“Firstly I have to congratulate Hibs.

“There was not a lot between the sides. They went with a system that we have used ourselves in European games and looked to counter attack. You have to give them a bit for credit for how resilient they were. Although they never threatened us too much we never did enough to threaten their goal either.

“We were looking for that bit more quality in that final third and that added bit of determination to make things go our way in the final third. Whilst we had a decent amount of control in the second half we never really converted that into any concerted pressure.

“Young Cummings then comes up with a quality finish to separate the sides and then they get a second goal when we have to chase it.

“We anticipated a tough match and they deserve a lot of credit for the way Alan set his team up and how they have stuck to their task.

“Sometimes it does not go your way. You are not going to win every game but we are disappointed we have not found the answers to separate the teams and Hibs have.

“We never really had the same balance when Shinnie went off. Also with Jonny being suspended we did not have a natural left sider to play round about their shape and that did affect us tactically. Also with Willo going off early on we lost two competitors who can help you win games like this. What it also did was hinder when making our third sub. We could not make it too early in case the game went to extra time and someone else got injured.

“The enforced changes did not help but we look to other reasons why we have lost the game. It is a reason but not the only reason. One reason was Hibs were good. As I say Hibs stuck to their task, they had a shape that frustrated us, they defended well, they kept their crowd interested with some decent play and we wish them well.

“We did try and come up with answers. I thought second half we were far better at controlling the game and we started getting a few crosses into the box. I actually thought we were looking relatively comfortable but the first goal was always going to be important. They have found a way to get through the tie where we didn’t. Normally we find a way to come through tight matches but we did not tonight.

“The injury news is that Willo is not great. He has done his ankle, the same ankle that has caused him problems for a while. Shinnie has some sort of heel problem and had problems lifting off. It is a bit of a strange one but hopefully it will disappear as quickly as it came.

“You have to learn from losing games. That is the same with every team. We know that we are not going to win every game you play. We felt we could win this game and we came down in good form but as I have said before you have to earn the right (to win games). I thought there was enough effort from us tonight but not enough quality.

“Whenever we lose we look to respond in the right way. The focus now is on the league only until the Scottish Cup starts. That is no consolation as we wanted to do well in this competition but we look to push on in the league campaign.”

“Whenever we lose we look to respond in the right way. The focus now is on the league only until the Scottish Cup starts. That is no consolation as we wanted to do well in this competition but we look to push on in the league campaign.”