Hibernian

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• Hibs attempted 547 passes in this game, their highest total in a single match in the Scottish Premiership this season.

• Ross County have failed to score in 15 of their 28 games, more often than any other team in the Scottish Premiership this season.

• Hibs are undefeated in their last four games in the Scottish Premiership, their last longer unbeaten streak was from 28 October 2023 to 3 December 2023, a run of six games.

• Elie Youan has assisted four goals this season (one in this game), no Hibs player has more in the Scottish Premiership.

Were you at Easter Road or following the match from home? Either way, we want your views on the game – have your say here.

Hibernian manager Nick Montgomery: "We more than deserved three points. We made it a little bit hard for ourselves at times, we created a lot of opportunities and could have made it really comfortable.

"But fair play to Ross County, they put a lot of men behind the ball and it was difficult to break them down.

"Second half it was just about having a little bit more composure. After Myazine got the first goal we could have scored a few more and it was nice to score the second goal and get some minutes into boys legs who haven't played much the last week.

"It's been a massive effort from everybody, we set out to get nine points and should have got nine points. We got seven and I'm proud of the team.

"What you have to do is put the ball in the back of the net. That's let us down over the course of the season.

"There have been many games we've dominated but if you don't put your chances away you're always open to a sucker punch.

"We've had plenty of sucker punches this season for many different reasons.

"I thought today was a very professional performance."

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Thomas Duncan
BBC Sport Scotland

January recruits and getting players off the treatment table has helped Hibs turn around some bleak form in the last four games.

The quality of their attacking players, including Myazine Maolida and Emiliano Marcondes, is clear to see and Dylan Levitt's introduction at half-time helped Hibs get the ball forward with a bit more urgency.

The switch from a 4-4-2 to a 4-2-3-1 has made things a bit more solid out of possession, too, and a first clean sheet in the league since the 9 December will help build confidence in their defending.

Nick Montgomery's plea for his players to be more ruthless in the final third won't dim, though, as they got into some really good positions only to let themselves down with a poor final pass or cross.

Marcondes had an effort from the edge of the six-yard box saved, Vente dummied from a similar range when he should have shot, and Le Fondre also bulleted a good headed chance wide.

If they can be more clinical then a top-six berth is there for the taking.

Hibs boss Nick Montgomery sticks with the same XI which started the Edinburgh derby draw on Wednesday night.

It's the third game in a row that Hibs have gone for the same team.

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Hibernian midfielder Luke Amos is facing a couple of weeks out with a muscle injury sustained against Dundee last weekend.

Long-term absentees Josh Campbell and Jake Doyle-Hayes remain sidelined.

Ross County are set to have an unchanged squad, although midfielder Ross Callachan is stepping up his training programme following a long-term knee injury.

Will Nightingale, Connor Randall, Scott Allardice, Dylan Smith and captain Jack Baldwin also remain out.

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Nick Montgomery wants to see Hibernian build on promising performances to cement a place in the top half of the Premiership.

The Easter Road side, who host Ross County on Saturday, slipped down the table following a run of eight league games in a row without victory from early December.

However, Hibs are now unbeaten in their last four matches in all competitions and have collected five points from their last three games to close within a point of sixth-placed Dundee.

"We’ve been playing really well," said manager Montgomery. "The new boys we brought in are really starting to settle and getting the boys back from international duty has coincided with the last three or four games.

"I think we have had some real momentum. I think we should have had more points than we’ve got but that’s something we can’t change.

"What we can do is turn up at Easter Road tomorrow for another big game and put in a good performance.

"I genuinely believe we should be in the top six now if we hadn’t have had a couple of unfortunate things go against us in the last few weeks.

"But we are where we are and we’ve still got an opportunity to get there. The main target is to try and get three points in every game, and that won’t change. We know it’s in our own hands to get into the top six."

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We offered you the chance to submit questions to one of our Sportscene pundits.

Q: Would you get rid of VAR?

I don’t envisage Scotland making a drastic call about VAR while other nations still operate with it. We need to accept it’s here to stay.

