Hibees have Mac’s back after Croatian calamity
Hibernian players have rallied round Darren Mcgregor ahead of this afternoon’s Premier Sports Cup tie against Kilmarnock.
The experienced defender was sent off in the Leith club’s Europa Conference League qualifier against Rijeka in Croatia last Thursday.
The score was 1-1 at the time, and with the 10 men slumping to an eventual 4-1 defeat – going out 5-2 on aggregate – there was no disguising the fact it had been a pivotal moment in their exit from Continental competition for the season.
With club captain Paul Hanlon still out injured, there will be no place to hide for Mcgregor, whose services will be needed for the quick switch to domestic duties.
But Alex Gogic insists Mcgregor will at least go in with the full support of his team-mates.
“OK, we know he will be feeling bad at the moment. Any player does when they make a mistake, or you concede a goal,” said the Cypriot.
“It is painful, it hurts and it is not nice. But it is a team sport, and in football you win as a team and lose together, and Darren knows that.
“We have already talked to him and told him to forget it. It happens, it’s football.”
Hibs manager Jack Ross reported Mcgregor to be “sore” over his dismissal, which was for two yellow cards.
Gogic accepts that, but argues today’s tie is valuable in that it offers a nearinstant opportunity for the whole team, not just for the defender, to bounce back.
“It was a tough journey back on Thursday night, made worse because we knew that the score doesn’t really reflect the night at all,” he continued.
“Defeats like that are tough, and you have to take them and learn your lessons.
“But where losing last season’s Scottish Cup Final made it a long painful summer for us all, here we don’t have time to sit and think about it, which is good
“Sometimes having a game in three days later is the best thing because it gives you the chance to do better.
“Now, after losing that game in Rijeka, we have a game straight away, and we can focus on Kilmarnock.”
Hibs reached the competition’s semifinals last season, where they went down 3-0 to St Johnstone. They, of course, also later beat them in the Scottish Cup Final.
“Having got so far in both cup competitions, it is a big focus to try to go all the way and try to win a trophy this year,” said the central midfielder.
“We learned lessons from those experiences 100%. I think you saw that through the way we won our Scottish Cup semi-final against Dundee United.
“But although that gave us the experience of playing in the Final, in the end we didn’t win a trophy.
“Now we realise that we have to give absolutely everything in all the ties.
“Sometimes it still will not happen for you, but we have to do our best.”