Soccer
David Gray hails ‘deserved’ win as Hibernian bounce back from European exit
David Gray praised his Hibernian players for bouncing back against Dundee after suffering bitter European disappointment.
The Edinburgh club had been on the verge of making history on Thursday night in their Conference league play-off against Gent but suffered last-gasp heartbreak, losing 3-2.
However they responded well against Dundee, taking a commanding lead with goals by Martin Boyle and Callum Wright.
The hosts pulled one back late on through Joe Westley but Hibs held on to secure the win.
The Easter Road boss said: “I’m not sure if relief is the right word. I thought, deserved. The players got exactly what they deserved today.
“We were brilliant, considering where we were, the lows of Thursday night, how close we came… every excuse in the world would have been there for the players today if they wanted to accept that.
“The players started the game really well, created numerous chances. I’d like to have seen the game out a little bit easier but to see the game out the way we did showed real character and bravery because of everything that’s happened in the last week.
“The players deserve all the credit in the world for their performance levels today. And they certainly got what they deserved again.”
Warren O’Hara was absent from the Hibs squad but Gray denied that had anything to do with transfer interest in the defender and said there had been no bid, adding: “No, Warren was just unavailable along with Adam Mayor, Josh Campbell, Owen Elding and Nicky Cadden.”
Disappointed Dundee boss Steven Pressley admitted Hibs fully deserved to win the game.
The former Hearts skipper said: “We didn’t manage to get our pressure quite right.
“Hibs gave us a lot of problems with the ball, we also didn’t pick up enough second balls, and we also probably weren’t effective enough with the ball.
“That’s something I do think we need to work and keep improving on, because we never really got any control of the game. We turned the ball over a lot.
“Credit to Hibernian – they certainly deserved to win the game today. There’s no doubt about that, but there are parts of our performance we have to analyse and improve on.
“The one thing about the group is, they never give up. They always show that attitude and desire to keep going and I have to give them great credit for that, because we didn’t manage to quite play our way.”
Pressley admitted Dundee are working hard behind the scenes to add to their squad.
He said: “We’re working on a few because we need a few in before the close of the window.”
