Hibs' point against blunt Rangers may not please the extremists as one player serves up curate's egg

On the subject of what might be the best outcome from the afternoon’s game, bearing in mind what had happened at Tannadice the previous evening, one Hibs fan suggested throwing everything they had at Rangers before losing to a last-minute winner might tick all boxes.

It would mean having given the Ibrox side something think about, which Hibs have failed to do recently, but crucially it would also result in Hearts’ lead at the top being cut. It was a glimpse into the mindset of the uber and some would say bitterest fan. They hate the thought of rivals being successful to the extent of being prepared to sacrifice gains for their own team.

So whether the goalless draw represented a pleasing conclusion for our friend, it’s difficult to say. Not every Hibs supporter will hold such extreme views. If anyone was going to grab a last-minute winner, it deserved to be the hosts. But the point seemed gladly enough accepted by the home fans even if it did result in some sunshine on Gorgie as well as Leith.

Like on so many occasions this season, Rangers looked blunt. New signing Andreas Skov Olsen will clearly need time to get up to speed but to say he’s shown glimpses of what he can do in two outings so far would be stretching it. Mikey Moore looked livelier when he came on in the second half and was denied a goal by a tight offside call with 15 minutes left.

This share of the spoils kept Hibs in the European frame and stemmed a run of two successive defeats. The Easter Road side certainly gave their all and created the best openings. This was far from those insipid displays against Rangers that have been so characteristic of recent meetings between the teams. But they came up short in the goals department. It was impossible to fail to draw some sort of correlation between this and the sale of their star striker Kieron Bowie to Hellas Verona. That said, Bowie played last weekend against Falkirk and Hibs lost 4-1.

This was a whole lot better and their players, including three new signings, were all warmly applauded off at the end. The hosts finished with a front two of 19-year-old Owen Elding, brought in last week from Sligo Rovers, and Dane Scarlett, a 21-year-old on loan from Spurs. Another substitute Rudi Molotnikov, who is still only 19 despite it feeling like he has been around forever at Hibs, was patrolling the area just behind them.

There was definitely an uneasiness in the air at Easter Road before the match. Of course, some of this will have been triggered by the sale of their first-choice striker just 48 hours earlier. Few were grumbling about the sum Hibs will receive for Bowie but it does leave Hibs a little light up front. The likes of Elding will have to step up quickly. A couple of half chances fell the young Irishman’s way, with the best of them coming with five minutes left after the ball broke to him following a barrelling run from Scarlett. Understandably, Elding looked a little too eager and rushed his shot which Jack Butland saved without too much exertion.

The Rangers ‘keeper needed to have a bit more about him to block Martin Boyle’s effort when the forward was one-on-one with him following a slip from the otherwise excellent Manny Fernandez in the first half.

Miguel Chaiwa cannot catch a break since arriving at Hibs. If it’s not a hamstring strain, which kept him out towards the end of last year, it’s having the ball booted in his face in the opening moments on the edge of the Rangers box. He played on groggily for a few minutes before being replaced by Andrews, who showed up well once he had found the pace of the game.

Elie Youan came in for Bowie and produced his usual curate’s egg of a performance. So much was good and so much was also bad, or at least wasteful. He ought to have scored with a first-half header but could not get a true enough connection on Jordan Obita’s terrific ball in from the left. Youan was less culpable for failing to take another chance earlier in the half after good feet from Andrews offered up a shooting chance on the edge of the six-yard box, though at an angle. Youan did nearly everything right but saw Butland pull off a fine save.

Youan was replaced by Scarlett with 20 minutes left. He left to loud applause and what seemed like an encouraging word in his ear from manager David Gray. Things tend to happen when Youan is around. It’s just having to accept the inevitable frustrations.