Hibs moved from second bottom of the Championship to within touching distance of a play-off spot with a sensational 3-1 victory over Rangers at Ibrox thanks to a first half Jason Cummings double and a David Gray header. The result could have even been more emphatic had the referee spotted a blatant handball from Lee McCulloch just after the break, but whilst Rangers pulled one back through Nicky Law, the Easter Road side held on to secure a famous win.
Head Coach Alan Stubbs made one change from the team that beat Ross County with Scott Allan replacing the suspended Dylan McGeough.
Around 800 Hibs fans made the journey to Ibrox and after a steady opening twenty five minutes when neither side created any clear chances, they were rewarded when their favourites took the lead. A long clearance from Mark Oxley was controlled by Cummings and the youngster calmly slotted the ball past the Rangers keeper into the net.
Five minutes later Hibs added a second from an unlikely source when David Gray headed a Lewis Stevenson cross past Simonsen to score his first goal in senior football.
Just before the break the Easter Road side added a third after some great interplay between Dominique Malonga and Stevenson who found Cummings with an inch perfect pass and the teenager sent on a diagonal shot from 10 yards into the corner of the net.
The fans’ celebrations were cut short when the teams emerged for the second period and goal scorer Gray had been replaced by Callum Booth due to a hamstring injury. Booth took over at left back whilst Stevenson moved to the right side.
Hibs started the second half strongly however and were denied a stonewall penalty when Lee McCulloch swept the ball away from Malonga with his hand but inexplicably the referee ignored the Hibs’ players claims.
Nicky Law pulled one back for Rangers with a volley from the edge of the box on 55 minutes then grew in confidence as they tried to get back into the game.
The Hibs’ defence held firm however and although Kris Boyd had the ball in the net with a header from an in-swinging David Templeton cross, he was correctly flagged offside.
With time running out substitute Alex Harris ran clear of the Rangers defence but his shot was blocked by goalkeeper Simonsen and Hibs held on to secure the three points.
Afterwards a delighted Alan Stubbs told BBC Radio Scotland: “I have always believed in the players. They have shown these performances but not got the result.
“When it comes off, it’s nice. The players have taken the knocks and perhaps deserve it, but now they deserve the credit.
“It’s hard to single anyone out after a performance like this as they all gave their all.
“The way I am, every game is a must-win and it’s only three points.
“There’s a long way to go, but it puts us in amongst them and can have a big bearing on what can happen.”
Man of the Match Lewis Stevenson said: “I enjoyed the first half. The second half, it was a bit backs to the wall, but we defended well. The central defenders were outstanding.
“We need to do that more often. If we play like that every week, we’ll win more often than not.”
Hibs: Oxley, Gray (Booth, 46), Forster, Hanlon, Fontaine, Stevenson, S. Allan, Craig, Robertson, Cummings (Harris, 81), Malonga. Unused substitutes: Perntreou, Stanton, Heffernan, Handling, Kennedy
Attendance 31,619
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
