Jack Ross is determined to accentuate the positives from Hibernian’s 2-2 draw against Kilmarnock.
Ross saw his 100 per cent record as Hibees head coach screech to a dramatic halt as the capital club blew a two-goal advantage against Killie on Saturday.
Strikes from Christian Doidge and Jason Naismith either side of the interval appeared to have the hosts cruising to a fourth successive Premiership victory.
However, Alex Bruce halved arrears with 25 minutes left on the clock and, with nervousness apparent on and off the pitch at Easter Road, Killie levelled with the last kick of the game through Dario Del Fabro.
Ross’ immediate reaction was to rue an inability to do the ‘ugly’ side of the game.
However, with Wednesday’s clash against Ross County looming large, he was also keen to highlight a dominant opening hour from his charges as Hibs extended their unbeaten run in the league to nine matches.
Ross said: “A lot of time in football we forget the first part of games. It’s why players get man-of-the-match awards after doing well late on!
“So I don’t want to forget how good we were early on against a side that has had plaudits. The only criticism was we weren’t further ahead. We need to take positives from that.
“It’s about doing it for 90 minutes and, whether that’s about tempo or understanding, we will get to the bottom of it.”
Reflecting on Doidge’s sixth goal in four outings, Ross added: “Statistically over the years his goalscoring return has been good and it’s about encouraging him to keep faith with that.
“He’s in that goalscoring vein which is important for strikers.”
Del Fabro’s dramatic leveller opened the on-loan Italian’s account for the campaign and also ensured Killie remained above the Hibees in the standings.
The importance of the goal was underlined by the wild 94th-minute scenes, with a swathe of players running to the delirious travelling fans to celebrate the strike.
Those same supporters spent much of the second half chanting the name of Killie boss Angelo Alessio as he continues to win them over following a testing start to his tenure.
Alessio said: “I thank the fans because that support is important to the team. It is more for the team than me.
“The supporters believed – just like we did – that we could come back in the game.
“It’s a very vital result because we have a lot of games in a short period of time. Now it’s important for us to push and to continue to add other points to the board.”
