Hibs groundsman thanked for disallowed Celtic goal as David Gray hails players and gives Rocky Bushiri update

Hibs manager David Gray jokingly praised the Easter Road groundsman after Celtic were denied a late equaliser when VAR ruled the ball had gone out of play.

A Josh Campbell double earned Hibs an impressive 2-1 win over the runaway Scottish Premiership leaders but Celtic were left aggrieved by a decision to disallow a Daizen Maeda strike in the 83rd minute.

Maeda had already pulled a goal back for Celtic, who trailed 2-0 at half-time, when he fired an Alistair Johnston cut-back into the roof of the net for what would have been a leveller.

Referee Steven McLean initially awarded the goal after linesman David Roome ruled that the ball had not crossed the byline before Johnston pulled it back, only for the decision to be overruled by VAR much to the delight of the home side.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers questioned the call, but Gray was relieved the decision went his way as Hibs held on for a notable victory.

Hibs head coach David Gray celebrates at full time after the 2-1 win over Celtic at Easter Road. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group) | SNS Group

"I was delighted that the groundsman painted the lines straight this morning and the pitch was the size it was!" he said. "I think that's very, very fine margins isn't it? A split second if he gets to the ball earlier and the ball stays in, then it's an equaliser and all the momentum would have been with Celtic. So we know that was a massive moment in the game.

"Sometimes you need that little bit of luck but I think with our effort, our application, how hard the boys ran and how much they put into that today, they fully deserved the break at that moment and I'm delighted for them."

Hibs produced one of their best displays under Gray to extend their unbeaten run to 13 matches and push themselves firmly into contention in the race for third place.

"I thought we were excellent, outstanding actually is probably the word I would use," Gray added. "Before the game I spoke a lot about how we needed every player to be absolutely at the top of their game. We needed every player to give absolutely everything and to buy into what we're trying to do from a game plan point of view and I thought they delivered that. I'm delighted for them. They got out of the game what they deserved from the amount of effort they put into it. And every single one of them to a man who was outstanding on the day, which we needed to be."

Hibs defender Roccky Bushiri produced another outstanding display but was forced off with 13 minutes remaining just seconds after clearing a Jota effort off the line after picking up an injury.

"He just felt a little bit tight," Gray said. "Also a bit of cramp as well. So I think it was an accumulation of a few things. But he's walked off the pitch. It's very early to say what it is but hopefully it's nothing too serious. Obviously he's in a good place at the moment so he needs to recover as quick as he can."