Hibs boss Neil Lennon was left fuming with his players for the ‘pathetic’ goals they conceded in their 3-2 Scottish Cup semi-final defeat against Aberdeen.
The holders were 1-0 down inside 12 seconds after Adam Rooney capitalised on slack play from Darren McGregor.
It was 2-0 to the Dons after 24 minutes as Ryan Christie’s inventive free-kick caught out Hibs keeper Ofir Marciano.
Despite their fight back, Hibs were denied when Hayes’ deflected effort ricocheted off McGregor and into the net.
(Photo: SNS Group)
(Photo: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)
Lennon believes his players should take a long hard look at themselves after their sloppy start and summed up their shocking defending in two words.
He said: “Rubbish, pathetic.
“I don’t go with the gallant loser story, it doesn’t wash with me.
“The first two goals were unacceptable, you can’t give two-goal head starts to any team.”
“People talk about tactics, it’s about decision making, they need to look at themselves, you need to play for 90 minutes, 120 minutes, not 60.
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Lennon praised Dylan McGeouch in particular, who made it 2-2 before going off injured.
He added: We were in control, we scored two brilliant goals, I was delighted to see Dylan score, he has plenty of talent but he hasn’t shown it enough.
“We missed him when he went off.”
The Hibs boss says his players will be left ruing a chance to make a second consecutive Scottish Cup final.
Lennon said: “They’ll regret it, I’m not here to pamper them or say well done after that, it’s no good.
“I expect better from some players.”