Martin Boyle: Hibs hero explains how he made a dramatic impact against Hearts after not training since June

Hibs hero Martin Boyle says he defied sport science with adrenaline to come off the bench and score a dramatic equaliser against Hearts in a talismanic return to the club.

He hasn’t trained since June 28, but after sealing his return to Hibs from Al Faisaly 24 hours earlier the Australian international was introduced from the bench to provide some much-needed spark and delivered just that with an equaliser in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

“You could say sports science was out the window,” he told Sky Sports. “The last time I kicked the ball was 28th of June. The gaffer phoned me last night and asked if I could manage. When he gave me the nod I knew that the atmosphere and adrenaline would get me through and thankfully it did. I can’t wait to get back training in among the group.”

Boyle described his equaliser as an “unbelievable feeling” and the 29-year-old added: “I wanted to come back here and prove a point, showed the fans what I can again. Luckily I came on and made an impact. It was a great end to the game.

Martin Boyle celebrates making it 1-1 against Hearts at Easter Road. Picture: Rob Casey / SNS

“We could have had a couple in the first half. Craig Gordon made great saves again. It was going a bit flat, but the manager made changes. Good tactics. They dropped off a bit and went more defensive. We kept pushing to the end.”

Asked how important it was for Hibs to rescue a point, Boyle replied: “It’s massive. We showed good character to come back. We played good football at times, but it was sloppy [at times] and we need to work on that.”