David Gray backed red-hot Martin Boyle to break through the 100-goal mark for Hibernian after he notched his 15th of the season in a comfortable 3-0 William Hill Premiership home win over St Johnstone.
The Australia forward struck Hibs’ second after Junior Hoilett’s exquisite opener before substitute Kieron Bowie sealed victory with a stoppage-time penalty.
Boyle, who first joined Hibs on loan from Dundee just over a decade ago, has now matched his highest-scoring season in green and white, when he hit 15 under Jack Ross in 2020-21.
The 31-year-old, who has been linked with a move to Australia, is on 94 in total for the Edinburgh club, with seven games to play before his current deal expires at the end of this season.
“It’s fantastic, it’s fully deserved,” said manager Gray of Boyle’s strike rate. “With how he affects games at this level, he’s obviously a fantastic player. He’s such a threat, especially on the break.
“He’ll probably be a wee bit disappointed because a couple of times today when we did break, he didn’t quite get the break of the ball.
“He’s chasing down this 100 goals for the club, so he’s going to have to go some to get there (before the end of the season). But he’s got the games left to do it and he’s definitely hungry enough to want to try and do it.
“I think that’s maybe why he had a wee look at me when I took him off today when he was on that goal!
“He fully deserves all the praise because of the consistency and performances he’s shown ever since he’s been a Hibs player.”
The victory over bottom side Saints made it 15 Premiership matches in a row unbeaten and kept Hibs a point clear of Aberdeen in the battle for third.
“It was a complete performance,” said Gray. “Everybody fully deserved that clean sheet. Smudge (Jordan Smith) didn’t even have a save to make, so it shows how good we were without the ball.”
Saints remain adrift at the foot of the table and boss Simo Valakari was deflated by their limp display after a run in which they had won six and drawn two of their previous 10 matches.
“We didn’t play well enough to get anything out of the match,” he said.
“We played against very good opponents and they played well as well, but at the same time, we need to own this performance, learn from it quickly and move on.”
Ange Postecoglou insisted his controversial cupped ear celebration to Tottenham fans in a 1-0 loss at Chelsea had been misinterpreted on another bad night for the Australian.Spurs slipped to a 16th defeat in the Premier League this season thanks to a 50th-minute header by Enzo Fernandez, but it only told half the story of a typically frenzied London derby.VAR was required to rule out a fine strike...
Chelsea climbed back into the Premier League’s top four as Enzo Fernandez’s header early in the second half earned a 1-0 derby win over Tottenham at Stamford Bridge.Enzo Maresca’s side were under pressure after limping into the international break playing football that had ceased to excite home fans, but they largely had the better of a disappointing Spurs team that failed to tak...
David Moyes believes James Tarkowski was lucky to avoid a red card for his reckless challenge on Alexis Mac Allister as Everton were beaten 1-0 by Liverpool on a controversial night at Anfield.Diogo Jota’s 57th-minute goal, which Moyes claimed should have been ruled out for offside, gave Liverpool a 100th derby win and moved them a step closer to the Premier League title, but both sides were...
Jack Grealish dedicated his goal to his late brother after scoring in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over relegation-threatened Leicester on Wednesday.The England international hit his first Premier League goal for 16 months, on his first start in the competition since last December, as City moved back into fourth with a comfortable success at the Etihad Stadium.It came on the 25th anniversary of...
David Moyes bemoaned an “offside” goal that gave Liverpool a 1-0 win over Everton – but admitted James Tarkowski was lucky to avoid an early red card on a controversial night at Anfield.Diogo Jota’s 57th-minute goal gave Liverpool a 100th derby win and moved them a step closer to the Premier League title, but both sides were left unhappy with decisions from referee Sam Barr...
Eddie Howe hailed Sandro Tonali’s shooting power after seeing him cap a fine display with a stunning winner to edge Newcastle into the race for Champions League qualification.The 24-year-old Italy international brought an incident-packed encounter to a fitting conclusion with a 74th-minute piledriver which beat goalkeeper Mark Flekken from an improbable angle to hand the Magpies a precious 2...
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery believes Marcus Rashford is “progressively getting better” in all aspects of his game following his first Premier League goal for the club.The on-loan Manchester United forward set Villa on course for a comprehensive 3-0 win over fellow European hopefuls Brighton with a 51st-minute finish at the Amex Stadium.Rashford’s milestone strike came three days ...
Southampton boss Ivan Juric vowed to keep fighting as relegation moved sharply into focus after Crystal Palace denied them only a third Premier League win of the season.Substitute Matheus Franca’s stoppage-time header, to secure a 1-1 draw for the Eagles, means Saints will be down at the weekend if they lose at Tottenham and Wolves beat Ipswich.If relegation is confirmed on Sunday, Southampt...
Derby boss John Eustace insists his side are reaping the rewards for the hard work they have put in since he was appointed as manager after the Rams earned a 2-0 win over Preston to climb out of the Sky Bet Championship relegation zone.Derby came out firing after a lacklustre opening period and Craig Forsyth coolly slotted the hosts in front with his fourth goal of the season.The Rams doubled thei...
Notts County manager Stuart Maynard hailed a “massive” three points as his side comfortably saw off MK Dons at Meadow Lane to maintain their promotion challenge.Two stunning strikes from David McGoldrick and Will Jarvis from the edge of the box, either side of Nick Tsaroulla’s close-range effort, earned County a convincing 3-0 win.“I think every three points is massive now,...
- 1 Hot WAG flaunts 'astonishing' washboard abs in bikini
- 2 Danny Rohl hails Sheffield Wednesday resilience in draw at Cardiff
- 3 Alfie May double sends Birmingham step closer to Championship
- 4 Marcus Rashford scores first Premier League goal for Villa in win at Brighton
- 5 Ryan Lowe and Conor Hourihane felt team deserved more as Wigan and Barnsley draw
- 6 Mat Sadler hails Taylor Allen set-piece skills after Walsall snatch draw
- 7 Chris Davies says Alfie May’s goal drought never concerned him
- 8 Football fan 'eats' raw pig's head in ultimate insult
- 9 Marcus Rashford still looking to improve after firing Villa into FA Cup semis
- 10 Chelsea prepare €70m for Barcelona defender