Hibee fan favourite Martin Boyle has been in fine form since returning from the Asia Cup.
It would be fair to say that before leaving for the tournament in Qatar, Boyle wasn’t quite hitting the heights that Hibs supporters have come to expect from him.
However, since coming back to Leith the adopted Aussie has doubled his domestic goal tally for the season, back playing in his familiar position out wide.
The Asia Cup ended in disappointment for Boyle and fellow Hibee Lewis Miller, Australia reached the Quarter Finals where they were put out by South Korea.
Miller gave away a penalty and was then subject to abuse from fans on social media, Boyle said: “I tried to help as much as possible. It wasn’t great after the game, the messages came rolling in.
Social media can be horrible at times, but people are entitled to their own opinion.”
Boyle’s return was a case of perfect timing for Hibs, who had just been beaten 3-0 at home to St. Mirren.
Spurred on by Boyle, Hibs showed instant improvement in the next game against Celtic and were unlucky not to pick up points after conceding a last-minute penalty.
In their next two outings, Hibs put Inverness out of the Scottish Cup – reaching the quarter finals – and drew away with Aberdeen, with Boyle scoring in both.
The Leith side were on the end of a controversial decision in the draw at Pittodrie, Aberdeen right back Nicky Devlin appeared to touch the ball with his arm in the box, but after a VAR check, no penalty was given.
Boyle said: “I had no idea what was going on half the time. It’s just so stop-start, a bit chaotic.
The stoppages are not ideal for anyone…but there’s nothing we can do; we just have to get on with it.”
As a result, Hibs met with the SFA to demand an explanation as to why no penalty was awarded and were issued an apology, in an official statement the club said: “The governing body outlined that the Referee Department agreed that the incident should have been referred by VAR for On-Field Review, and therefore an error was made.
This is not the first occasion where the Club has received an apology for VAR errors, and the Club will continue to work with the Scottish FA regarding officiating in the Scottish game.”
Hibs head into March with a Scottish Cup quarter-final on the horizon, they play Rangers on the 10th at Easter Road, kick-off is at 5.30pm.
Masters Student currently studying Sports Journalism at Edinburgh Napier University.
