McIntyre hails fightback after claiming point against Hibs

Posted Sunday, November 25, 2018 by PA

Dundee manager Jim McIntyre hailed his side’s comeback at Easter Road after claiming a 2-2 draw against Hibernian.

The Dee found themselves two goals down after half an hour, with an own goal from Genseric Kusunga, followed by a Ryan Porteous header.

Kenny Miller pulled a goal back before half-time, with his second in as many games, before Paul McGowan levelled the scoreline shortly after the restart.

McIntyre felt his side could have left with more than just a draw if they had been more clinical:

“I thought we obviously got off to the worst start, it was a terrible start. But I thought the reaction between that and the second goal was excellent,” he said. “I thought we passed the ball well and got in to dangerous areas.”

“Kenny (Miller) was unfortunate not to score, it was a brilliant save from Bogdan, and then we lose the second goal. After that we disappeared for a bit and looked fragile. But we managed to get that all-important goal, to get a bit of belief back

I saw plenty heart when we went behind against St Mirren but coming to Easter Road is a different kettle of fish.

“We had to make blocks, our goalkeeper had to make saves, that’s what happens when you play against top sides. But equally I thought we were very threatening ourselves.

“Maybe with just a bit better care in the last-third of the pitch I think we could have been in again.”

Hibs head coach Neil Lennon felt that the game should have been settled by half-time. Jamie MacLaren, Martin Boyle and Mark Milligan all came close to scoring a third goal before the interval.

He said: “It’s symptomatic of the spell we’re going through at the minute, where we don’t put teams away.

“We’ve actually gained a place today, to close the gap a little bit on the teams around us, but it feels like two points dropped.

“They made us change our shape 10 minutes in to the second-half because we were abject, feeling sorry for ourselves, lacking character.

“It’s frustrating but it’s part of football and we need to get back to being strong mentally, because that’s what we were good at for a long period of time.”

Lennon also expressed his frustration after summer signing Thomas Agyepong came off injured, making his return from a previous lay-off.

“He’s having a terrible time with injuries,” Lennon added. “We hope it’s not his hamstring, it didn’t look like his hamstring.

“It’s frustrating because we brought him in to play, and we’re not getting anything out of him at the minute.”