Cowdenbeath have to be switched on for the whole 90 minutes if they are to pull themselves clear of relegation trouble in the Championship.
That was the view of former skipper and the scorer of Cowden’s goal against Hibs, Jon Robertson.
The Fifers have conceded early goals in too many fixtures this season and have gone on to lose these games, which sees them sit a point behind Livingston and four adrift of Alloa Athletic.
Robertson’s well-placed header got them back into the game and opened the door for periods of pressure, which could have earned them a point, but the man whocaptained the Blue Brazil to the Second Division title three seasons ago said that too often poor first-half performances are leaving them with too much to do.
“We started the game fairly well but then fell out of it and let Hibs dictate play for most of the first period and conceded two goals which could and should have been prevented,” said the 25-year-old link man.
“I was at fault at the first goal. I gave Paul Hanlon too much space and he took advantage to fire Hibs ahead then we lost the second at the worst possible time, just a couple of minutes from the break, again through poor marking.
“The manager gave us a bit of a talking to at half-time and we started to dictate play and I was delighted to get on the end of Lewis Milne’s fine cross to get us back in the game.
“We kept working away and there were a few openings which could have given us a point but really we should not have got ourselves into that position.
“We have to concentrate harder and make sure we play for 90 minutes and stop leaving ourselves mountains to climb.”
Hanlon’s goal came after 25 minutes, then three minutes from the break Jason Cummings found the same space as Hanlon and fired in number two.
Robertson sent a well-placed header into the net in 64 minutes and it inspired Cowdenbeath to finish the game strongly.
Callum Gallagher and substitute Craig Morrison came close to getting the leveller but manager Jimmy Nicholl was very unhappy at the way his team played in the opening 45 minutes.
“We literally did not compete at all in the first half and that is unacceptable,” he said.
“The goals we lost were very poor from our point of view and I gave them a bit of a rollicking at half-time and they went out and took the game to Hibs and possibly could have got a point but we should never have been in that position.
“Starting at Kirkcaldy on Saturday, against Raith, we have to play for 90 minutes like that to get the result we need.”
Hibs boss Alan Stubbs was not surprised with the way Cowden came back at his side.
He said: “I know that Cowdenbeath are a very difficult team to beat at Central Park and while I was pleased with the way we played in the first half, I warned the players that there would be a reaction from Cowden.
“We had to work hard but it was the sort of performance we needed to get the win which keeps our unbeaten run going.”