Carrying on their form from last season, Kilmarnock have now gone seven
games unbeaten at Rugby Park but there was little between the sides.
The visitors started brightly and
Colin Nish was guilty of missing a glaring
chance against his former club.
Fletcher pounced on a miss-hit pass-pack from Garry Hay to set up his strike partner but
the gangly forward trundled his shot from 10 yards straight at Combe.
Moments later, Combe made a fine diving save from Fletcher after the
Scotland international turned defender Simon Ford with a clever flick.
There were a lot of full-blooded challenges to keep the fans
entertained but Killie lost Ryan O'Leary to injury, after an ackward
challenge with the clumsy Colin Nish, while Hibs' summer
recruit Steven Thicot also had to be replaced before the interval.
In the 31st minute Killie's talented playmaker Taouil picked up a Jamie
Fowler pass, skipped past defender Chris Hogg and fired in a tremendous
right-footed drive from 30 yards, which Hibs keeper Andy McNeil did well
to tip over the bar.
Substitute Frazer Wright then saw his shot deflected wide after McNeil
flapped unconvincingly at a corner.
Kilmarnock finished the half strongly but just before the break Combe
was in good position to deal with a strike from Hibs substitute Ross
Chisholm.
Both sides continued to expend a lot of energy as the second half
opened at a whirlwind pace but there was a lack of composure in the final
third.
Hibernian's teenage full-back Paul Hanlon saw his long-range shot
whistle over the crossbar, while Nish inadvertently helped out his old
team by getting in the way of a goal-bound nod from Hogg.
Rob Jones had flicked on for his defensive colleague and when the ball
struck Nish, the Hibs skipper could only fire the loose ball into the
side-netting.
Kilmarnock midfielder Craig Bryson was given a round of applause for a
powerful shot that went too high but his well placed team-mates on the
edge of the penalty area didn't look too happy.
Combe made a fine save to keep out shot from Filipe Morais and Hay was
on hand to make a smart clearance before Fabian Yantorno could pounce.
Having used all their substitutes, Hibs were down to 10 men when David
van Zanten left the field with blood flooding from a facial injury.
Killie immediately sensed an advantage and visiting keeper McNeil
didn't know too much about Invicibile's shot, which struck him on the hip
and bounced away to safety.
Chisholm moved from his central midfield role to cover for right-back
van Zanten and the gap was exploited when Hamill struck soon after coming
off the bench.
Mixu Paatelainen probably didn't think he'd miscalculated badly when he
brought on Fabian Yantorno for Joe Keenan with 20 minutes left, but he was
wrong. Moments later David Van Zanten and Killie's Simon Ford were
involved in an ugly clash of heads that left the new Hibs midfielder with
blood gushing from a headwound.
With no subs left and 20 minutes remaining, Hibs, who had been profoundly
uninspired and seemed happy to settle for the point, were suddenly
vulnerable 
to
Killie's counter-attacks. Where Mehdi Taouli and David Fernandez had been
swamped for the entire match by the Hibs midfield, suddenly they sprang to
life as their 10-man opposition tried to counteract tiring legs and the loss
of a man. With 10 minutes to go, a Hibs attack broke down and the ball was
moved quickly to Taouli in acres of space. When eventually closed down he
slipped the ball to Fernandez on the right, who cut across goal, feinted
to shoot but instead laid the ball back to Jamie Hamill,
Ford's replacement. His first kick of the game was sublime, a low shot
that scudded into the bottom left corner. (above).
Sandy's Match Pic's are HERE
80
mins
