Josh Campbell was delighted to repay Head Coach David Gray’s faith in him, having played a pivotal role in Hibs 3-1 victory over Falkirk yesterday.
A scintillating first-half display by Hibs saw Campbell open the scoring after good work by Jordan Obita, and then he doubled the lead with a 20th-minute header from Martin Boyle’s cross.
Obita then added a third five minutes before the end of the first 45, and substitute Ben Broggio pulled one back for Falkirk on 72 minutes.
But Hibs first-half performance did the damage to boost their European football hopes for next season.
Naturally thrilled to have played such a key role in helping the Hibssecure a vital win on just his third William Hill Premiership start of the season, Campbell explained he was pleased to have justified his manager’s decision to select him with Jamie McGrath out through suspension.
“It’s a massive three points for us, considering how tight it is in the table,” Campbell told Hibs TV.
“We knew that if Falkirk won today, they would go ahead of us, but we’re delighted with a massive performance.
“We know how good Falkirk are at passing the ball, especially on their home pitch.
“We’re not used to it as much because we play on the grass, but we knew if we turned them in behind and put the ball in the box as quick as we could, we were a threat, and we did that.
“It’s tough when you’re not playing, but you’ve got to be ready when you’re called upon, and I feel like I’ve done that today. The manager has trusted me to start, and I’ve repaid that faith.
“We were getting the ball wide and crossing it, and I’m a threat in the air. The first one was a corner, and no one was picking me up, so I thought, ‘This is ideal.’
“I feel like I am a threat, but I can’t remember much of it.
“I remember just heading on target and then hearing the cheers from the Hibs fans, so that was good, and for the second one, Boyler (Martin Boyle) whipped it in, and I put it in the back of the net.”
Though Campbell proud of the result, he is determined to maintain the positive momentum at Ibrox against Rangers on Wednesday night.
He added: “In the last couple of weeks with the red cards, it’s obviously not ideal, but the way they defended the box at the end when they were chucking everything at us was really good, and I’m pleased to see that.
“It’s another big game on Wednesday night now. They’ll be hungry as anything, but we’ll be looking to try and take three points as well.
“There’s still stuff to play for. People might not see that, but there is. The league changes every day and every week, so I feel like European football is still there to play for, and if results go our way, we can maybe get into fourth.”