Within football there has to be an element of human error, players make mistakes, but the fact we’ve seen a big increase in errors means there’s clear improvement required.

That goes beyond Scottish football, though, you see that all over the place. What we need to do here is continue to upskill the referees. Their performances need to improve and there needs to be more accountability.

These incorrect decisions are very costly for clubs. Recognising an error is okay, but you can’t be offering out apologies every week.

Hibernian welcome strugglers Ross County to Easter Road on Saturday as they continue their push for a top-six finish.

After Wednesday night's draw with Edinburgh rivals Heart of Midlothian, should Nick Montgomery change his starting line-up?

Put yourself in the manager's shoes and pick your XI here.

We offered you the chance to submit questions on your club to one of our Sportscene pundits.

Q: What do you make of Hibernian under Nick Montgomery?

It’s been a bit of a mixed bag for Hibs this season. The fact Nick Montgomery stuck with that bold 4-4-2 system for as long as he did was quite detrimental to how the fans view him.

He’s probably put himself under a little bit of unnecessary pressure. I expect any manager to have a philosophy, but Hibs need to deliver results and performances haven’t been quite there.

In the last couple of weeks he’s changed the system, it looks vastly improved and the new signings like Myziane Maolida and Emiliano Marcondes look real players.

Nathan Moriah-Welsh looks a solid addition in midfield, but there are still some questions defensively.

Results have gone against them in recent weeks. At this point they should probably be in the top six, but I expect them to get in the top half based on recent performances and push St Mirren in fifth.

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Nick Montgomery hailed the influence of Emiliano Marcondes and believes Hibs have started to look like "a proper team" in recent weeks.

Montgomery's side were unfortunate to only take a point away from Tynecastle on Wednesday, as Marcondes' opener was cancelled out by Lawrence Shankland's penalty.

Marcondes now has two goals in seven appearances since joining on loan from Bournemouth in January, and Montgomery says his ability is evident.

“Emi is a top-class player, he scored his goal and had another one cleared off the line in the first half,” the Hibs manager said.

“For someone who had not played for eight months, to speak to him and convince him to come here, to buy into what we’re doing, we can see the fans love him, the players love him – and he’s just a top, top player.

“He’s getting fitter every week in training and in games. He took a bit of knock in his first game at Kilmarnock, that set him back a bit. But you saw again against Hearts the quality that he brings.

“He’s also a guy who brings a calmness to the team. He really links up well with the front players. He’s been fantastic for us.

“Hopefully the fans come out in force and really get behind us for this last push, because I think they can see we’ve been building some good momentum in the last couple of weeks.

“The new guys are settling in and, since we got the boys back from international duty, I think you can see a proper team.”

Jonathan Sutherland is joined by Clyde manager Ian McCall and Queen’s Park forward Cillian Sheridan to discuss all the big Scottish football news.

They look back on a busy night of action in the Premiership after Celtic destroyed Dundee and Rangers earned a "massive three points" at Rugby Park.

They also discuss the Edinburgh derby and the growing pressure on Neil Warnock at Aberdeen.

And, as ever on a Thursday, they look ahead to what promises to be another nail-biting weekend in the Championship.

Listen to the episode in full here.

Hibs boss Nick Montgomery believes the performance at Hearts was "a sign of the team I have assembled with help in the window" and that momentum has been building for the past few weeks. (The Scotsman)

Read the rest of Thursday's gossip.

Were you at Tynecastle on Wednesday or following the match elsewhere?

Either way, we are giving you the chance to ask a Sportscene pundit about your team - send your question here.

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Hibernian boss Nick Montgomery: "I'm disappointed for our fans and the players. We deserved three points tonight, we didn't get them. We had three or four cleared off the line, one or two we should've scored.

"We had enough chances to win two games. I thought we were outstanding, we played some great football."

On the decision to award Hearts a penalty, Montgomery added: "I asked [the referee] at the end if they called him over because there's something they need him to look at and don't want him to make an error.

"I feel sorry for the fans and the players. We had an apology last week, maybe we'll get another one again. What it won't do is give us another two points back."