Hibs fans feared the worst, now they're dreaming of one last plot twist - John Greechan's talking points
Beating Rangers as Motherwell lose to Celtic the perfect double on night of high drama
This is the season that keeps on giving. A campaign with, you feel, a few more surprises, sucker punches, crazy controversies and – hopefully - joyous twists of fate still to be delivered.
That Hibs will play a not insignificant part in the final act of a chaotic year for Scottish football, with their scrap for the last remaining guaranteed European qualifying spot now going right down to the wire, must be a source of enormous relief to all at Easter Road. While the majority may find their attention diverted elsewhere once Saturday’s final round of Scottish Premiership top-six fixtures kick off, the fact that David Gray’s men still have something to play for is definitely a bonus.
And they’ve earned their part on the stage, even if it is only in the chorus. Grafted to carve out their own interesting sub-plot through a sense of dramatic timing entirely in keeping with the vibes of SPFL season 2025-26.
So what did we learn from last night’s stunning late win at Ibrox? And what does it tell us about the readiness of Hibs for the challenge that lies in wait? Once more into the breach, dear friends. Once more.
Hibs needed this
It hasn’t been a vintage campaign for Easter Road regulars, what with certain other clubs hogging the limelight and still – for now, at least – keeping alive the possibility of a true footballing nightmare for Hibs fans. Regardless of league placings, European hopes or any other external factors, then, it felt as if the team owed their supporters at least one more emotional high before the footballing year wound down.
Having already won at Celtic Park for the first time in 16 years, last night’s victory over Rangers at Ibrox – not such an infrequent occurrence, with barely a year between away wins in Govan – will certainly have boosted morale. Well, it’s hard to imagine any other reason why the Hibs fans crammed into the far corner were celebrating so wildly for so long after the game …
All joking aside, here was a reminder that Hibs aren’t all that bad. That they can even be pretty effective, if not always pretty, on their day. That matters, in terms of sustaining belief in what Gray is trying to build, as much as where they finish in the league table.
Pundits’ pets in Gray’s sights - again
Jens Berthel Askou’s silky Steelmen remain the darlings of the pundit class. Wondrous, expansive, free-flowing … yadda, yadda and, furthermore, yadda.
Would finishing fifth dilute any of the hype around Motherwell? Don’t hold your breath. Not least because you’ll need it on Saturday.
This isn’t the first time that Hibs have had a chance to go past their rivals for that final guaranteed European spot. So far, they haven’t found a way to get the job done.
The fact that fifth place in Scotland’s top flight is likely to be rewarded with a spot in the UEFA Conference League second qualifying, assuming Celtic don’t bottle things in the Scottish Cup Final, provides some degree of security. With that potential side-door entry all but secured, however, Hibs will surely go all-out for victory.
Win this one and they’ll remove any need to tune into events from Hampden. While proving a point or two about substance over style, perhaps.
But Rangers … oh, Rangers
The whole James Tavernier fiasco rather summed up a lot of what is going wrong at the Ibrox club at the moment. The fact that the warmest words spoken about the long-serving Rangers captain came from Gray said plenty about the dysfunctional nature of the Glasgow giants.
Still, you can only beat the team in front of you. And Hibs did that by relying on some stout defending, yes, as well as heroic goalkeeping by Raphael Sallinger. But also by simply squeezing Rangers, not exactly renowned for their robust mentality, until they cracked.
Timing is everything
Josh Mulligan’s return from injury with about 100 or so minutes of the season remaining may have been a case of better late than never. But would you bet against him making a major contribution on Saturday?
Dane Scarlett bagging his first Hibs goal in the 90th minute, even if it was from truly unmissable range, also felt like a nice reward for the on-loan Tottenham striker’s efforts since his January arrival. You never know, he might be needed in the closing stretch against Motherwell.
When it comes to perfect timing, though, few in this Hibs team are more practiced than Martin Boyle. After opening the scoring last night, it would be just like him to sign off with another huge goal in his final game for the club.
Whoever emerges as heroes and villains on Saturday, with the potential for at least one more insane VAR intervention impossible to ignore, you can guarantee a couple of things. First, Easter Road will surely be absolutely bouncing for this one.
What else? Oh yeah, the whole rivalry thing. That law of football that says you never want ‘the other lot’ to win a throw-in, never mind a trophy.
From fearing the absolute worst, both for their own team’s ambitions and the bigger picture of a title triumph across the city, Hibs fans will have returned home in more restful mood last night. To sleep, perchance to dream of one more minor plot twist in a season seemingly destined to enthral until its final knockings.