How could you NOT celebrate?
Hibs boss hits back at jibes over equaliser
HIBERNIAN boss Lee Johnson has dismissed jibes by Hearts that his team overcelebrated Martin Boyle’s 95th-minute derby leveller last Sunday.
In the wake of a dramatic 1-1 draw at Easter Road, Jambos substitute Toby Sibbick accused his city foes of partying like they had ‘won the league or a trophy’.
Johnson believes his team had every right to celebrate the stoppage-time equaliser by sub Boyle on his first appearance in a Hibs jersey since his return from Saudi Arabian side Al-Faisaly.
And he was adamant that the excitement was justified after the Australia international cancelled out Lawrence Shankland’s opener for Robbie Neilson’s men with virtually the last kick of the ball.
‘I certainly won’t apologise for the perception of over-celebrating because it was a good goal for us. It wasn’t offensive to anybody,’ said Johnson.
‘It was a landmark, a step on our little journey.
‘I thought Hearts bossed us for a 25-minute spell but, heart, fitness — call it whatever you like — came through at the end, with the supporters getting behind us. It felt like a deserved moment in our journey.
‘What was there were celebrations — but they weren’t that bad.
‘It’s not like I was doing knee slides in front of Robbie, do you know what I mean?
‘And by the way, every Hibs fan I’ve met since has been absolutely buzzing from the moment, and particularly because it was Martin Boyle who scored it.
‘There were so many mini stories in that one goal that meant it was important to us — momentum, flow, spirit, fan engagement. All those things mean it was an important goal.
‘What do you want me to do at the end of a game like that?
‘Even a neutral would enjoy the passion and excitement in that situation. I think a lot of people did.
‘Unfortunately for Robbie, that time he was on the wrong side of it. But I’m sure he will be on the right side of last-minute winners (in the future). ‘I’m not bothered about opinions. For me, it’s just football. And I’m learning more and more up here (in Scotland).
‘You can see little gripes, little frustrations building between managers.
‘But I want to keep the focus on Hibs. So “you do you, mate, and I’ll do me”.
‘(I don’t want to be) sidetracked by mind games or situations.’
Johnson (above) addressed comments by Neilson that, before the match, Hibs had been ‘talking about how they’re going to do this and do that this season. We came to their patch and we dominated them’.
The Easter Road boss responded: ‘As for us saying: “We’re going to do this and that”, of course we are going to be up front with our fans and try and articulate the journey we are on and how we are going to get there.
‘Hopefully we’re proved right by the hard work we do.
‘We’re not in the business of knocking others down to propel ourselves. We just like to tell our supporters where we see our place in the journey at the moment.’
After Sunday’s derby, Hibs vowed to ‘take appropriate action’ after Hearts defender Alex Cochrane was targeted by missiles thrown from the home crowd.
The club pledged to look at CCTV footage but there was no update on the investigation yesterday.
‘I don’t know. To be honest, it’s nothing to do with me,’ said Johnson.
‘But if I had been there, I would have done a collection, took a hat and put it in my daughter’s piggy bank.’
Tomorrow, Johnson takes his side on the short journey along the M8 to face Livingston on their plastic pitch at the Tony Macaroni Arena.
The Englishman is no fan of synthetic surfaces being allowed in the Scottish top flight.
But he admits modern pitches have come a long way since his own playing days with clubs including Yeovil Town and Bristol City.
He said: ‘I remember Preston, QPR and Luton used to have a plastic pitch.
‘John Beck, the Preston manager, made all his players wear padded tracksuit bottoms — even on hot, sunny days.
‘He asked his team to shell the ball into the corner, then battle, fight and tackle for it — and his players didn’t have burns on them at the end of the match.
‘I played on the Luton one and it was like sandpaper.
‘If you got a grass burn, you would be sticking to your bed sheets. You would end up peeling your sheets off in the morning. It wasn’t like the modern 4G pitches you get today.’