David Gray paid tribute to his players and their “incredible achievement” after Hibernian’s 4-0 win over Dundee equalled a club record of 17 successive William Hill Premiership games unbeaten and took them clear in third place.
Defender Rocky Bushiri opened the scoring in the 26th minute, substitute Kieron Bowie doubled the lead in the 68th minute and Dwight Gayle, another replacement, curled in a third.
Bowie grabbed his second in the 84th minute, the first time Hibs have scored four goals in a top-flight game since May 2023 when they beat Celtic, with the victory taking them three points clear of Dundee United and Aberdeen with five post-split fixtures remaining.
The turnaround in form has been remarkable given the Easter Road side were bottom of the table as recently as December.
Gray said: “A great performance, fantastic result. To score four goals in the Premiership is very difficult, but delighted with the clean sheet as well.
“The level of consistency, the level of performance and the effort I’m getting from the players every single day in training and in games now is incredible and that’s a reflection on 17 games undefeated, which is an incredible achievement.
“We talk about it (the record), but at the same time we’ve been very much about short-term goals a lot this season because of the nature of the season and where we’ve found ourselves, to where we are now.
“Little incentives to try and change history in positive ways, it’s probably a quote I’ve used a lot this season, but we’ve managed to do that several times and today was another opportunity to do that.
“The challenge for us is, if we keep winning, nobody can catch us.
“I keep saying that to the players all the time and, if that keeps happening, the run will keep going.
“The players are desperate to keep that going. There’s a real feel-good factor around the club at the minute.
“It’s a real togetherness from the staff to the players, to the fans, the powers that be above, everyone’s in a real good place, but we’re all determined now to make sure we finish as strong as we can.”
Dundee remain five points ahead of bottom side St Johnstone and one behind Ross County and Kilmarnock.
Boss Tony Docherty said: “Today was a surprise for me, I must admit. That’s something that we need to get to the bottom of as a group.
“There’s a lot of frustration and disappointment.
“The team that have been as good as we’ve been in our last four league fixtures, beating St Mirren, beating Dundee United, should have got a positive result against Rangers and a draw against St Johnstone, that team never turned up in the first half.
“Now whether that was down to Hibs’ reputation or whatever, but certainly we addressed that at half-time.
“I thought when we came out in the second half, we were a better team.
“I thought it was us looking like the team that were going to get the next goal.
“That’s the team I want to see, that’s the bravery I want to see. But then to allow the game to flow and go away from us the way we did in the second, third and fourth goal, we need to take real responsibility for it.
“It’s happened too many times. So there’s real disappointment from that point of view.”
Everton manager David Moyes felt the final Goodison Park farewell offered a glimpse of what the future could be like when the love affair between fans and the club is rekindled.Iliman Ndiaye scored the last goals in a 2-0 victory over Southampton as the ground signed off 133 years of men’s senior football.The new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock offers a chance for a reset for a club which, for...
Iliman Ndiaye scored the last goals at Goodison Park as Everton signed off 133 years of history with a fitting 2-0 win over an abject Southampton.Nottingham Forest’s Horace Pike had the honour of being first on the scoresheet here in September 1892 – Fred Geary registered the Toffees’ first in the 2-2 draw – but Senegal international Ndiaye had the final say.The 2,791st men...
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner hailed his players for writing a new chapter in Crystal Palace’s history following their 1-0 FA Cup triumph over Manchester City.Eberechi Eze’s 16th-minute goal and Dean Henderson’s penalty save paved the way for Palace to land their first major trophy and a spot in the Europa League next season.“We said before the game that we wanted t...
Pep Guardiola was unhappy about Dean Henderson’s time wasting in Manchester City’s FA Cup final defeat – but the Spaniard refused to be drawn on whether the Crystal Palace goalkeeper should have been sent off.An angry Guardiola exchanged words with Henderson after the final whistle following City’s 1-0 loss at Wembley, which leaves them without a trophy this season and stil...
Airdrieonians secured their place in the Scottish Championship for another season as they beat Cove Rangers 2-1 on aggregate in their play-off final after a 0-0 second-leg draw at Excelsior Stadium.The early stages saw Lewis McGrattan bring a good save out of Cove goalkeeper Nicholas Suman, before counterpart Cade Melrose did well at the other end as he blocked Adam Emslie’s shot with his fo...
Eberechi Eze’s 16th-minute goal fired Crystal Palace to the first major trophy in their history as they secured a 1-0 FA Cup victory over Manchester City at Wembley.Eze put Palace ahead with their first attack of the match before an inspired Dean Henderson saved Omar Marmoush’s penalty.However, Henderson could count himself fortunate to still be on the pitch after he earlier appeared t...
East Kilbride won promotion to Scottish League Two for the first time and sent Bonnyrigg Rose down after a 0-0 draw at New Dundas Park saw the visitors triumph 3-1 on aggregate.Bonnyrigg goalkeeper Paddy Martin did well to keep out a Joao Balde strike in the 24th minute, before Aaron Arnott fired over at the other end.Kerr Young was unable to make the most of two chances for the hosts midway throu...
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. Manchester City's nightmare season will end without a trophy Dean Huijsen is just a chill guy joining Real Madrid Pep, Arteta Crystal Palace FA Cup Champion 2024/25🏆Crystal Palace 1-0 Man City In a world of elite strikers… there stands one king OFFICIAL: Lionel Messi will face The BEAST He Created! Has he got the Arsenal curse? Please stay tuned...
Carlo Ancelotti's future as the new Brazil manager is in serious danger as the five-time World Cup winners have been warned they could be expelled from the 2026 competition.Ancelotti had been announced as the new Brazil manager for the upcoming World Cup campaign, joining after the season with Real Madrid comes to an end.Since then, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) risks being barred fro...
Manchester United have already decided they will not sack Ruben Amorim if they lose the Europa League final.The Red Devils face Tottenham in Bilbao on Wednesday night with a chance for silverware and Champions League football next season on offer to salvage their dire campaign.Amorim took over in November and has overseen United's lowest finish in 50 years, but his future appears to be safe for th...
- 1 Richie Wellens hails Leyton Orient’s ‘outstanding’ victory over Stockport
- 2 Man Utd are losing the feeling of being a massive club – Ruben Amorim
- 3 We will see – no Unai Emery assurances over future of tearful Emiliano Martinez
- 4 Leyton Orient book Wembley date by beating Stockport on penalties
- 5 Liverpool cleared to complete signing
- 6 Brendan Rodgers hits out at ‘needless challenge’ on Reo Hatate
- 7 Mat Sadler hails Walsall’s ‘fighting performance’ after win in play-off first leg
- 8 David Gray thanks Hibernian board for showing faith in him after securing third
- 9 Airdrieonians earn first-leg lead over Cove in play-offs
- 10 Flick lauds Yamal, as Barca nears title