Hibs character hailed but Ross County rage at key refereeing decision after 'thinking about blowing whistle'

Goals from Dwight Gayle, Elie Youan and Josh Campbell gave Hibs all three points as they moved from bottom place in the Premiership to eighth, leaping above the Staggies in the process, who had taken an early lead through Eli Campbell.

It was only Hibs’ third league win of the season but allows them to move into the festive period with more confidence, with a trip to Aberdeen looming next weekend. They could even afford themselves the luxury of missing a penalty through Nicky Cadden before Youan converted one himself.

“Everything was about the result today because of the magnitude of the game,” said Gray, “the position we were in in the league, but also the opportunity that was at the end of it. So we knew with three points today we could go above Ross County. That was the focus. Credit to Ross County, they started the game far better than us. Maybe a wee bit of nerves, maybe a bit of anxiety around some players potentially, but we definitely didn't start the game as well as I'd like.

"They scored the goal, and then we relied on our goalkeeper [Jordan Smith] to make a couple of saves at the start of the game. But then I thought once we did settle down a little bit, the [Gayle] goal for us comes at a real key time. So to go in 1-1 at half-time was a massive moment in the game. In the second half, I thought we were miles better. A lot more on the front foot, created a lot more chances, missed a few key chances again. But the reaction from the players to go behind to get themselves back in front was excellent.

"Obviously we missed a penalty to get another reaction and then score again. It was good. And then the one thing they've always been questioned about this year, and rightly so because the points we've dropped at times, was the character. And Ross County threw absolutely everything at us towards the end, and I thought we stood up to it really well, defended the box really well. We've played miles better on lost points. But the character was definitely tested and the big thing today was the result, so I'm delighted for the players on that front.”

Gray now hopes moving off the bottom of the table can change the narrative around Easter Road, which has been shrouded in negativity for months.

“It's the message I've said to the players for a while, which is how quickly the narrative can change,” Gray continued. “Now, when you're at the bottom of the league, it's a difficult place to be, especially for this football club. That's underachievement by a long way. So we knew that, we knew we were dealing with that. We knew we were always improving throughout the period, but the league doesn't lie as well. So when we found ourselves in that position, we had to take that on the chin.

"It doesn't change much in terms of three points. It's not as if we've completed it now at all. There's lots of learnings to take from today, especially second-half decision making at times and how we started the game, especially. But now we go into a busy period over the festive period, where psychologically it looks a lot different when you're sitting eighth on the table rather than at the very bottom looking up. I think the players can take a lot of confidence and belief in that. Probably since the Aberdeen game, to be honest, we used that as that turning point.

“That was the challenge to the players and I think they've responded in a very good way from that.”

Hibs had to defend their lead at the end without defender Warren O’Hora, who picked up an injury late on and was replaced by Hyeokkyu Kwon. "It's too soon to know really, but just a problem with his foot,” said Gray. “I think just the way he landed, he felt like he hurt his foot a little bit, whether it was his ankle or his foot, we're just waiting to see. Warren being Warren, we wanted to try and run it off, but I think once we found out we actually had another sub, he was more willing to come off.”

Ross County manager Don Cowie was laced with disappointment as their run without an away victory since September 2023 continued. Their 25-game run without an Premiership triumph on the road was not helped by individual errors to give away penalties, as Cowie admitted, but he took umbrage at referee Lloyd Wilson not blowing for half time after the five minutes of stoppage time had elapsed before Gayle equalised.

“We lost it because we made poor decisions at an important time,” said Cowie. “We got ourselves into a great position. I thought we played very well, especially in the first half. We had an opportunity at 1-0 to really kick on and probably get the second goal. It didn't come. After that, things went against us. Firstly, we made poor decisions.

“Secondly, every decision within the game went against us. I spoke to the referee. There's five minutes of stoppage time in the first half. We go over the five minutes, the ball breaks, Youan looks to attack. He then plays the ball sidewards and he brings the whistle to his mouth to call time. He's been told time in his ear.

“He's told me that he thought about blowing his whistle but didn't. After that, that's our responsibility. We shouldn't have conceded. I find it hard to believe why he didn't blow for half-time then. For me, that changed a big part of the game. It gives Hibs momentum.

“It gives the stadium something to cheer about going into half-time when we were thoroughly in control of the game at that stage.”

On the penalty decisions, Cowie added: Again, the referee spoke to us before the game. He came into the dressing room and said that they will be looking at shirt pulls. I was part of a meeting a couple of weeks ago with all the other managers. There was a bit of debate in terms of the strength and longevity of the pull. I've warned the players not to do it.

“It's lazy defending and you give the referee the option to give penalties and that's what we did.”