Gray On Fantastic Start and Deserved Three Points

Hibernian Head Coach David Gray was delighted with the result, as the Hibees claimed an important three points with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Kilmarnock at Easter Road. 

The Hibees got off to the perfect start, with Owen Elding finding the back of the net after just thirteen seconds – the fastest goal of 2025/26 William Hill Premiership season and the second fastest goal of the Scottish Premiership era. 

Felix Passlack added a second shortly after, before Ante Šuto found the back of the net in stoppage time to seal a well-deserved three points. 

Speaking to Hibs TV after the game, Gray shared his thoughts on both the result and the performance. 

“I am really pleased. At this stage of the season, it’s about getting the result and controlling what we can control. I thought we started the game really well, which was something we spoke about beforehand – starting on the front foot and getting the crowd behind us.

“We got that goal even quicker than expected, which was fantastic, and the first 20 minutes were really positive. After that, the disallowed (Kilmarnock) goal seemed to shift the momentum slightly and we probably dropped a little bit as they came more into the game. At half-time, we addressed that. 

“The second half is something we’ll review – there are definitely areas we can be better – but the most important thing was winning the game. I asked the players to be clinical and we certainly were that today. 

“We created some really good chances, restricted them to very little, and fully deserved the win. I’m also delighted with the clean sheet, and importantly, we’ve moved three points closer to the team in front of us.”

Gray reserved special praise for the way his team started the game, and was delighted to take the lead inside the first minute of the game.

“The early goal certainly set the tone,” Gray continued.

“As I said, the first 20 minutes were excellent – we moved the ball quickly and created chances. We maybe needed to maintain that intensity for longer. At 2–0, there can sometimes be a tendency to sit in a bit, but I’d like us to be more aggressive in those moments.

“That said, I’ve been consistent in saying it’s not easy to win games of football, especially against teams fighting at that end of the table. We’ve done enough and fully deserved the win today.”

The result moves us to within three points of Motherwell, with six games of the campaign remaining. 

“The three clean sheets are really important because they give you a platform to win games. There were a few changes today as well, with players coming in who haven’t had as many minutes or have been returning from injury, but they showed how well we defended our box and how little we gave away.

“At this stage of the season, it’s all about results. We’ve got six games to go, one more before the split, and it’ll be another tough test next.

“But we go into it (the Aberdeen game) in really good place, with momentum behind us. There’s a lot to build on, but the focus is on continuing to move forward.”