Lee Johnson admits his side lost their steam at Ibrox despite an incredible first-half display against Rangers.
It was an all-guns blazing approach from the Hibs boss as the Edinburgh outfit strolled in to Glasgow and looked to spoil Michael Beale's homecoming party. First to stun the Light Blues was a header from Ryan Porteous, who ran to the delighted Hibees away end, cupping his ear and sending a strong message after backlash over his contract rejection. Returning Kevin Nisbet also sent a bullet in to the Rangers net in the first 45.
But it was not meant to be for Johnson and co as a second-half turnaround saw Rangers seal all three points, ultimately resigning the Leith outfit to no wins in their last four league outings. But the English boss believes he can take the positives from their performance and wants the first half showing to be the benchmark for the rest of the season.
He said: “We faded a little bit physically, that was natural with the guys we had out on the pitch and our clearances became less solid, less assured.
“We have to focus on the positives, we have some good players coming back to fitness and we had some good players perform very well for that 45-50 minutes and in the first half who I thought we were outstanding. We were unlucky not to go 3-1 up when Elie Youan had the strike. So, it was disappointing but also encouraging in terms of giving us a performance to build on.
“When we get good players 90-minute fit, we will be a force to be reckoned with in the division.”
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