Nick Montgomery admitted finishing in the bottom six is unacceptable for Hibernian after seeing his side surrender a late lead against Motherwell at Fir Park.

Hibs’ prospects looked optimistic as they were set to move one point ahead of Dundee into sixth in the Scottish Premiership as they led Motherwell 1-0 courtesy of Myziane Maolida’s 64th-minute penalty.

But Shane Blaney fired home a thunderous equaliser in the last minute of added time with Motherwell’s first shot on target as both teams saw their top-six hopes came to an end.

The travelling supporters were furious and vented their anger towards the Hibs players and staff at full-time and Montgomery understands their frustrations.

“It’s not good enough for Hibs,” he said.

“You have to earn the right to get anywhere in football. You have to earn the right to get into the top six. As a club we have failed to hit one of our targets and that was the top six.

“The other two were progress in the cups, which we did to a good level. But the big target was to try and get into the top six. I’ve tried everything I can to get there.

“We’ve had stuff that’s probably been challenging for us, but as a club, yeah, we have to look back at the start of the season, before pre-season, and how we’ve ended up in this position where we’re going into the last game 20 seconds away from the top six.

“It’s 20 seconds away from not being good enough and unfortunately the results – last week as well – have gone against us and it’s really hard to explain how that’s happened.”

Motherwell boss Stuart Kettlewell praised the mentality of his side after another late goal salvaged a draw.

And they could even have won it at the death but Oli Shaw fired wide from a few yards out.

“I thought we snatched it at the end,” said Kettlewell. “It’s probably no surprise to myself or anyone in the room as we’ve become renowned this season for playing to the last whistle.

“We want to be ahead in games but we always rally and we have four strikers and two attackers on the pitch at the end – it was all out attack.

“I thought Oli had put the ball in the net, that was my gut instinct, when he got across the front post. But we left it late over the course for the top six but I can only credit my players.

“People had written us off for the top six and looked at us more towards the bottom of the table but we’ve shown brilliant personality and picked up points.”

Motherwell and Hibernian saw their top-six hopes ended following a high-stakes encounter at Fir Park where the Steelmen snatched a late equaliser in a thrilling finale.

Shane Blaney struck deep into stoppage time to earn a 1-1 draw for the hosts after Myziane Maolida had put Hibernian ahead with a 65th-minute penalty.

Both sides entered the encounter with aspirations of finishing in the top six with Motherwell needing a win to have any chance of catching sixth-placed Dundee.

A draw could have sufficed for Hibs – if Dundee lost their last two games – but it ultimately was not enough as Dundee picked up a point against Aberdeen to secure their top-six place ahead of facing Rangers on Wednesday night.

Hibs looked comfortable at Fir Park after taking the lead through Maolida’s second-half penalty but Blaney killed their dreams at the death with a thunderous left-footed finish beyond David Marshall.

Motherwell should have won it just 30 seconds later when Oli Shaw somehow diverted the ball wide from yards out but the result left the Hibs support furious as they made their discontent known towards the players at full-time.

The wind caused havoc for both sides on a blustery afternoon in Lanarkshire and there was a distinct lack of quality on show but a three-minute spell in the second half was pivotal.

Motherwell had the ball in the net through the in-form Theo Bair after 62 minutes following a sublime turn and pass from Lennon Miller but it was ruled out for offside with VAR backing up the linesman’s initial decision.

And just two minutes later, Hibernian were awarded a penalty when Stephen O’Donnell clumsily connected with Will Fish as he attempted to turn and Willie Collum did not hesitate to point to the spot.

Maolida stepped up confidently and rolled the ball past Liam Kelly in front of an ecstatic away support.

However, those same fans were left far from happy at the end following Blaney’s late intervention.

Chances were at a premium in the first half with Chris Cadden coming closest for the visitors when Liam Kelly tipped his powerful effort over the bar while Motherwell failed to click as an attacking threat.

Hibs, however, had the better opportunities after the break with Emiliano Hansen failing to connect properly with a dangerous fizzed cross from Nathan Moriah-Welsh before Elie Youan fired tamely at Kelly just minutes later.

There was a flashpoint after 56 minutes when Rocky Bushiri went down in the box with the travelling contingent screaming for a penalty but ref Collum was unmoved.

The experienced referee booked the Hibs centre-back before a flare-up ensued between both sets of players with Blair Spittal and Martin Boyle also cautioned for their involvement.

Motherwell battled back from two goals down to draw 2-2 and deny Craig Levein a winning start with St Johnstone in the cinch Premiership.

First-half goals from Nicky Clark and Andrew Considine at McDiarmid Park had the hosts on course for a second straight league success, but two goals in the space of six minutes levelled matters.

Shane Blaney headed in with 22 minutes left and then Mika Biereth turned home to complete the comeback.

Both teams sides would spurn opportunities in the final minutes, meaning they both remain in a struggle at the foot of the league table.

St Johnstone stay bottom, though have reduced the gap between themselves and Livingston in 11th to two points, while Motherwell have jumped one place to eighth – one point ahead of Hibernian having played a game more.

Levein made one change for his first game in charge, Daniel Phillips replacing the suspended Dara Costelloe.

Well, who had lost six of their last seven Premiership encounters, started Stephen O’Donnell and Callum Slattery with Paul McGinn missing out due to a facial injury and Theo Bair dropping to the bench. Despite both sustaining suspected broken noses at the weekend, both Calum Butcher and Brodie Spencer were deemed fit to start.

Motherwell had the ball in the net with the first opportunity of the match, Conor Wilkinson taking advantage of confusion between Considine and Dimitar Mitov, although the striker’s joy would be short-lived after he was adjudged to have handled before flicking the ball past the home keeper.

Graham Carey had a strike from distance deflected wide before the hosts took the lead from from the resulting corner.

Matt Smith picked out Clark, who made no mistake in heading beyond Liam Kelly from close range with 17 minutes on the clock.

A crucial intervention from Spencer spared the blushes of Blaney, the Irish defender caught in possession and Chris Kane looked likely to take full advantage until denied by a last-ditch tackle.

It would not be long before the second goal arrived as Carey’s 27th-minute corner eventually dropped at the feet of Considine who blasted home.

The visitors were in desperate need of a response and they almost got a goal back when Slattery connected with Blair Spittal’s corner but Luke Robinson cleared off the line.

Bair replaced Spencer at half-time and was involved in a neat passing move that almost led to Biereth turning in Spittal’s cross at the back post shortly after the restart.

The substitute was the architect again with 23 minutes remaining, almost picking out Wilkinson after a bursting run forward.

Motherwell reduced the deficit a minute later after Blaney found the net following a good header across the face of goal by Wilkinson.

The goal appeared to inject renewed life into Kettlewell’s side and Casey’s header from Spittal’s corner drifted agonisingly past the post, just before they grabbed an equaliser on 74 minutes.

A sweeping attack ended with an excellent cross from Georgie Gent that was steered beyond Mitov by Biereth.

Kelly had to be alert to tip over Smith’s acrobatic effort with minutes left on the clock, while at the other end Spittal worked the Saints keeper with a low drive.

Stevie May really should have grabbed a dramatic winner in the first minute of added time, but his front-post header sailed off target.