Hibs reaction: Nisbet v Shankland for Scotland, Easter Road adulation for Dundee United player, what the form table says

We pick out three talking points from the 2-2 draw between Hibs and Dundee United at Easter Road in the cinch Premiership ...

Nisbet or Shankland for Scotland - or both?

Much of the talk this season has surrounded a possible Scotland recall for Hearts striker Lawrence Shakland, but now Kevin Nisbet is blasting himself into the equation with his double against Dundee United continuing his stunning scoring streak since returning to the Hibs side after the World Cup break. Across the city at Tynecastle, Shankland has banged in an impressive 18 goals in 30 matches across all competitions, while Nisbet has now hit seven in six top flight appearances since recovering from the ACL injury that kept him out for most of 2022. Nisbet's brace on Saturday – coming hot on the heels of the hat-trick scored at Motherwell the previous week – was particularly impressive in that he manufactured both goals for himself and almost single-handedly rescued a point for his side. The form of both players will not have gone unnoticed by Scotland boss Steve Clarke, who has already capped both, but never included them in the same squad at the same time. Could that change when the Euro 2024 qualifiers come around in March? With the places of Che Adams and Lyndon Dykes set in stone, that leaves one, perhaps two slots for another centre-forward in the squad. The Edinburgh rivals also have competition from the English Championship in the shape of Sunderland striker Ross Stewart, who has scored 10 goals in 13 appearances this season either side of a three-and-a-half month injury lay-off. All three have a genuine case for inclusion, but on current form, Nisbet is arguably the one knocking loudest.

A hero's welcome

Dundee United striker Steven Fletcher leaves the pitch after being given a round of applause by Hibs supporters. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

Safe to say Hibs fans were not in the best mood on Saturday as their team toiled to break down Dundee United. The atmosphere was as miserable as the weather as full-time approached, but amidst all the angst, the home support took a moment to applaud a former hero of theirs in the opposition ranks as he was substituted in the 83rd minute. United striker Steven Fletcher was making his first competitive appearance at Easter Road (he played in Ian Murray's testimonial) since departing in a £3million move to Burnley in 2009 having scored 43 goals in 160 appearances for the club, including a double in the 5-1 win over Kilmarnock in the CIS Insurance Cup final in 2007. Fletcher reciprocated the applause as he made his way off the park, and he will have certainly appreciated the gesture given his comments before the match. "Hopefully I get a nice welcome – I absolutely loved my time at Hibs. They are the club that gave me the chance to have this life; to go on and enjoy the career I’ve had."

Form table

The current cinch Premiership form table makes pretty good reading for Dundee United. It shows that only the top three sides in the division have managed a better record than the eight points, +1 goal difference accumulated by Liam Fox's men over the last six games. Two wins, two draws and two defeats across that sequence has allowed the Tangerines to lift themselves off the bottom of the table into tenth place. They are still not fully out of the mess that their dreadful start to the season got them into, but they certainly appear to be heading in the right direction under the guidance of Fox after coming so close to taking what would have been a deserved three points from Easter Road. Hibs’ form guide shows some improvement since the World Cup break – but not enough to give Lee Johnson's side a fighting chance of challenging Hearts. Hibs were rock bottom of the form table when the league shut down in early November having collected just three points from their previous 21 available. In the six matches since returning from the break, they have accumulated seven points – a better return – but just half of the total garnered by Hearts over the same period of time. Like it or not, that is the barometer for success at Hibs and it is not being reached.