Kilmarnock mounted a dramatic second-half fight back to claim a 2-2 draw and ensure newly-appointed Hibernian manager Nick Montgomery was made to wait for his first cinch Premiership win.
After a dominant start to the game, Will Dennis’ unlucky own goal handed Hibs the lead after eight minutes before Dylan Vente’s smart finish just before the hour-mark doubled the visitors’ advantage and seemingly had Kilmarnock at their mercy.
However, Kyle Vassell halved the deficit two minutes later with a close-range finish before Joe Wright headed home Danny Armstrong’s cross to salvage a dramatic point.
Derek McInnes made two alterations from Kilmarnock’s 1-0 defeat to Ross County before the international break as Wright and Vassell came in for David Watson and Thomas Davies.
Montgomery also made two changes from the side that earned their first league win of the season at Aberdeen as Christian Doidge and Rocky Bushiri replaced Josh Campbell and Paul Hanlon.
Montgomery’s side, totally rejuvenated under their new manager, were on the front foot from the first whistle, pinning Kilmarnock back.
Goalkeeper Dennis produced a fine save to deny Martin Boyle inside the first minute after he evaded several challenges.
The Kilmarnock keeper was called into action again minutes later when Lewis Miller’s cut-back across the box found Boyle, who saw his rasping drive tipped over the bar at full stretch.
Hibs’ pressure eventually paid dividends as they broke the deadlock after eight minutes as a corner was kept alive at the back-post.
A touch of class from James Jeggo provided the next twist as his pinpoint header found Miller and his shot from close-range hit the post and bounced in off the unlucky Dennis.
Elie Youan then fired into the side-netting, before another well-worked corner routine almost saw the visitors double their lead as Boyle’s whipped cross found Joe Newell, but his shot was straight at Dennis.
Having weathered the early storm, Kilmarnock tried to gain a foothold in the game and managed to carve out a decent opening after 35 minutes when Armstrong’s cross found Marley Watkins and his header forced a save from David Marshall.
Neither side offered much in a scrappy beginning to the second-half which saw Brad Lyons and Will Fish booked for reckless tackles.
It was a moment of sublime quality that saw Hibs double their lead just before the hour-mark through Vente, who notched his third goal of the season.
Youan did well to retain possession under pressure before sliding the ball in for Vente, who kept his cool and fired into the bottom left-hand corner beyond substitute goalkeeper Kieran O’Hara.
However, their lead did not last long as Kilmarnock gave themselves a lifeline. Marshall did well to save Lyons’ initial effort but the rebound fell kindly for Vassell to slot home.
Matty Kennedy’s venomous 30-yard strike fizzed inches over the bar, while at the other end Adam Le Fondre’s right-footed caressed effort was deflected narrowly wide of the target.
Spurred on by a raucous Rugby Park crowd, Kilmarnock pushed bodies forward in search of a leveller which duly arrived after 79 minutes.
Wright peeled away from his marker to head home Armstrong’s corner inside the six-yard box.
Conte slams transfer market timing after comeback Parma win
Antonio Conte was displeased with the transfer market deadline due to potential injury risks after their 2-1 win over Parma.
Debutant Romelu Lukaku and midfielder Andre Zambo Anguissa scored stoppage-time goals to earn the Italian his second victory as Napoli head coach, and provisionally move fourth in the standings.
However, he was concerned about not having squad depth while dealing with last-minute changes made to his team due to the transfer window closing on Friday, leaving him hoping his players can remain fit.
"We take these three points knowing full well that we have to work after this absurdity of the transfer market," Conte told reporters.
"Coaches have to train players who are going to leave and wait for players we've never worked with and don't know in what condition they'll be when they arrive.
"We had zero midfielders on the bench today, as yesterday [Gennaro] Iaccarino and [Coli] Saco went on loan. We had to pray that nothing happened to [Stanislav] Lobotka and Anguissa.
"I hope that things can change in the future, seeing as everyone is ready to change formats and rules."
Conte added he was pleased with Napoli's transfer window, as they added Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour to their ranks on Friday, despite the failure of Victor Osimhen's move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli.
"We did not just bring in players to build on an existing team but to fill certain empty slots, and I am happy with the work done by the club," he said.
"If we had been able to sell Osimhen, it would've been an even better situation, but what happened cannot be changed, and we move on."
Chicago Fire 1-4 Inter Miami: Suarez on target once more in road win
Luis Suarez scored two and orchestrated another as Inter Miami cruised to a 4-1 win over Chicago Fire at Soldier Field on Saturday.
His shot led to the opening own goal before his second-half double put the game out of reach as Miami stretched their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference to nine points.
Suarez played a neat one-two with Diego Gomez to set up a strike from the edge of the box, and though Chris Brady did well to save it, he pushed it straight against Tobias Salquist, who chested it over the line 25 minutes in.
The Uruguayan thumped a free header against the bar minutes later, but finally got his reward just after the break – he raced in behind before slotting a neat shot in at the near post.
Alba then picked him out for his second in the 65th minute, fizzing a low cross into the six-yard box for him to guide past Brady.
Gomez was unlucky from distance as his drilled shot hit the inside of the post before Georgios Koutsias' instinctive close-range finish beat Drake Callender.
Substitute Robert Taylor then rounded off the scoring with a lovely first-time finish in stoppage time.
Data Debrief: Suarez continues to step up in Messi's absence
Miami have now been without their talisman Lionel Messi for three months due to the Copa America and an ankle injury, but Suarez has proven once again that they still pose a threat without him.
He has scored four times from a total of 12 shots since MLS resumed, with nine of those coming in this game.
The 37-year-old ran the show, leading the team in expected goals (1.4), shots on target (five), touches in the box (eight) and big chances (four).
Fonseca shrugs off talk of rift with Milan duo
Paulo Fonseca was quick to dismiss talk of any tension with Rafael Leao and Theo Hernandez, who both appeared to snub him shortly after coming off the bench.
The pair came off the bench to help earn a 2-2 draw with Lazio on Saturday, being brought on in a quadruple change by Fonseca after being left out of the starting line-up.
Milan were losing 2-1 at the time of their introduction, and they immediately turned things around, with Hernandez and debutant Tammy Abraham, another substitute, involved in Leao's equaliser.
Minutes later, the game stopped for a cooling break, with both managers using the opportunity to instruct their players, but both Leao and Hernandez remained on the far side of the pitch, taking no part in the team talk.
"The situation with Theo and Leao, there is no problem and I think Theo has already explained," Fonseca told DAZN.
"We don't need to create any problems. This week I spoke with the players and they accepted my decision. There is no problem, I was concentrated, and I didn't see that they weren't there."
Hernandez had already given his reasons immediately after the game.
"We had been on for two minutes, we didn't need the cooling break," Hernandez said.
"It was nothing against the team and the coach. Then people talk, say things that aren't true. Rafa and I are always with the team to help, and that is the important thing."
Milan are still without a league win this season after three games, but Fonseca says he saw a decent performance in the opening half, giving him something to work on.
"We had a good first half. We always managed the game well with the ball. When you control the game like this, we have to have more moments to become dangerous, but it's something we have to work on," Fonseca told Milan TV.
"We must always have the courage we had in the first half because we did good things. If we had won the other two games, this could have been a good result, but it is not so. But we have to start from today's first half."
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