Terry Butcher hails Hibernian's new-found spirit

James Collins celebrates Hibs' late equaliser

Terry Butcher hailed the new found spirit within the Hibernian team after James Collins' late goal salvaged a point against Partick Thistle.

Butcher's home debut looked like ending in defeat as Hibs trailed to Kris Doolan's stunning solo effort.

However, the home side refused to give up and Collins found the net in the closing seconds.

"It feels like a victory in many respects," Butcher told BBC Scotland. "It's about spirit and togetherness."

Doolan's opener initially rattled the home side, and Ross Forbes could have made it 2-0 when he fired wide for Thistle.

But Hibs rallied and bombarded Scott Fox's goal late on, with Collins and substitute Jason Cummings both passing up opportunities from close range before they finally found the net two minutes into stoppage time.

"It's great spirit, determination and perseverance from the players," reflected Butcher. "They kept going, and I don't know how many crosses we put in the box and how many corners we had.

"If you keep going and keep going, and there's a belief there, sooner rather than later you'll get something from it."

Butcher admits there is still a lot of work to do, despite stretching Hibs unbeaten run to three games.

"We're disappointed how we conceded the goal, it's the first we've lost on our watch," he added.

"You can see why they've lost a few games here. You can see the confidence isn't great at home.

"They had a reasonably good first half. Then we conceded a goal and you can see the mood change in the players.

"We changed the shape of the team. The substitutes came on and did well - Jason Cummings could have scored with his first touch - what a substitution that would have been. It gave us a bit of length to the game and a bit of purpose.

"I'm very pleased with them at the end of the day. They put a lot of effort into it. Yes, we know the quality's not quite there, we know we've got to work on lots of things, but it's a three-match unbeaten run."