Martin Boyle insists Celtic Park loss 'won't define' Hibs' season

Australian reckons Hibees will recover quickly from defeat at Parkhead

Martin Boyle tussles with Shane Duffy during Hibs' 3-0 defeat against Celtic in Glasgow on Sunday (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

Martin Boyle is confident Hibs can bounce back quickly from their first away defeat in the Premiership and regain their impressive early season momentum.

The Australian international admits Jack Ross’ side were outplayed by champions Celtic in Sunday’s ultimately comprehensive 3-0 defeat at Parkhead.

But Boyle insists the setback shouldn’t have any lingering impact on Hibs’ hopes of finishing best of the rest behind the Old Firm as they now turn their attention to Friday night’s meeting with Hamilton Accies at Easter Road, their last fixture before the international break.

“I’m absolutely confident we can carry on our previous level of performances,” said Boyle. “This (the defeat at Celtic Park) won’t define our season. We got off to a good start in the league and hopefully we can pick ourselves up on Friday.

“That we have a game just five days later is good for us. We will watch the game against Celtic back, see what we can do better and how we can improve defensively, take it on the chin and move on.”

Hibs paid a heavy price for their failure to take several good scoring opportunities at Celtic Park, in contrast to the finishing which saw them earn a 2-2 draw at home to league leaders Rangers the previous weekend.

“It was disappointing, the chances we had and passed up and we got punished for it,” added Boyle.

“We came out in the second half still believing we had a chance and believing we could create more, but Celtic just upped it to another level and pushed and we got punished on the counter.

“I thought we were fantastic against Rangers the previous week. We rode the wave at times. But this week we were a bit unfortunate, we got outplayed at times. It is a hard place to come. There will not be many teams who will take points from Celtic Park.

“They are two different tests, at home to Rangers and away to Celtic. Obviously, you know what you are getting. We never took our chances this week and we got punished, they are a really good side and we are away from home.

“I think the character we showed last week after going in front and then coming from behind against Rangers showed we can score those chances. But we were just not clinical enough against Celtic.”

Boyle is content in the wing-back role he has been deployed in by Hibs manager Ross this season but is hopeful of having to do less defensive work in future fixtures than he has had to against the Old Firm.

“I am playing, I am enjoying it, I am happy,” he said. “I have been creating a lot of chances and scoring a few goals, which is a positive. But when you play against the two best teams in the league, sometimes you have to defend and try to hurt them on the break. Hopefully in the next few games, I can get more advanced and create more.”

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