BY ALAN TEMPLE – @CCP_Sport
Hibernian head coach Neil Lennon has savaged his players for their profligacy and dire defending after watching his side crash out of the Betfred Cup against Queen of the South.
The capital club utterly dominated the opening period and claimed a deserved lead through Paul Hanlon, however Liam Fontaine and Grant Holt both passed up point-blank opportunities to kill the tie.
They paid the price for their wastefulness in the second period at the visitors produced an unlikely turnaround, with goals from the superb Stephen Dobbie – his first since returning to Queens for a second spell – Grant Anderson and Lyndon Dykes.
And Lennon was in no mood to pull punches after suffering his first domestic defeat in charge of the Hibees, insisting the reverse has planted plenty of questions regarding his squad.
Lennon said: “We have experienced players, they should know the game by now. Game management needs to be much better than that.
“Does it pose questions about a few players for me? Yes, it does. And we are trying to get people in.
“We missed simple chances and haven’t been ruthless enough. The game should have been out of sight – I can’t put the ball in the net for them!
“There is a sloppiness about us in the final third at times and I thought a few players who have been excellent so far were off the boil.
“I am annoyed with how we defended as well. We have to be more resolute than that. If it is not going to go for you at one end, then at least see the game out. I wasn’t happy with how my three central defenders played the last 25 minutes.”
Queens boss Gavin Skelton, meanwhile, hailed a magnificent comeback from his men – after acknowledging they were lucky to still be in the tie at the break.
He said: “The only good thing I can say about the first half is we were only one goal down.
“In truth, the Hibs goal probably helped us, we improved a lot in the second half – good character, good quality and good energy levels. This is a great night for the players and a great night for this club.”
