Terry Butcher calm despite Hibs losing two late goals

Terry Butcher refused to criticise his players after two late Dundee United goals prevented Hibernian making it 13 points from 15 over the festive period.

The Hibs boss said after the 2-2 draw at Tannadice: "We've come to a team that are five points ahead of us.

"They've had a wonderful season yet we have more than matched them so it just shows you how far we've come.

"You could see tired legs out there and you have to give Dundee United credit. They got two goals for their efforts."

Easter Road skipper Liam Craig seized on a defensive error to put Hibs in front and scored from the penalty spot after the break.

But substitutes David Goodwillie and Brian Graham scored in the 83rd and 90th minute respectively to earn the home side a point and stop a run of three consecutive defeats.

Butcher added: "For 70-75 minutes I thought we dominated the game. We were by far the team that was going to get the next goal at 2-0 up, but we just couldn't quite get that third goal.

"They made some substitutions, pushed men forward and went for it.

"We failed to deal with a couple of long balls and a couple of crosses and we paid the price by not getting all three points.

"We are disappointed but we are still making steps forward and we are still progressing our unbeaten run.

"We made ground on St Johnstone, edged away from them a little bit, so it's not all doom and gloom.

"The players' heads are down but I said 'look, it's part of our experience and we can feel proud of the way we played'.

"To concede two goals in the manner we did is most unlike us and a wake-up call to work even harder in the last 20 minutes."

Hibs arrived on Tayside on a high after their thrilling derby win over Hearts on Thursday evening, while United were looking to hit back after their 2-1 home defeat by Aberdeen on New Year's Day.

"Dundee United had 24 hours' extra recovery than we had after the Edinburgh derby," said Butcher.

"I was always worried about today's game because after a derby win sometimes you don't do well in the next game.

"But I was pleased with the way we played and we looked tight."