Hibs captain Joe Newell admitted he wasn’t sure if his equalising goal against Celtic on Sunday would stand, following another lengthy VAR check in his side’s 2-1 defeat.
The midfielder drew his team level on the stroke of half-time after a scramble in the six-yard box. The goal was ultimately awarded, despite Newell’s arm seemingly brushing the ball in the build-up.
Speaking after the final whistle, he confessed that he had feared the goal would be disallowed.
“I haven’t seen any replay, that’s the truth. So I don’t know. But just from what I remember, I felt like it was kind of between my hip bone and my arm.
“And I don’t know if it hit it or not. But I didn’t have that elation because I kind of thought, hmm, who knows now.
“And then when it was getting checked and it was an offside check and a handball check, you’re kind of thinking, oh, it’s not going to go your way. I’ve not seen any replays or anything.
“So I don’t actually know. But yeah, who knows anymore? I don’t know. You know the rule. I don’t know the rule. Who knows?”.
Jamie McGrath’s early dismissal gave David Gray’s men a mountain to climb, as they suffered their fourth red card in three matches. Newell felt his side defended admirably, but would rue conceding from a set piece.
“There’s a lot to be done with 10 men again,” he said. “The boys dug in as expected. As I would expect, as everyone kind of expects of that group.
“But we fell short. It’s a bit of a killer that comes from a set-piece. You kind of always feel like that can be avoided. So on the whole, I thought we defended really well again.
“I feel like we just were not giving ourselves enough of a chance – nowhere near enough of a chance – to get a foothold in any game.”
While some Hibs supporters might have been willing to accept the defeat to Celtic if it prevented their rivals, Hearts, from winning the league, the midfielder admitted he quickly noticed the reduced attendance at the fixture.
“Going out for the warm-up, you can see the crowd. I don’t know the exact numbers, but you can see it was a bit lower than usual,” he added.
“One thing I would say, I completely get it. I’ve got plenty of mates who are Hibs fans, and they’ve all been speaking to me. So I completely understand the situation.
“But you play for Hibernian Football Club. This is a massive, massive club – a massive privilege.
“So every time you go out there, you’re expected to play for the fans, for the people who turn up, for the club, the manager, yourself and the team. And that’s the way it was.”
