Calderwood tries to stay positive after drab draw

Hibernian manager Colin Calderwood praised his team’s work ethic but admitted their goalless draw against Aberdeen fell well short on entertainment value.

Hibs stayed bottom of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League after struggling for invention in the final third against the Dons, who have now failed to score in six of their seven SPL games.

Hibs edged the first half but Garry O’Connor did not make the most of two chances and Richard Foster twice came close for the visitors. Martin Scott drew a good save from David Gonzalez with a long-range volley but then missed a good chance following a cross from substitute Leigh Griffiths and Aberdeen finished on top with Paul Hanlon clearing Peter Pawlett’s shot off the line.

Calderwood said: “There wasn’t enough quality from us but we probably had more shots on target and off target. But that’s not enough, there was nothing clear cut. There was one big opportunity off one cross from Leigh Griffiths when he first came on. Have we earned the victory? No we haven’t, but we certainly dug in and earned a point.”

Calderwood, who was booed by a section of the unhappy home crowd after the match, added: “Both defences played well. The full-backs on both sides were excellent in terms of how they defended and that made it difficult. Credit to our back four, they held their line well and a lot of their attacks broke down for offside. But certainly in the second half the level of play with the ball was not where we want to be.

“It’s a point – they have really grafted for it. They kept going. There is definitely more to come from them and you could see little pockets of what they were good at, but you wouldn’t watch the video again.”