HIBERNIAN and Neil Lennon are on their way back to Scottish football’s top flight and there is every chance Morton and Jim Duffy might get there as well.
On a night which will be remembered for the scenes at the end, what could be said about the game itself is that these two will finish first and second in the Championship.
With six league games remaining, the Easter Road men are possible two wins away from clinching the title after this point, and while Morton clearly have no intention to giving up on automatic promotion, even with a game in hand a ten point gap is going to be slightly less than impossible to bridge.
Hibs are where they should when resources and the squad size is taken into account. They are the best team in this division and have some fine players. But Lennon will know he needs maybe five or six more who can cope with what is a significant set-up.
As for Morton, they shouldn’t be close to the promotion places. Jim Duffy would be manager of the year in any other season. The job he has done down Greenock way borders on the miraculous.
Whoever which finishes second bottom of the Premiership and those around Morton right now would not fancy themselves in a two-legged play-off against Duffy’s excellent young side.
Before madness descended, there was intriguing if no classic.
John McGinn rattled the bottom of the Morton post with 45 seconds gone and that was the story of the night for Hibs.
They did have the better of things in the early exchanges, Jason Cummings went close a few times and then the home side were denied on 15 minutes when Morton keeper Derek Galston pulled off a superb save right on his line to keep out a Darren McGregor header.
Efe Ambrose, playing at right-back, was superb. There was a lovely moment midway thought the half when he dribbled, that’s dribbled, past a couple of Morton players whose only response was to foul him.
Morton were always a threat and on the half hour a Thomas O’Ware header at a corner was only an inch or so too high. O’Ware was the outstanding player on the pitch.
Lennon grew more frustrated on the sidelines when too many crosses from his team failed to beat or find a man.
So it was goalless at the break, the game had died down after an excellent opening 20 minutes, and it more of the same in the second 45.
Hibs showed more intent in the way of attacking, as you would expect, but there was only a coat of paint between the two sides in terms of ability.
The men in green and white were not making enough of their chances. Martin Boyle enjoyed some good space on the right but never could pick out a team-mate with a cross. On 56 minutes, Rikki Lamie fouled McGinn on the edge of the box. The free-kick was in a good position only for Cummings to send his shot a mile over.
Morton keeper Galston was a lucky man on the hour when he came out to collect a ball and seemed to be just outside his box when he caught it, at least to the naked eye. The natives were far from happy referee Nick Walsh didn’t see anything untoward.
Hibs substitute Brian Graham put a header past with 15 minutes to go; the look on his face said that he should have done better. That could have been said about his entire team.
The game was petering out and then then Morton substitute Kudus Oyenuga went in hard on Jordan Forster with a minute to go and it all kicked off.
Hibernian: Marciano, Ambrose, McGregor, Hanlon (Forster 86), Stevenson, Bartley, McGinn, Boyle, Keatings, Holt (Graham 65), Cummings (McGeough 86)
Substitutes not used: Laidlaw, McLean, Fyvie, Martin
Morton: Galson, Doyle, Oware, Lamie, Oliver (Shankland 89), Forbes Oyenuga 84), Russell, Lindsay, Nesbitt, Murdoch, Tidser
Substitutes not used: McGowan, Scullion, Donnelly, Tiffoney, Strapp
Referee: Nick Walsh
Attendance: 15,149
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