Hibs goalkeeper Jordan Smith was delighted at keeping a clean sheet in the excellent 3-0 win away at Motherwell.
Junior Hoilett and Mykola Kuharevich were on target in the first half, before Josh Campbell sealed the three points with his strike in the second period.
Smith kept his place in the side despite a mistake against Aberdeen in midweek and he more than justified David Gray faith in him.
This was only Smith’s second league start for the club and in fact, only his second competitive league start since 2021.
Speaking to Hibs TV after the match, Smith shared his thoughts on both the result and the performance.
“We’re delighted, that is a very different changing room at the end of the game to the one we have been used to.
“The fans definitely deserved that; we feel like that win was due – it hasn’t gone our way this season.
“We are over the moon, but we can’t get carried away, we’re still fighting at the wrong end of the table so we just need to keep focussing on each game-by-game.”
It has been a positive week for the Hibees, picking up four points from our last two games; with Smith pinpointing the nature of our draw with Aberdeen in midweek as a potential turning point.
“There was a massive momentum shift at the end of the Aberdeen game. You could feel that in the Stadium in midweek because we have been on the wrong end of last-minute goals too many times this season. To show character, fight, spirit, and desire not to give up, and then get something for our efforts was great.
“It was massive to get a win today, for the fans and for ourselves, and to instill that belief even further.
“We said the Aberdeen game could be a turning point for us, but we needed to make sure it was – fortunately we backed that up today.”
“I am really happy to come into the team and to start playing games again,” Smith continued.
“I am delighted to get the clean sheet. You need that foundation at the back as a minimum.
“We’re in a difficult spell, but that is the way football works – things change very quickly and you have to adapt. The boys in front of me were magnificent, I am delighted to get a clean sheet but they deserve all the credit – they left me with very little to do, other than tidy up a few little bits.
“We’ve set a standard now, that needs to be the minimum going forward and that will stand us in good stead.”
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.