David Gray admitted that his players were ‘out-fought’ after his side drew 2-2 with Livingston in the William Hill Premiership yesterday.
Hibs led twice in the match at the Home of the Set Fare Arena but were ultimately pegged back late on as Livingston scored a 90th minute penalty.
After the final whistle Gray said: “I’m extremely frustrated. I don’t think we could’ve asked for a better start going 1-0 up in the first 30 seconds. From that moment up until half-time our level of performance across the board wasn’t good enough.
“We were out-fought, didn’t win enough second balls, didn’t have enough quality on the ball, and were way below the standards required for this football club and the standards set by the players.
“They knew that, and when I told them that at half-time it wasn’t something they didn’t already know.
“I could’ve made any change at half-time, but I gave the players the chance to show a reaction, and I think they did.
“When you find yourselves ahead in a game twice, not playing particularly well, you need to find a way to come away with three points. We let ourselves down in the last few minutes.
“We didn’t need to give away the corner and then we didn’t defend it properly. You need to win the first contact in that area. Then we gave away the penalty and I’m not complaining about the fact the penalty was given.
“Did we do enough to win the game? I don’t. I think that’s fair to say.”
Arguably the biggest moment in the game saw Kieron Bowie’s right-footed effort disallowed for offside. That goal would’ve put Hibs 3-1 ahead, but was ultimately checked and confirmed by VAR.
“It’s a huge moment in the game and went against us today,” said Gray. “If that goes our way, then it’s 3-1 and it’s done.
“The second half performance was better, and I did get a reaction from the players like I say, but the offside is very, very tight.
“I could moan about the lines and things like that, but we didn’t do enough today and that’s my biggest frustration more than anything else.”
