Hibernian boss David Gray admitted it felt like two points dropped in their battle for third place in the William Hill Premiership after conceding a last-minute equaliser at Kilmarnock.
However, he also pointed out that it could also turn out to be a “massive’ point gained come the end of the season.
Hibs took the lead through Martin Boyle’s breakaway goal and the Edinburgh side dominated the game against a disappointing Killie.
But just as it looked like they were heading for a precious three points, Fraser Murray prodded home Joe Wright’s knock-down as Killie salvaged a 1-1 draw at Rugby Park.
Despite the late setback, Gray was full of praise for his side who are still unbeaten in the league since early December and a point clear of fourth-placed Aberdeen.
He said: “I think it probably feels like two points dropped because of the level of performance and how I felt the game went. I thought we had the best chances in the game in terms of away performance, dominated the ball at times, showed real bravery on the ball and control.
“But when it’s only 1-0, you always run the risk of being pegged back.
“Kilmarnock are a team that are always going to force you to defend and have moments in the game. Up until the last bit there, I thought we dealt with that really well. But obviously it feels a bit sore at the minute because of the fact you lose the goal so late.
“Hopefully it’s a point closer to where we need to be. It could be a massive point between now and the end of the season because it’s a difficult place to come down here.
“I can’t fault the players’ application, their effort, what I’m asking them to do within the game.”
Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes admitted his side were fortunate to come away with a point after a poor performance saw their slim top-six hopes all but ended.
Despite not playing for two weeks, Kilmarnock struggled to create any clear-cut openings prior to Murray’s late intervention as they remain in 10th place.
McInnes said: “It’s testament to the players that they keep going and they keep having that resilience.
“We huffed and puffed at times and a lot of our work wasn’t convincing today. The goal we lost epitomised the way we were in the first half. I thought we were disjointed.
“We deserved something against Aberdeen at Pittodrie a few weeks ago and we lost the game. We deserved something at Ross County but I think it would be hard to say that today.
“You always deserve it because you keep going but Hibs were the better team today. They’re in a good place just now so it’s no disgrace but they took advantage of some of our uncertainty,
“When we wake up in the cold light of day tomorrow morning it’s a good point considering the opponent and considering we never really had the confidence and assurance we normally have.
“Normally when we play at home we’ve got a bit more control and we never really looked in charge at all.”
