Calderwood delight after bit of a steal for Hibs

The Edinburgh outfit had found themselves on the back foot for most of the second half in Inverness and even survived Caley star Greg Tansey hitting the post in the last minute before O'Connor struck with virtually the last kick of the match.

It was his first goal since his shock return to the Capital and gave Hibs their first win in ten attempts at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium.

But while delighted to have seen that miserable run finally come to an end, Easter Road boss Calderwood revealed he had "felt" for Caley manager Terry Butcher and assistant Maurice Malpas, conceding he'd felt his side were a "spent force" in the final 20 minutes of the game.

However, Calderwood insisted it was vital Hibs did secure the three points following the disappointment of losing to Celtic on the opening day of the season.

He said: "We have done something we have not done before but we have won a watch in digging out a goal from a second half where Inverness came more and more in to it."

Calderwood, though, was adamant Hibs should have been ahead long before O'Connor claimed his 60th goal in a green and white shirt, pointing to the fact Caley goalkeeper Ryan Esson was named man-of-the-match for his early heroics.

He said: "In reality we deserved to be ahead and we could have had a more comfortable second half. There will be occasions when we play better but end up not taking the points. It did not look like we would score in the last 20 minutes. "It looked as if we were done and a spent force and really the instruction was to do things that were safe and simple."

Calderwood put that tough period down to "fatigue and inexperience" but claimed his players will benefit from having battled their way to victory.

He said: "They will grow because of success rather than failure. We had a lot of failure last season, what we were not able to do was get through a game by hook or by crook, to know how to grind it out but that's what we have done."

Also pleasing to Calderwood was the fact his side had enjoyed a clean sheet although they did survive a few scares, particularly that late Tansey effort. He said: "Whatever happened last week (against Celtic] I always felt we had to win to make it look like a good start.

"We have done it, we ground it out and we are thankful for what some may say is fortune but what I say is determination."