Raith Rovers winger Bobby Barr backed referee Stephen Finnie’s decision to send off Hibs midfielder Marvin Bartley in the goalless draw at Stark’s Park.
Hibs were reduced to 10 men in the 38th minute when Bartley was shown a straight red card after appearing to swing a leg at Barr as the pair clashed in a 50-50 challenge at the edge of the visitors’ box.
Hibs manager Neil Lennon insisted afterwards that the incident did not merit a red card and that his club will submit an appeal.
However, Barr said: “He just booted me off the ball, the ref saw it, and I think he got the decision right.”
Rovers were unable to take advantage of the extra man, but Barr says the Fifers can take positives from the result.
“Hibs are the so-called best team in the league, so we’ll take the point and try to build on it,” he said.
The draw saw Raith slip out of the top four for the first time this season, and Barr admits results will need to improve if they are to maintain a promotion push.
“I’ve said since the start of season we’re a good team – we just need to add consistency,” he said.
“But at the start of the season, if you’d said we’d be four points off the top at the end of the first quarter then everybody would have taken it.”
Both defences were on top in a game of few clear-cut chances.
Raith’s best effort arrived after five minutes when Jordan Thompson broke from midfield, but his low 25-yard strike was held by Ofir Marciano.
Barr fired narrowly over the crossbar from similar distance before Jean-Yves M’voto made a goal-saving challenge to deny Grant Holt at the other end.
From the corner, an unmarked Paul Hanlon sent a glancing header on to the top of the crossbar.
Despite having the man advantage for the second half, Raith struggled to create chances and relied on strong defending to keep Hibs at bay.