I tried to flee cup fever on holiday but a big drunken Hibs fan leapt on my back
THREE days after the moment that changed his life irrevocably, David Gray sought peace and calm in a quiet corner of the Balearics. With hindsight, perhaps only by purchasing a seat on the next lunar mission could the man whose goal ended Hibernian’s 114-year wait for the Scottish Cup have been granted his wish.
‘My wife, Hayley, was heavily pregnant, and I wanted to take myself away from all the hype,’ the 28-year-old defender recalled.
‘I was catching up on social media on all the things that were going on back home and she said to me: “I’m glad we’re here, because I would never see you”.
‘About ten minutes later, we were walking through this small quiet street when this big drunk Scotsman ran up and jumped on my back.
‘I think he had been sitting at a terraced area outside a restaurant.
‘I got quite a fright, I was pushing a pram at the time. I’m suddenly thinking: “What’s going on here?”
‘We were just walking along and I think he was sitting in a terraced area outside a restaurant.
‘He was a Hibby, so I had a little chat with him. I don’t think he had actually been to the game but his son had.
‘I can’t remember his name and I’ve not seen him since. If I saw him again I might be concerned!’
Gray’s life is now punctuated by such chance engagements. For tens of thousands of Hibernian fans, his flashing injury-time header against Rangers last May was a lifeaffirming moment.
Most supporters have settled for the commemorative DVD as proof that the biggest hoodoo in Scottish football
was actually broken.
Many have opted for tattoos of the defining, historic moment.
‘Some of them look homemade, aye,’ Gray smiled.
‘That’s another thing which has been quite surreal. You see stuff on social media and it’s hard to take in.
‘I don’t know how I feel about that (seeing your face tattooed on someone’s body). To be honest, it’s quite strange.
‘In one way, it’s very flattering that somebody is so proud of what we achieved as a group, that we finally managed to put that cup hoodoo to bed.’
One of football’s great appeals is its ability to make heroes of the most unlikely players.
Gray was always a fine full-back — indeed, good enough to have been on Manchester United’s books for five years.
But that one moment at Hampden in 2016 will forever elevate how he is perceived by the Hibernian support and the game at large. It is how his life has come to be defined.
‘I get a lot more attention,’ he said. ‘It’s nice to hear stories, of people coming up to you and saying: “My dad has been going to Hibs games for years and he never thought he’d see the day…” and others coming up and thanking you.
‘It is all very humbling from my point of view. I think I’ll appreciate it more once I finish my career, when I have time to reflect on it.
‘At the moment, though I’m focused on trying to do the next thing — which means trying to get through to the next round on Sunday (against Hearts).’
To date, Hibs have made a pretty decent job of paying due reverence to what happened in last season’s final while refusing to dwell on it.
Six points clear of Dundee United at the top of the Championship, the minds of Neil Lennon’s team have remained focused on the job at hand.
Do not, however, mistake the certain need to get promotion to the top flight at the third time of asking as even a vague indication that hanging on to the famous old trophy does not mean the world to the players.
‘We know we need to get promoted this year,’ Gray explained.
‘But it took us 114 years to win the Scottish Cup, so to go and do it twice… just imagine the outcome of that. ‘That’s at the forefront of our thinking, so we’ll apply ourselves to do that. ‘This is my third season at the club, and in the first two seasons we were beaten in the semi-final and then in the final. ‘So we have done well in the cup competitions and we are determined to defend the trophy this year.’ Two weeks ago, as Hearts let a lead slip late on against Raith Rovers at Stark’s Park, Hibs would have been strongly fancied to prevail.
However, the day that Ian Cathro’s men won convincingly in the league at Motherwell, Hibs stumbled at home to Ayr United.
Suddenly, those supporters who will make the trip to Tynecastle across the city from Leith are less certain.
‘I think we go into the game as the underdogs,’ said Gray. ‘Hearts being at home probably makes them the favourites, but we are happy with that situation.
‘We know we’re capable of beating anyone on our day. Last season, we went there in the cup and fought back to get a draw — then we beat them in the replay.’
Robbie Neilson needs no one to remind him of that fact. A large rump of the Hearts support never forgave the then manager for letting that first game against their rivals slip through his grasp.
Gray’s recollections, however, are that the two-goal lead Hearts raced into was unmerited.
He explained: ‘We went in at halftime 2-0 down thinking: “What happened there?”.
‘We always knew that the next goal would be vital. It was great we got it and the momentum was with us going into the replay.’
Defeating Hearts along the way embroidered the story of Hibs’ run.
Winning the trophy guaranteed a volcanic eruption of joy from their supporters.
Just as important as the ending of the 114-year curse, though, was how it has given the club a new-found respect and a belief it is now moving forward at a steady rate of knots.
‘The fans have been fantastic and you saw that with the number going over to Brondby (in the Europa League),’ Gray recalled.
‘It was the first time I had played in Europe and it’s an experience we’re striving to have again.’
The same can be said of these jousts for bragging rights in the capital.
As much as fate decreed that both clubs eyeballed each other in the Championship in 2014-15, it was a poor substitute for locking horns regularly in the top flight.
Tomorrow’s clash will be viewed by many as a barometer of the respective standings ahead of derby hostilities potentially resuming next season.
‘Hearts are doing what we want to be doing,’ admitted Gray.
‘We want to be challenging in the top half of the Premiership and I think we’re now good enough to do that.
‘It’s good and well saying that, but the fact is we are sitting in the Championship and it’s a really tough league to get out of.
‘It’s up to other people to say what the gulf is (between the Championship and the Premiership) but we know that on our day we are pretty much a match for anybody.
‘We only worry about ourselves and if anyone wants to compare us, that’s up to them.’