Otso Virtanen plays 90 minutes as Hibs kids triumph

Adam Watson and Oli Shaw both scored first-half goals as Hibs, who also saw attacker Dan Carmichael play the whole match, made it back-to-back victories on the road following their 5-3 win at Partick Thistle a fortnight ago.

Hibs began strongly and became the dominant team, passing the ball well and exploiting gaps in the Dundee defence.

They took the lead on 15 minutes when a deep cross looked to be drifting out of play before Aaron Dunsmore kept it alive and found Watson. The midfielder cut inside and unleashed a stunning left-footed drive into the far corner. Shortly before the half-hour mark, Dundee squandered a golden opportunity to level the scores when a ricochet fell to Ryan Gemmell just yards out but he dragged his effort wide.

The hosts would be made to rue this miss just minutes later when the visitors doubled their lead. Shaw picked up on a loose pass midway inside the Dundee half, drove towards the last defender and coolly slotted his shot into the bottom right-hand corner.

Midway through the second half, Dundee’s uphill task was made even tougher when they were reduced to ten men. Shaw was fouled by last man, Kerr Waddell, resulting in a penalty taken by the Hibs No.9, but his spot-kick was saved by goalkeeper Gourlay.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, it was Dundee who were putting the pressure on during the last quarter of the match. The home side found a route back into the game on 73 minutes when Jesse Curran’s corner was flicked on to Craig Wighton, whose volley found the back of the net.

Despite the victory, Hibs coach Joe McBride was far from content with his team’s performance.

“The only real positive I can take is the result. We hit too many long balls and were a bit panicky, with no real rhythm to our play. We’ve scored two, hit the bar, missed a penalty – but I’ve seen us play a lot better.”

Hibs: Virtanen; Dunsmore, McGregor, Waugh, Crane; Watson, Smith (Scott 68), Breen, Sinclair (Murray 60); Carmichael; Shaw.