Dundee 2-2 Hibernian: Late McGowan header earns hosts point in entertaining draw

Hibernian moved to the top of the Scottish Premiership despite Paul McGowan's late header earning Dundee a point in a pulsating draw.

Ex-Hibs striker Jason Cummings gave the hosts an early lead, but Martin Boyle equalised from the spot to level the game at the break.

Ryan Porteous' finish turned the game around just before the hour, yet substitute McGowan popped up in the box to nod home and secure a deserved draw.

The stalemate moves Dundee to ninth.

Victory for either Hearts or Aberdeen at Tynecastle later on Sunday will remove Jack Ross' side from top spot.

As for Dundee, James McPake's men are still without a league win this term but will be buoyed by an an impressive showing at Dens Park.

Midday Sunday kick-offs can sometimes be guilty for their dull atmospheres, but this one sparked early in front of a boisterous home crowd.

Charlie Adam almost set the contest alight when his rasping long-range drive had to be tipped over the bar by Matt Macey.

The home side started superbly and continued to torment the Hibs backline, as Paul McMullan sent in a dangerous cross to no avail and Cummings saw a shot saved.

But the former Hibs man would find the back of the net with his next sight of goal, controlling a whipped cross from Adam and finishing low down to Macey's right.

Hibs looked rattled and struggled to get going, seeing slack passes go out of play and not matching up to Dundee's relentless work rate. McMullan skipped by Alex Gogic and let fly, forcing Macey into another fine stop high to his left.

It took Hibs 25 minutes to get going, when debutant forward James Scott glanced a Josh Doig cross just wide.

Kyle Magennis then saw a close-range effort blocked, while Doig had to be stopped just before letting fly after a lung-busting run into the Dundee box, and Scott had a left-footed drive from 20 yards parried over.

You had the sense a big moment was coming for the visitors, and so it proved when Porteous' excellent diagonal ball found Jamie Murphy bursting into the box, who went down after being clumsily barged from behind by Christie Elliot.

On the same week he penned a new deal at the Easter Road club, Boyle stepped up to coolly convert a sixth goal of the season.

The hosts responded well, as Lee Ashcroft's header forced Macey into another smart save just before the break, and Darren McGregor had to be lively to cut out a Luke McCowan cross shortly after the interval.

The visitors then grabbed the game by the scruff neck as Boyle's shot from the edge of the area took a nick off ex-Hibs defender Liam Fontaine and clipped the woodwork.

From the resulting corner, Ross' side had the lead for the first time in the game as Porteous' neat half volley nestled in the bottom corner via a big palm by Adam Legzdins.

The hosts seemed to run out of steam as Hibs continued to threaten through Boyle who flashed a strike over.

And the away side really should have wrapped the game up when Boyle unselfishly turned provided for Murphy on the break who had the whole goal to aim at, but the ex-Rangers man's finish was poor and allowed Legzdins to parry wide.

With a raucous home support behind them and a just a goal in the game, one chance was all the hosts needed.

And that is exactly what they carved out when McGowan ghosted in to head home McMullan's cross before wild celebrations ensued to cap off a superb top-flight contest.

Man of the match - Paul McMullan

What did we learn?

Despite still being without a win, McPake will be encouraged by his side's character after a 6-0 drubbing at Celtic Park last time out in the league.

They will need that to consolidate a top-flight place, but they could aim for more with the quality they possess in attack.

Meanwhile, Ross will be bitterly disappointed with his side's failure to take a couple of guilt-edge chances at 2-1 after fighting back well to gain the lead.

With Kevin Nisbet missing, you wonder if the game might have been out of sight with the Scotland striker on the pitch.

Not only that, but the Hibs man's underrated link-up play and ability to drop deep is so crucial to the way Ross' side control games, and that was badly missing at times at Dens Park.

What did they say?

Dundee boss James McPake: "Both goalkeepers were worked all afternoon. I'm disappointed it's a point but I'm pleased with the character the players showed.

"We need to be like this when we are at home. We started with a dynamic front three and you could see that in the game.

"The one big negative is the penalty decision, it's not a penalty. The minimal contact is outside the box. We should've been in at half-time 1-0 up."

Hibernian head coach Jack Ross: "It's slight mixed emotions for us. We didn't start the game brilliantly.

"Our reaction, character and performance wise, second half was excellent. We looked comfortable but we concede a soft goal and pass up opportunities that could kill the game.

"It's a sign of how far we've came that we have seven points from three games and we're still a little bit frustrated."

What's next?

Both sides return to action next Saturday (15:00 BST) as Dundee go to Motherwell and Hibs welcome Livingston.

Player of the match

McMullanPaul McMullan

Dundee

Squad number18Player nameMcMullan

Squad number35Player nameCummings

Squad number17Player nameMcCowan

Squad number10Player nameMcGowan

Squad number26Player nameAdam

Squad number8Player nameByrne

Squad number6Player nameMcGhee

Squad number4Player nameFontaine

Squad number14Player nameAshcroft

Squad number24Player nameAnderson

Squad number1Player nameLegzdins

Squad number11Player nameMcDaid

Squad number5Player nameSweeney

Squad number16Player nameElliott

Hibernian

Squad number25Player nameScott

Squad number16Player nameStevenson

Squad number5Player namePorteous

Squad number1Player nameMacey

Squad number19Player nameGullan

Squad number10Player nameBoyle

Squad number18Player nameMurphy

Squad number22Player nameDoyle-Hayes

Squad number7Player nameMagennis

Squad number8Player nameWright

Squad number24Player nameMcGregor

Squad number3Player nameDoig

Squad number6Player nameMcGinn

Squad number13Player nameGogic

Line-ups

Dundee

Formation 4-3-3

1Legzdins

16Elliott14Ashcroft4Fontaine6McGhee

8Byrne24Anderson26Adam

18McMullan35Cummings17McCowan

Substitutes

Hibernian

Formation 4-2-3-1

1Macey

6McGinn5Porteous24McGregor3Doig

22Doyle-Hayes13Gogic

10Boyle7Magennis18Murphy

25Scott

Substitutes

Live Text

Match ends, Dundee 2, Hibernian 2.

Second Half ends, Dundee 2, Hibernian 2.

Foul by James Gullan (Hibernian).

Ryan Sweeney (Dundee) wins a free kick on the left wing.

Attempt saved. Alexandros Gogic (Hibernian) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.

Attempt saved. Martin Boyle (Hibernian) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Lewis Stevenson.

Attempt missed. Ryan Porteous (Hibernian) header from the right side of the six yard box misses to the left. Assisted by Kyle Magennis with a cross following a corner.

Corner, Hibernian. Conceded by Ryan Sweeney.

Attempt missed. Paul McGowan (Dundee) right footed shot from outside the box is too high following a set piece situation.

Foul by Kyle Magennis (Hibernian).

Shaun Byrne (Dundee) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

Jake Doyle-Hayes (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Foul by Paul McMullan (Dundee).

Darren McGregor (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Foul by Jason Cummings (Dundee).

Substitution, Hibernian. James Gullan replaces James Scott.

Substitution, Dundee. Ryan Sweeney replaces Liam Fontaine.

Paul McGowan (Dundee) is shown the yellow card for excessive celebration.

Goal! Dundee 2, Hibernian 2. Paul McGowan (Dundee) header from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Paul McMullan with a cross.

Foul by James Scott (Hibernian).

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