Gray Frustrated With Final Third Against Ross County
David Gray was frustrated with his side’s creativity in the final third as Hibs drew 0-0 with Ross County at the Global Energy Stadium.
The Staggies’ best chance of the game came from a Jordan White header at the end of the first 45, however, Hibs were dominant in the second half but struggled to create any real clear cut chances.
When speaking after the game, Gray assessed his side’s performance.
“A point away from home and a clean sheet is never a bad thing, but with the situation we find ourselves in at the moment we saw this as an opportunity to come up here and get three.
“We have to take the positives from the game, which are our goalkeeper, he made a big save at a big time, and that we kept a clean sheet.
“I was frustrated with the first half. I thought we were flat and lacked energy. I thought Ross County were the better side in the first half and if it wasn’t for the goalkeeper, we’d have found ourselves behind.
“The second half was much more like us; we were on the front foot and had a lot more energy. We asked the players to have more belief on the ball, more bravery, and to try and win the game.
“For a 20-minute period we created chances and dominated the game, but we really lacked a cutting edge and quality in the final third, whether that be the last action, the execution, or whatever it would’ve been; that’s what let us down tonight.”
That was our second clean sheet of the league campaign, and our Head Coach was full of praise for the way his side defended.
“We have come under a lot of criticism defensively, and rightly so, because we’ve conceded a lot of goals and not kept enough clean sheets. As defenders and goalkeepers that’s what you pride yourself on.
“It was a big night for Joe (Bursik) tonight, it was a big save at a big time to secure the clean sheet. I’m delighted for him because of the criticism he’s come under. He’s working incredibly hard and the back four should take a lot of credit for the way they defended.
“The frustration comes because we couldn’t put it all together tonight. Defensively we were much better but going the other way we let ourselves down."