Lee Johnson refused to point the finger of blame at Kevin Nisbet for his Pittodrie penalty miss that could well cost Hibs a crack at claiming third.
The proud boss said if this had been a boxing match then battling Hibs side would have won it on points. Johnston praised his Hibs side who were the better team in Aberdeen but he failed to make their superiority count. The Hibs boss admitted: "I said to him, 'listen, I wish I'd had the bravery as a player to take those penalties'. It takes a brave man to take that penalty. He's got a lot of belief in himself and he'll make sure he scores the next one."
Johnson knows Hibs might just be hitting form at the wrong end of the season. He stated: “We should have been out of sight. You know what I'm like: I'm process-driven, I believe in the numbers game. I think we're really starting to show signs of maturity as a team. We're only going to get better, there's no doubt about that, with the summer window coming.
"I thought it was an outstanding match. I was super proud of the boys on a tactical level. Aberdeen are a good side on a great run and I honestly thought it was total domination.
"I didn't think we produced enough quality in the final third, certainly in the first half. But if that was a boxing match it would have been stopped, wouldn't it?"
The visitors' failure to take their chances at Pittodrie looks to have cost them in the race for third place. Johnson is refusing to throw in the towel but if they fall short then it wouldn’t have been down to previous results.
He stated: “I still believe we can do it. The realist is telling me that. But I believe if we play like that consistently for three, five, ten, 20 games, that's exactly what I'm after.
"The success should come to us in that sense. If we don't make third, it won't be this run or this moment that's cost us, it will be earlier in the season. What an unbelievable week we have coming up. We have to be energised and positive, and the boys have played well individually and as a team, and that's all you can ask for going into three massive games."
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