How did Hibs end up back in crisis? Events, errors and results put gaffer under pressure and owners under fire

Where has it all gone wrong for Hibs in this campaign of calamitous underachievement? How long have you got?

From the collective failing of repeated individual errors to the vagaries of VAR, promising performances without bite and plenty of unconvincing football, fans of the Easter Road club haven’t had their troubles to seek. Regardless of whether the board stick or twist with rookie head coach David Gray, the least observant punter could give directors a blow-by-blow of the season so far.

As the Gordon family – possibly with a little help from famously impatient billionaire Bournemouth owner Bill Foley – try to decide what to do with the fifth ‘permanent’ manager to have served on their watch as owners, there are no guarantees. Except that, if you were trying to reach the promised land of regular European football, you wouldn’t begin from here …

Horrible start

Pre-season was good. Lots of hard work and some impressive results. Followed by a Premier Sports Cup campaign containing just the single blot, as a team boasting a lot of fringe players lost 1-0 at Kelty; a result that would have lasting ramifications as unseeded Hibs exited the tournament at Celtic Park in the first knock-out round.

The Scottish Premiership has, however, been a source of constant sorrow for Hibs fans. Starting with that 3-0 loss away to St Mirren on the opening weekend of league action, with Dylan Vente missing from point-blank range and a Marvin Ekpiteta back pass contributing to a collapse that Gray called “unacceptable.” He’d use that word with uncomfortable frequency in the weeks ahead.

Late goals prove costly (chapter 8564)

In a recurring theme stretching way back to last season, Hibs found their attempts to bounce back from that early loss hampered by an inability to keep opponents from scoring in the closing stages of games. Simon Murray came back to haunt Easter Road with his equaliser in the 2-2 draw, while Bruce Anderson’s penalty with the 90 minutes up at Rugby Park denied the visitors a deserved 1-0 win.

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In total, Hibs have lost seven game-changing goals in the 80th minute or later this season. Andy Halliday’s winner for Motherwell. Luca Stephenson and Meshack Ubochioma both netting in injury time to turn a 2-1 win at Tannadice into a 3-2 loss for Hibs. James Wilson for the Jambos in the derby. And Sam Dalby benefiting from a generous interpretation of the rules to score from the penalty spot in the 1-1 home draw with United.

VAR played a big role in that most recent instance of late heartbreak, with the SFA’s independent panel belatedly finding that no penalty should have been awarded for Mykola Kuharevich’s shirt pull on a player in a different post code from the ball. But the pattern can’t all be down to bad luck or officiating errors.

Moments of hope

Even allowing for the daft red cards picked up by Nectar Triantis and Joe Newell, it’s not as if Hibs have been absolutely awful this season. But we all know that the history of this game is peppered with examples of half-decent teams getting relegated.

Possibly the best performance of the season came in an unlucky 1-0 loss at Ibrox, Tom Lawrence scoring an absolute worldie on a day when the visitors stood up well to home pressure. In terms of their inability to score goals, meanwhile, how different do you think things would have been, had Kieron Bowie not been ruled out for months with a hamstring injury?

Two steps forward

Ross County away on a Wednesday night is a brutal fixture. And Gray’s men lived down to the occasion in their opening 45 minutes in Dingwall. But they genuinely bounced back to play well in the second half up north, and probably could/should have left the Highlands with a win.

It’s just a statement of fact, meanwhile, that poor refereeing cost Hibs just their second league win of the season in the draw with Dundee United. Never a penalty. And how it took ref and VAR four minutes to reach the wrong decision remains a mystery. Hibs were beginning to look like a team, at least.

One almighty leap back

The impact of Saturday’s performance – not result, but the game of football itself – may be felt for some time. Not least in the starting XI when Hibs return from this international break to face Dundee at Dens Park in less than a fortnight’s time.

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The really worrying aspect of the game was Gray quite correctly accusing his players of lacking “fight and belief”. In a home game. Against opponents who had cuffed them 3-0 at the start of the league campaign – normally the sort of stinging slap-down that merits a fairly robust response the next time the sides meet.

“We were miles off it,” said Gray. “Not just one player. A lot of players shying away from the ball, making mistakes, not taking the ball, and then individual errors again. A lot of things that we've talked about previously.”

That’s how we got here, then. The next step on this journey? The only way is up. Regardless of what happens in those urgent discussions between interested/concerned parties Edinburgh and California.