Hibernian 1 Partick 1

Last updated : 26 December 2002 By Footymad Previewer

Ten-man Hibs had to rely on a late penalty to salvage a point against Partick Thistle at Easter Road.

Captain John O'Neil kept his cool to send Kenny Arthur the wrong way with an 88th-minute spot-kick after Daniele Chiarini had pulled down Derek Townsley.

Until then, it looked as if Partick would nab an unlikely win after a goal from Alex Burns ten minutes earlier after an incident that saw home goalkeeper Nick Colgan sent off.

The torrential rain hardly helped the game as a spectacle with both teams struggling to put together any cohesive play.

Paco Luna sent a looping header harmlessly over the crossbar early on and Mixu Paatelainen sent another header past in a tame first half.

Partick did not manage to get a single shot on target in the first 45 minutes and the most serious effort was a 23rd-minute shot from Gerry Britton after hesitation in the home defence but Colgan was untroubled.

Craig James tested Arthur with a stinging shot from the left shortly afterwards but the goalkeeper was well positioned to hold the ball.

Hibs stepped up a gear towards half-time and Arthur failed to hold a 20-yard shot from O'Neil but Partick managed to scramble the loose ball to safety.

Hibs had another opportunity four minutes after the break but the final shot from James was easily gathered by Arthur.

Yannick Zambernardi was next to try his luck when he pounced on a loose clearance but his long-range effort slipped narrowly wide.

Hibs promised much with their build-up play but too often the final delivery into the area was poor and Partick were rarely seriously troubled.

Ian Murray had more time than he realised in the 72nd minute when substitute Townsley rolled the ball into his path but his final shot was poor.

But Partick had a gilt-edged chance when Burns put through Martin Hardie, but Colgan was off his line quickly to save.

Colgan was then guilty of gifting Partick a goal when he miscontrolled a passback and was dispossessed by Burns.

The goalkeeper then pulled down the striker and was shown the red card before Burns slotted in the free-kick from 22 yards.

But O'Neil rescued the game for Hibs with his late penalty.