Sports
Gray relief as calamity averted & Hibs jeers turn to cheers
David Gray has gone from being slated to serenaded by Hibernian fans in the space of seven days.
Make no mistake, the head coach was under pressure after his side’s torrid display in Kosovo last week.
Supporters who had travelled to eastern Europe made it abundantly clear what they thought of their team’s 2-0 first-leg defeat by Malisheva with their Conference League hopes on the brink.
The head coach stressed the result – and the manner of it – were unacceptable, but the only way to answer doubters is on the park.
In the second half at Easter Road on Thursday, with Hibs four goals to the good on the night and on their way to an aggregate victory, Gray’s name was sung to the rafters.
His iconic status is untouchable. That’s what a winning goal in a Scottish Cup final win does, but these chants were not for his Hampden heroics as a player, rather for the way his team had responded to adversity.
They flew out of the blocks, led by the evergreen Martin Boyle, and had wiped out the two-goal deficit within 15 minutes.
By the time Boyle danced past several bewildered defenders and made it 4-0, it seemed as though Hibs could do no wrong.
Yes, there was a drop-off in the last 20 minutes and Malisheva got a goal back, but Gray wanted to focus on the positives post-match.
“We spoke about the intensity we want to play at, the intent from the start to play forward, run forward and get the crowd behind us,” he said.
“I saw it in training and they fully deserved to win tonight. We should have been out of sight, we hit the woodwork a couple of times and missed three or four big chances.
“That goal at the end made it a little bit edgy but at the same time, the players deserved what they got tonight. Delighted for them.”
Gray was asked if there was a sense of relief after last week and he admitted the enjoyment he takes from winning is only fleeting.
“It’s different for a coach winning games to being a player,” he said. “Relief kicks in and then it’s the next game.
“You enjoy it for two minutes and then on to the next one.”
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