Kieron Bowie earned Hibernian a point in an entertaining 1-1 draw with Motherwell in the fight for fourth spot in the William Hill Premiership.

After a first half that struggled to get going, the match burst to life after the break.

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Motherwell striker Tawanda Maswanhise grabbed his 15th goal of the season when he finished off a devastating counter attack in the 52nd minute.

But Scotland international Bowie levelled in the 69th minute in a gripping half that flowed from end to end.

There were only two points between Motherwell in fourth and Hibs just behind as the game kicked off.

Hibs applied early pressure without managing to create any clear-cut openings.

Jordan Obita fired over from just inside the box after a Dan Baraser delivery caused panic.

Elie Youan was then unable to make contact under pressure from Emmanuel Longelo after being put through by Jamie McGrath.

Frenchman Youan was involved again moments later but his downward header from an Obita cross was easily saved by Calum Ward.

Motherwell had offered little going the other way but they enjoyed a flurry of action in the Hibs box without scoring after the half-hour mark.

Tom Sparrow cut inside on his left inside the area before seeing his curling shot pushed away by Rafa Sallinger.

And after Elijah Just drove a harmless free-kick over the bar Maswanhise then had a left-footed drive saved from a tight angle by Sallinger.

Hibs ended the half the stronger and Kanayo Megwa had a shot beaten away by Ward at his front post.

But Motherwell broke the deadlock seven minutes after the restart with a ruthless counter attack that was finished off by Maswanhise.

Longelo picked up a loose ball deep in his own box from Junior Hoilett's cross and then set Ibrahim Said free down the left flank.

Said picked out Just and the New Zealander then found Maswanhise in the area. There was still a lot for the striker to do but he lashed a low shot from an angle into the far corner beyond Sallinger.

Longelo curled a free-kick over as the visitors looked to double their lead but Hibs dragged themselves level through Bowie in the 69th minute.

Obita raced onto Barlaser's diagonal pass after Tom Sparrow misjudged the flight of the ball.

The wing-back's cross was behind the Scotland striker but Bowie somehow managed to get the ball under control before firing high into the net from six yards out.

Neither side were happy with a draw and the match swung from end to end.

Hibs goalkeeper Sallinger denied Longelo an injury-time winner with a near-post save.

What the managers said...

Motherwell boss Jens Berthel Askou:

"There's been a lot of debate and a lot of discussion, which is natural, about us needing a goalscorer.

"Throughout the season we have used him as a nine and you see he's a constant threat in so many ways, not just running in behind but also 1v1 inside the box where he can find good positions - and today he got a beautiful goal.

"I think you are spot on there, it is a big thing for us.

"That's the main plan, to make sure that this team gets the maximum out of this group of players, gets the maximum out of this season and then we know in the summer it's a bigger window.

"So that's the main track for us and then obviously there's a few gaps here and there and we'll see if we can fill them with quality like we did in the summer. There were a lot of gaps we had to fill."

Hibs boss David Gray:

"I made a couple of changes today but that was purely tactical on what I wanted to see.

"And I thought Kieran was a big part of that, especially in the first half when he did hold the ball up with a bit more physicality, a bit more aggression in the way we wanted to play."

Asked about transfer speculation surrounding Bowie, Gray added: "You want to keep as many players in as you can but one thing we can't do anything about is speculation. That's always going to be there.

"As soon as the window opens, that's naturally going to happen.

"You mentioned Kieran Bowie, I'm sure between now and the end of the window that will come up again.

"Josh Mulligan gets mentioned. We've got a lot of players that will attract attention because they're playing at a high level."

What's coming up in the Scottish Premiership?

• Hibernian fixtures
• Motherwell fixtures

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