Pat Fenlon was able to take positives from his first taste of action as Hibernian manager despite being denied the chance of a debut win by a floodlight fire at Fir Park.
Hibs were leading Motherwell 1-0 through Garry O'Connor's goal when the Clydesdale Bank Premier League match was abandoned at half-time for safety reasons. Firefighters put out the electrical fire in the South Stand floodlight column but could not guarantee the safety of the system and the decision was taken to halt the game 25 minutes after the half-time whistle.
Fenlon said: "There's not a lot we can do about it. We're very disappointed, but you take something out of every performance and it's important that we take the positives. When you put in a shift like that, you get what you deserve and that's what we've got to take, the positives of the performance for 45 minutes."
Fenlon added: "I thought we defended really well as a unit, and that's a big plus for us, we haven't been doing that well.
"We worked them hard this week, the players embraced that, and we got it on the park."
Motherwell manager Stuart McCall admitted the events had made him think back to the Bradford fire in 1985, when 56 people died and more were injured, including his father.
McCall said: "Football-wise, Hibs deserved to go ahead, we didn't start well. Then we forced a few corners and got a foothold in the game.
"We thought in the second half we could have a right go but it's just one of those things.
"On a lighter side, the most disappointed man is Stephen Hughes because he only gets appearance money. He's absolutely gutted.
"The lads have got their Christmas weekend off, although they will be in in the morning working their socks off."
Source: PA
