It was a tale of two halves and two penalties in Dingwall as Ross County once again came from behind to snatch a draw with Hibs minutes away from victory. 

Dylan Levitt’s strike had put Hibs ahead at the break after Jordan White had his penalty saved from Jordan Smith, but Ronan Hale stepped up in the 86th minute and he made no mistake from the spot.

Both Don Cowie and David Gray made a host of changes to their sides after last weekend’s Scottish Cup. Zac Ashworth, George Robesten and Jonathan Tomkinson made their debut starts for County and Ross Laidlaw was a welcome return on the bench after his injury.

For David Gray, he brought back both Cadden brothers into the starting XI and Nectar Triantis and Josh Campell came back into midfield. Dwight Gayle partnered with the in-form Martin Boyle up front.

First 45′

The aftermath of Storm Eowyn was in full display as the playing surface in Dingwall had clearly felt the brunt of the weather. Probably explaining the lack of quality throughout the game, the first half an hour was an incredibly drab affair.

Hibs dominated the early possession and Gayle will feel he could’ve done better with a volleyed chance sent well over Jordan Amissah’s goal. Noah Chilvers looked his energetic self in midfield and had an effort from the edge of the box but it was a tame effort that Smith held comfortably.

The first moment of controversy came not long after that, a cross into the Hibs area was initially cleared but referee David Dickinson was sent to the VAR monitor by Matthew MacDermid who adjudged Nicky Cadden had handled it and the penalty was awarded. White stepped up to take, but he struck a tame effort to Smith’s left who got down in plenty of time to make the save.

Hibs would make County pay minutes before the end of the first half. A corner wasn’t dealt with by the County defence and Triantis cushioned the ball down for Dylan Levitt who fired into the bottom corner to give Hibs the lead at the break.

Second 45′ 

The minutes ticked by in the second half, neither team was really in control. Hibs had an effort through Martin Boyle 20 minutes from time but Amissah was more than equal to the Australian’s fierce strike.

Boss Gray was forced into a change in midfield when goalscorer Levitt was forced off with injury. Gray opted to bring on Moriah-Welsh but the change resulted in Hibs beginning to sit deeper into their own half.

Through the last 20 minutes, Hibs were becoming their own worst enemy. Failing to hold onto the ball, a series of misplaced passes found County constantly moving up the pitch. The feeling in the stadium was that the fans knew County were pushing hard for an equaliser.

And then, in the 85th minute, the second moment of controversy came when Dickinson pointed to the spot for a second time with Kieran Phillips being taken out in the Hibs area. This time Ronan Hale stepped up and where White failed, Ronan prevailed as he emphatically smashed home the equaliser.

With only minutes remaining, both teams tried to get the ball forward but both defences stayed strong and in the end, the points were shared.

Team line-ups:

Ross County: Amissah (GK); Brown (Smith 83′), Wright, Campbell, Tomkinson, Ashworth (Hale 70′), Nisbet (MacLeod 63′), Randall, Chilvers, Robesten, White (Phillips 63′)

Hibs: Smith (GK); C.Cadden (Obita 64′), O’Hora, Bushiri, Iredale, N.Cadden, Triantis, Levitt (Moriah-Welsh 64′), Campbell, Boyle, Gayle (Bowie 72′)