Hibs hero Rocky in shock red card admission as defender misses drama following another Sliding Doors moment
Goal-line clearance just part of the job as Partizan crushed by David Gray’s powerhouse team
Landing hard on his shoulder after a dramatic goal-line clearance, Rocky Bushiri couldn’t quite enjoy his latest Sliding Doors moment to the full. In fact, the defender admits that he didn’t even notice Partizan’s Vukasin Durdevic being red-carded as Hibs went straight up the park to force a turning point in their UEFA Conference League clash in Belgrade.
Bushiri, a man who loves a game-changing – or even season-saving – intervention, was genuinely hurt when he threw his body in front of Milan Vukotic’s goal-bound effort with the first leg of Thursday night’s third round qualifier still finely balanced at nil-nil heading towards the latter stages of the first half. He can be forgiven, then, for missing Kieron Bowie rolling Durdevic and drawing a second booking for the defender almost directly from the big man’s clearance.
“It’s difficult to describe moments like these,” said Bushiri. “I’m a defender who loves to defend, to block shots, so there are moments in games where you just have to throw yourself at the ball, when you keep your hands out of the way of it and hope to get in the way. People talk about putting bodies on the line and that’s what I did then.
“When I stopped the shot, I landed on my shoulder and didn’t know what was happening after that. It was only adrenaline that meant I could get up and carry on.
“But honestly, I didn’t even know they had a man sent off when we cleared the ball! It was only when we got in at half-time that the boys were talking about it that I realised what had happened. I guess I was just concentrating so hard on getting up and getting on with it that it passed me by.”
Already a cult hero by dint of THAT dramatic late equaliser against Aberdeen at Easter Road last November, not to mention a Scottish Cup winner away to Ayr United and two or three other big contributions to the cause, Bushiri loves the relationship he’s built with Hibs supporters. As evidenced by the joy on his face during Thursday night’s celebrations with the 350 or so fans who had travelled to Belgrade.
“The time we had with the fans at the end were special, they go straight to your heart and stay there forever,” said the Belgian-born Democratic Republic of Congo centre-half. “It’s not like it’s just next door for them. So all we wanted to say was thank for you very much for being there – that’s why we stayed with them a little longer than we usually would.
“Now we can’t wait to play at home next Thursday night, because it will be amazing. We already have a taste of it from the Midtjylland game, and this could be even better. We feed ourselves from the energy of our fans.
“We got everything from everyone in Belgrade, and we know when that we’re all at 100 per cent we’re a really good side. To get a two-goal lead and a clean sheet made it a great night.
“But not a perfect night – because the job’s only half done. We need to stay humbled and switched on all the time.
“We’ve another game against Kilmarnock before we play Partizan again, so we have to recover and go again. I go straight in an ice bath, then eat well and rest and then I’m ready to go.”
Reflecting on the controlled and composed performance by David Gray’s team, who coped admirably with the hostility of the Partizan ‘Gravediggers’ who make their home ground such an intimidating arena, Bushiri insisted: “We knew what the atmosphere was going to be like, so we also knew we’d have to be disciplined to stay in the game. Their fans were always going to push, so we had to stick together and keep our shape.
“I think we could have been better on the ball at the start, but we managed our way into it nice and slowly, we did it well. Boyley scored two and I’m really happy for him.
“He has so much energy, he always leads by example. These are two such important goals, but he always seems to be there when it matters.”
Scotland striker Bowie inspires Lukaku comparison
While Boyle bagged goals 100 and 101 for Hibs, courtesy of a smart finish at the back post and then a confident penalty that prompted wild celebrations in the small away section allocated to travelling fans, there were plenty of top performances to admire. It would be impossible to overlook, for instance, the contribution of Kieron Bowie.
The 22-year-old Scotland striker has spoken about training against Bushiri as a way of toughening himself up for the physical challenges he’ll face in the Scottish Premiership. And it’s clear that the benefits of those sessions go both ways.
“I benefit from working with him, he benefits from me,” said Bushiri. “It’s all good for the team.
“He is so good for such a young player and we’re not close to seeing the best of him yet. He works so hard and I can’t wait to see him score loads of goals this season.
“He’s a proper kind of target man, the kind they always used in the past – a target man like, say, Romelu Lukaku. He’s a great focal point when we need to breathe, to go long. That’s how the sending off came along, we needed to clear the ball, and he got on it.
“As a team, we keep working hard now. The motivation is to be better every day, one percentage at a time. That’s how you achieve perfection.”