‘Apart from five-minute period’ – David Gray makes ‘big sucker blow’ claim after Celtic beat Hibernian

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Celtic continued their strong record over Hibernian in the Premiership on Saturday.

David Gray’s side, who are still in pole position to finish third this term, have no wins at Celtic Park in their last 22 games, and four wins since 1985.

When Martin Boyle opened the scoring after 25 minutes, that fifth win since 85 was well on the cards, but in typical Celtic style, the Champions of Scotland proved why they are wearing their crown.

Just before the break, Brendan Rodgers’ side turned on the turbo, with goals from Nicolas Kuhn and Adam Idah putting Celtic ahead, before Reo Hatate scored a well-worked team goal just before the hour mark.

It was a deserved win for the Hoops, but being on the losing side, it was a frustrating afternoon for the man in Hibs’ dugout.

• READ MORE: Fuming Gerry McCulloch explains bizarre VAR check at Nicolas Kuhn’s Celtic equaliser vs Hibs

David Gray reacts to Celtic beating Hibernian

Rewind back to Hibs’ controversial win over Celtic in February, which showcased the form and quality of the Edinburgh side.

Added to that, Gray’s men have been one of the form sides in 2025, and he wanted to express his frustration at losing the game.

The 37-year-old stated how his team started the game ‘pretty positively’, but then were dealt with the ‘big sucker blow’ towards the end of the first half, as he told Hibs TV.

“Clearly very frustrated because it’s never nice to lose games of football,” said Gray. “One thing I would say, I thought we carried more of a threat today, which was important, because of how we played the least time we were here.

“I thought we started the game pretty positively. I think the manner of the goals, the timing of the goals were the big sucker blow for the players today. To get in front in the game was good. I thought the shape was excellent. I thought the effort was clearly there from the players as well.

“It wasn’t as if we were having to make save after save in the first half, but to lose the two goals that we did before half-time was a blow. Going in 1-0 up to going in 2-1 down at half-time, just shows you the level of opposition, that if you switch off for one second, you can be punished, and we certainly got that just before half-time.

“Second half, I did get a reaction from the players. Started brightly. A couple of corners and chances that didn’t quite fall to us, but then the third goal was the killer. Once it goes 3-1, it becomes very difficult after that.

“41 minutes, the first goal goes in, so to find yourself going in behind up until that point, is a blow, but I think you also have to quickly remind the players of how the half has went, apart from that five-minute period, which we know that we needed to be better.”

Celtic’s stats against Hibernian compared to the December meeting

When Celtic beat Hibernian 3-0 in December, the scoreline didn’t reflect the type of performance the champions were up against.

Gray’s side created numerous big chances in that game, five in total, including forcing Kasper Schmeichel into eight saves.

Schmeichel returned from injury against the very same opponent, and he was in the thick of the action again, but Celtic competed and fared a lot better this time around.