Hibernian threw away a two-goal lead to leave the Falkirk Stadium with just a point last night, despite being 2-0 up on the stroke of half-time.
A goal from Ross MacIver in first-half stoppage time and a thundering Liam Henderson header midway through the second half earned the hosts a share of the points and left David Gray scratching his head at just what is going wrong with his side at the moment. The result came on the back of Saturday’s defeat to struggling Rangers at Ibrox.
The former Hibees skipper turned manager seems to know where his side are falling short. Speaking post-match, he said: “We’re creating enough chances, but we’re not being clinical enough to finish games off.
“At 2-0, we should have been three or four up with the big chances we had, you’re always then suspect of the next goal. It feels right now like a defeat because of the manner of the game, but it’s certainly not a disaster.
“It almost became a case of taking a point from an opportunity where we should have had three points, but if I try and be positive, we’re undefeated in the league and got a point away from home at a difficult place to come.”
He was quick to stress that his side’s mentality is strong enough to recover from recent setbacks and quickly get back to their best:
“Every game is difficult in this league, but as a group, they need to stick together, and they will do that.
“There is ownership within the squad, there is accountability, and within that, you need to stick together.”
Gray also took a share of responsibility for the recent results, which have seen Hibs win only one of their first five league games, drawing four. He said:
“It’s my responsibility to put the team together, improve the players, and educate them as to why we think it’s happening and how to be better in those moments.”
They must now quickly regroup for a trip to Celtic Park to take on the also-undefeated champions this weekend in Glasgow. While Gray recognises the challenge ahead, he feels it is one the players should embrace, with the opportunity to become heroes for the Hibee support. He said:
“The challenge will be extremely tough. The challenge to the away team [at Celtic Park] is to try and quieten the crowd, whatever that looks like. You do that by putting in a level of performance.
“It’s also an opportunity for the players to recreate history, and I’ll remind them and give them the belief to go along their way with our game plan, to try and come back with three points.”
Celtic supporters voiced their unrest in previous away matches with Kilmarnock and Partick Thistle, and with more protests set to happen at home, Hibs defender Warren O’Hora feels that frustrating the already restless home crowd would be “ideal” for his sides chances of a win.
He did acknowledge how tough the task would be to become the first Hibs side since 2010 to win at Parkhead:
“It’s a tough test for anyone. We’ve gone there previously and we’ve done well.
“We’ve obviously not got results, but we all know how tough it is to go there and win but we’ll back ourselves and give our best shot, no doubt.”
While Gray acknowledged the unrest among the Celtic support, he pointed out that Rangers faced similar issues at Ibrox and that it would have no bearing on his side’s preparations or game plan, stating he and his squad had to “focus on themselves.”
