Christian Doidge summed up the collective thoughts of his Hibs team-mates with two simple words after the 3-2 home defeat in the cinch Premiereship by St Mirren: “We’re gutted.”
And the striker, who scored in the game, pledged to put things right when the Easter Road side host Swiss combine FC Luzern in the UEFA Europe Conference League, third round qualifier.
Hibs lost two goals in two first-half minutes but bounced back to level thanks to Doidge and Adam Le Fondre – Doidge was involved in that goal as well – only to lose a third in the 89th minute.
Doidge (pictured by Ian Jacobs), who was on loan at Kilmarnock last season, laying in 27 games and scoring three goals, told Hibs TV: “We knew what to expect coming into the game and playing in this division you can’t start games like that. Conceding two goals is criminal for us.
“Coming in at half-time we changed a few things and we got two goals that got us back in the game, the stadium lifted, and it felt like there was only going to be one winner. They go on the counter attack and score, so we’re extremely frustrated with how the game has gone.”
The 30-year-old conceded that Hibs were poor in the first half and improved in the second after manager Lee Johnston’s half-time team talk.
Welsh-born Doidge said: “We came out and changed a few things. We went more direct into me and tried to get bodies around me and that seemed to work. Alfie came on and scored his goal and Elie did brilliantly for my goal.”
The player, who once played basketball for the Welsh under-18 side, felt Hibs had the momentum heading into the final stretch but added: “They’ve set up a counterattack and scored, so it’s a real blow. We really wanted to win the first game of the season as it’s a good platform to start.”
Eyeing the European game, Doidge said: “We had a good result in the last tie (a 6-1 home win over Inter Club d’Escaldes after at 2-1 defeat on the road). It’s good to get back out there straight away.”
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