Raith Rovers 0-0 Hibernian

Neil Lennon was left frustrated at dropping league points for the fourth league game in a row

Hibernian moved top of the Championship despite a draw with Raith Rovers extending their winless run to five matches in all competitions.

Hibs were reduced to ten men in the first-half, Marvin Bartley seeing red after kicking out at Bobby Barr.

Chances were a rarity in a niggly affair that featured six yellow cards in addition to Bartley's red.

Despite dropping points yet again, Hibs go top after Queen of the South's thrashing by Morton.

These sides met seven times last season and it appeared that a few feuds had carried over as the first-half was punctuated by niggling challenges and numerous appeals from both sides to referee Steven Finnie.

Chances were sparse. Jean-Yves M'voto reacted quickly in the box to deny Grant Holt and Paul Hanlon hit the bar with a diving header from the resultant corner.

The talking point of the half came after 38 minutes when Hibs were clearing their lines, Raith conceded a free-kick but Bartley became involved with Barr and kicked out at the Raith player in front of the referee who showed no hesitation in showing a straight red card - Hibs third red in their last four league matches.

The half ended with more cards than serious goal chances - Holt, McManus and Thompson all saw in yellow in addition to Bartley's red.

Neil Lennon re-jigged the Hibs side after the red card, with an emphasis on the midfielders getting forward quickly to support Holt.

Ross Callachan was booked for simulation as he clearly dived seeking a penalty decision as Raith grew frustrated in trying to make their numerical superiority count.

Hibs were not prepared to sit back and play for a point. More than once they sent low crosses across the box but could not find the finishing touch.

An afternoon that neither manager will view with great fondness, the sense of frustration on the park bled over to the technical area with Gary Locke hoping for more from his side, while Lennon earned a quiet word from referee Finnie.

It was a strong performance from Hibs after going down to 10 men and they were not prepared to sit back and play for a point. The Easter Road side were also frustrated by a two penalty claims that the referee waved away.

Reaction

Raith Rovers manager Gary Locke: "There were a lot of tackles going and a lot of stop-start play, it is hard to get momentum in a game when there are so many fouls.

"The sending-off changed the game and I thought Hibs sat back but were dangerous on the break.

"If we'd just shown a wee bit composure in the final third I thought we could have caused Hibs a lot of problems, which I thought we did early in the game but in the second-half our quality wasn't what it should be."

Hibernian manager Neil Lennon: "The referee's performance was frustrating but my team were outstanding. That is the best we have played and was totally the opposite to where we were last week.

"We were on the front foot second-half and our fitness levels were fantastic. It was frustrating not to win the game but we've gone top of the league and that is a big boost for us.

"I'm pretty sure once the referee looks at the red card he will realise he's made a mistake.

"What I saw was Marvin (Bartley) was fouled then a stramash and Marvin gets a red card. Marvin told me it was for retaliation and referee said he stood on the kid's groin.

"I've looked at it from three or four different angles and it was a trip and was nowhere near his groin. I will speak to the referee about it and both the penalties that we were denied."