Agonising late goal leaves Gray defeated but defiant as Motherwell move six clear in Euro race

David Gray believes Hibs were the masters of their own downfall for a second straight game, as two moments of madness saw his nine-man team suffer an agonising late loss to Hearts at Easter Road. And he insisted he had no complaints about either of the red cards that contributed to a chaotic final Edinburgh derby of the season.

Hibs were 1-0 up through Martin Boyle’s early opener when goalkeeper Raphael Sallinger was sent off, with just 13 minutes on the clock, for handling the ball outside of his penalty box. The hosts were still leading when Felix Passlack picked up a second booking – and a red card – early in the second half.

But Lawrence Shankland claimed the final touch on an equaliser that might have taken a last deflection off Warren O’Hora after 65 minutes. And, just four minutes from time, Blair Spittal’s low drive was deflected beyond substitute goalkeeper Jordan Smith.

Victory put Hearts back on top of the table with four games remaining, while Hibs fell six points behind Motherwell – victors over Rangers at Ibrox – in the race for fourth place.

‘Difficult to play with 10, never mind nine ...’

Gray, who had seen his team lose 2-0 to Aberdeen at Pittodrie after Grant Hanley’s early red card in their previous outing, said: “Do I think they were the right decisions? Absolutely. I think they are.

“When you think about how the game started, what we expected, everything I expected. Really fast, really frantic, nervy, electric energy in the stadium because of the magnitude of the game. Derbies are always that way anyway.

“And then you find yourself 1-0 up, a scrappy start, but a brilliant start to the game. And then, unfortunately, same as last week, go down to 10 men after what was it, 14 minutes.

“It’s very difficult to win games of football with 10 men. And it's probably been the last two games we've beaten ourselves, in my opinion.

"The nine men that remained on the pitch from whatever it was, 45 minutes, 46 minutes, gave absolutely everything. And didn't deserve that, if I'm being honest, because of how much they put into it.

“They defended their box incredibly. Players that haven't played a lot of minutes, a goalkeeper coming on and making big saves, which you need.

“When you're down to nine men, you need your goalie to make saves. You need to try and have a little bit of luck and ride your luck a little bit.

“And then, when you look at the goals we lose, that makes it even tougher to take, because it's a deflection and an own goal. So, I think it's an own goal, isn't it? Which makes it tough to take. But, unfortunately, as I've just said, I think both decisions are right.”

Addressing the costly decisions by both Sallinger and Passlack, Gray added: “I think they're just mistakes. It's not through anything other than a mistake.

“The goalkeeper makes a decision, rather than clearing it, to take a touch. Then, obviously, gets his bearings wrong, because he's outside the box, marginally, but is.

“And then, the second one, Felix, it's a mistake in the middle of the pitch. He tries to atone for the mistake, overstretches, second yellow card, pretty clear from me. And that's what cost us the game.

"I think it's very difficult, as I've just said, to win a game with 11, never mind 9. But the players gave everything.

“I think when you look at, from Martin Boyle up top right through, what a shift they put in. Every player that came on the pitch put in an absolute shift.

“And to go as close as we did, what was it, 86, 87 minutes or something like that, before they actually found a winner … that makes it even tougher to take, because of how much the players put in it. And I'll say it again, the nine players that remained on the pitch didn't deserve that for what they put in it.

“They deserved to get something out of the game, they were outstanding. And that is what makes it tougher to take for the players.”

Gray insisted his players can’t be allowed to give up in their pursuit of Motherwell despite the widening gap, although eh admitted: "I think it compounds the feeling after the game.

“Of course it does, because, one, we've lost a game. And then you find yourself, obviously, the team you're trying to catch stretch away from us by another three points.

“Now, we will not stop going until the last game, until it's mathematically not possible. It becomes more difficult, clearly, because we're further points away and one game down.

“There's so many big games in the season, the four games left, every single game's got something on it. And we need to go again, we need to keep pushing and pushing and pushing until it's not possible to catch them. If it isn't going to be that way, we need to give ourselves a chance by making sure we try and get three points next week.”

Gray said he believed the Hibs fans who stayed to applaud his players recognised that they’d given everything despite the result, saying: “The nine players that remained on the pitch gave absolutely everything. And the fans that remained right to the very end showed their appreciation for that as well.

“You could see that. The fans played a big part in keeping the players going. Every time we won the ball back, making sure that they let the players know they were there and I think that was really important. So I think, as I just said, the appreciation that the fans showed was because of what they were seeing on the pitch for the nine players that remained on it.”

Pressed on how Sallinger and Passlack had responded to their dismissals, Gray said simply: "What's been said has remained private, but it's pretty obvious, I think, for everyone involved.”