the main.
“It’s just the nature of football, that little moment can change the mood very quickly.
“I don’t think we defended poorly in the main either.”
