Hibs 2-1 Motherwell: Hibs show steel in home victory

Riordan missed the midweek 3-0 win over Rangers due to suspension, having been red-carded in the dying minutes of the defeat to Hearts last weekend, but was back in the starting line-up against Motherwell at the expense of David Wotherspoon.

And the striker proved his worth to the side in the best way possible, hitting the back of the net to level Nick Blackman's early penalty opener and then slotting home another before the first half hour had gone.

Calderwood was delighted with the hitman's contribution and said: "He is a real goal threat, as always, and I thought he was very unlucky not to get his hat-trick towards the end.

"He produced one of the moments of the game in the second half and if it had gone in would have sealed the game for us, or at least made us less nervous."

Calderwood chose not to hand Riordan the captaincy though, opting instead to again give Ian Murray the armband he had worn in the midweek win over Rangers at Ibrox.

The Hibs boss once again insisted that he has not decided on a long-term captain for the club and stressed that Riordan's dismissal against Hearts has now been put well and truly behind him: "Whatever happens in your life or career, it's the response that you make that is more important than the action because that has been and gone.

"Ian Murray's display on Wednesday night, along with the fact that, like Derek, he is very much a Hibs boy, I think it was obvious to keep him in there with the armband."

The first half was hugely entertaining as Calderwood not only got two consecutive wins as Hibs manager but also recorded his first at home.

However the second proved to be a bad-tempered affair with referee Dougie McDonald showing a total of seven yellow cards after the break.

The two dug-outs clashed as the half-time whistle was blown and then at the final whistle Stephen Craig raced across to have his say with Calderwood.

However Calderwood was diplomatic at the end of the match and said of his discussion with the Motherwell skipper: "We had a bit of a chat at the end, I didn't really get the gist of it, but I am sure that I will catch up with him and get to the bottom of it.

"That's normal, we have got a right to express what we think, it was just dialogue between the two of us."

The visitors were awarded their spot kick after just nine minutes when Jamie Murphy was pulled back almost on the by-line by Michael Hart.

Nick Blackman had been the goal hero in midweek for The Steelmen and he stepped up again to stroke an unstoppable effort beyond Mark Brown from 12 yards. However Hibs showed a real fighting spirit throughout the 90 minutes and it did not take them long to respond to going a goal behind.

They levelled just four minutes later when Edwin de Graaf did well to win back possession just outside the box and stab the ball to John Rankin. It looked like the little midfielder wanted to have a go himself but instead left it for Riordan, who finished well despite the effort not having much power behind it and Darren Randolph may be disappointed not to have done better.

Randolph was called upon shortly after and this time did better, blocking a decent volley from De Graaf and then breathing a sigh of relief when Riordan could only fire over the bar after the Dutchman had managed to stab the loose ball back into the path of his team-mate.

The home side did get a second though just before the half hour and again it was Riordan who finished it off, the striker making the most of a mistake from Craigan in the Motherwell defence to race through on goal before slotting low into the net beyond Randolph for the second time in the game.

Motherwell should have hit back immediately when they went straight up the park and Chris Humphrey sent a brilliant ball tight across the face of goal to the back post, only for former Hibs player Alan Gow to somehow head wide when it looked easier to score.

Hibs were forced to change things around with 66 minutes on the clock, Paul Hanlon coming on after Francis Dickoh suffered a sickening head knock with Gow, the defender being stretchered straight off the pitch and taken to hospital for an X-Ray on his cheek after several minutes of treatment as he lay flat out on the pitch.

Riordan could have finished it off in spectacular style with two minutes remaining when, with his back to goal, he hooked the ball over his shoulder and it looked a goal all the way until Randolph somehow got his hand to the stunning effort to tip it over the bar.

Then it was Grounds' turn to have a go, the Englishman curling a cracking left-foot effort goalward but the ball went just wide of the Motherwell keeper's right-hand post.

In the dying seconds of injury time Motherwell's Mark Reynolds avoided a red card after tussling with Valdas Trakys just in front of the home dug-out, McDonald opting instead to show both players a yellow.

Motherwell manager Craig Brown thought his side deserved to take at least a share of the spoils, having thrown everything that they had at the Easter Road outfit in the second half. The former Scotland boss said: "We conceded soft goals, the second one in particular.

For the rest of the match, I am quite convinced that we were the better side and deserved to get three points."

Steven Saunders did have the ball in the net for a Motherwell leveller in the second half, only for McDonald to rule the chance out for offside.

It looked suspiciously like he might have got that decision wrong and Brown agreed, but insisted that the Steelmen could not have any room for complaint with the whistler's performance. It was McDonald's first appearance at an SPL match since the Tannadice affair last month and Brown added: "We got one in the back of the net but it was disallowed. I think Dougie McDonald is an honest referee and is his colleagues are too, so you have got to accept their decisions."