Partick Thistle 0 - 1 Hibs: Barton own goal sends Hibs third

Neil Lennon's on-pitch pep-talk fired-up Hibernian to claim a 1-0 win over Partick Thistle at the Energy Check Stadium.

Partick Thistle's Adam Barton heads into his own net. Picture: SNS/Gary Hutchison

With his side struggling, Lennon gathered his men on the Firhill turf seconds before the second half got under way.

And his message had the desired effect as the Leith outfit battled to a victory which sees them move back above Rangers into third place.

Adam Barton own goal’s own goal proved the difference, with the defeat giving the Jags faithful more cause for concern as they dropped four points adrift at the bottom.

Anthony Stokes was back in Lennon’s line-up after being forgiven for last month’s training ground bust-up with the manager.

And the Irishman had the first shot on target after 17 minutes with a weak free-kick which barely troubled Jags keeper Tomas Cerny.

Thistle’s Blair Spittal had a chance from similar range moments later and he at least forced Ofir Marciano to move his feet, with the Hibs stopper scrambling down to his left to push away.

Spittal was involved again in the 22nd minute as he exchanged passes with Chris Erskine, sending the Firhill playmaker through on goal as the visitors’ defence opened up.

But Erskine’s drive was straight at Marciano who did well to palm the rebound away from danger.

Hibs were struggling for creativity and there was a look of desperation about Simon Murray as he went down in the box after running into Danny Devine just before half-time. Referee Craig Thomson rightly gave the striker’s tumble the sneer it deserved.

But Lennon made sure his players were more up for the fight as he huddled them together outside the centre circle for one last rally cry just before the second period got under way.

And it had the desired effect as the Easter Road side grabbed the winner inside three minutes of the restart, although there was more than a bit of luck involved.

Lewis Stevenson’s flighted ball from deep missed his team-mates but Barton’s attempt to head the ball out for a corner back-fired as it bounced the wrong side of the post with Cerny’s feet planted.

The hosts looked to respond and threw on Kris Doolan just before the hour mark. But Marciano was again well-placed to stop his close-range effort.

Spittal then fired over as Partick continued to press but Stokes should have given Hibs breathing space when he went round Cerny, only to find himself squeezed out.