Hibs Head Coach David Gray was left frustrated after his side fell to a 1-0 defeat to Kelty Hearts in the Premier Sports Cup yesterday.
Despite creating plenty of chances, Hibs were made to pay for our missed opportunities and Kelty claimed all three points thanks to Callum Flatman’s second-half header.
Speaking to Hibs TV after the match, Gray shared his frustration with the result.
“It’s extremely disappointing, and frustrating. We’ve let the fans down especially, who all came here in their numbers.
“It has been really positive the last two weeks, but this just shows you that you need to be at your level every single time you pull on the jersey. There is an expectation that playing for such a big Club that needs to be there.
“We created enough chances to win the game, but if you don’t show that composure and quality in the final third and you don’t score when you are on top – then it gives the opposition a lift.
“We switched off at a corner, we didn’t set up quickly enough and they showed more desire to get their head on the ball than we did and we lose a goal.
“We never got back into the game after that. Credit to Kelty, they threw their bodies on the line.
“They did everything they could to hold onto the advantage that they had, but we certainly didn’t do enough in the end.”
Gray admits his side were not clinical enough in the final third and highlighted the importance of making sure we bounce back quickly from this setback.
“We had a lot of clear-cut chances – we hit the woodwork several times as well, but the longer the game goes on – the more they take from that, they throw bodies on the lines, their keeper made a number of saves and it became a very frustrating day.
“We made changes today, it was our third game in a week so it was an opportunity to pull on the jersey and go out and impress.
“ Unfortunately, I think our standards dropped, not just the changes but for the whole team – that is something that we need to definitely be better at.
“That’s the beauty of football, we have the opportunity to try and change it straight up.
“We will be back in on Monday morning to rectify the areas that we let ourselves down in today.”
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.
