Rocky Bushiri earns Hibs manager plaudits after rescuing Rangers draw despite 'errors' admission

David Gray praises defender’s contribution to 3-3 draw

David Gray hailed Rocky Bushiri after the Hibs defender emerged as the unlikely goalscoring hero for the second time in just over a month to rescue a point for his side.

The centre-half had never scored a senior goal until bundling in an equaliser in the dying moments of a 3-3 draw with Aberdeen at the end of November. He struck his second to earn another 3-3 draw, this time against Rangers at Easter Road, as Hibs extended their unbeaten run to six games.

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Gray was asked to sum up the performance of Bushiri, who was also at fault for Rangers’ opener through Hamza Igamane and let the striker in again near the end, when the post denied the Moroccan his fourth goal of the afternoon. In between times Bushiri, as well as scoring, set up Hibs’ opener for Martin Boyle.

Hibernian's Rocky Bushiri celebrates scoring to make it 3-3 against Rangers at Easter Road. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)Hibernian's Rocky Bushiri celebrates scoring to make it 3-3 against Rangers at Easter Road. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)
Hibernian's Rocky Bushiri celebrates scoring to make it 3-3 against Rangers at Easter Road. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group) | SNS Group

“Firstly, you need to credit Rocky for his performance,” said Gray. “Yes, there were errors within it, of course. He wasn't the only one. Even myself, tactically, jumping in at the wrong times or maybe not quite getting the message on (to the park).

“We need to look at that, because when you lose three goals, there's definitely areas to improve,” he added. “But I think when you then show the character from making a mistake or having to deal with that, there's no better way to do it than to go and score a goal. But then also, not just that, how he performed in other moments within the game.

“Rocky, obviously, scores the goal and does great in the game. But collectively, in the second half, I thought the effort and the desire were clearly there from everybody.

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"But again, as I've said for many weeks now, there's still a lot to work on. We know that. We're not getting carried away at all. But at least the positivity is still there and we can keep this run going.”

Gray praised the fighting qualities of his players. Hibs have lost just once in their last eight outings – against Celtic – and have enjoyed a particularly fruitful festive period.

“We had to ride our luck a little bit in the first half,” he admitted. “But to come back the way we did, especially against a team like that, after giving them a two-goal start is very, very difficult.”

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