Shaun Maloney encouraged by Hibs fightback in draw with Dundee United

Shaun Maloney took enough positives from Hibernian’s 1-1 draw with Dundee United to believe they can go to Tynecastle next weekend and secure a top-six place.

The Easter Road side slipped from fifth to sixth in the cinch Premiership after being held by the Tannadice side.

They now have four teams immediately below them in the league who can leapfrog them and force them into the bottom six if they lose to Hearts in their final match before the split.

Maloney feels his team showed enough intent, particularly in the second half, to be able to get a result against their high-flying city rivals.

“We have to think if we win, we guarantee top six; after that (if we don’t) anything can happen,” said the Hibs manager.

“We’ll look forward to next week. What gives me comfort is the way we played, considering going down 1-0 after 10 minutes.

“We could have gone the other way and panicked, but actually we played very well. We gave them zero opportunities up to the last five minutes when it became a bit chaotic.

“When we perform like we did in the second half, I think we can cause any team trouble.

“But saying that, still in that final third we have to be more creative and dangerous.”

There was a sense of deflation around Easter Road after Hibs failed to get the victory that would have taken the pressure ahead of their trip across Edinburgh next weekend.

“I’m really disappointed with the result, but on the other side the performance was really good,” said Maloney.

“At this time of the season, the result will dictate how the players and the supporters feel. But I was pleased with the performance and the difference between talking about a draw and a win is very fine margins.”

One of those marginal moments came in the closings stages when Hibs attacker Chris Mueller went down under a challenge from United substitute Matthew Cudjoe in the box and was booked for diving.

“I think there was contact,” said Maloney. “From what I have seen it was maybe the wrong decision. Look, these things happen.

“I don’t want to constantly talk about them. But, yeah, that one could have gone slightly differently. These things seem to be happening at the moment but we’ll move on quickly.”

The draw leaves fourth-place United three points clear of seventh-place Ross County and all but assured of a top-six spot.

Manager Tam Courts was satisfied with the outcome.

“I think it probably is a good point,” he said.

“If we played in the second half the way we did in the first half we probably would have had a better chance of three points but unfortunately in the second half we couldn’t get any rhythm.

“Hibs will probably be disappointed because in the second half they had the game’s best chances. A draw from our perspective is a positive one.”