Grant Stott: Losing three key players really handicapped us

I'm going to be upfront right at the start by saying I'm well aware that we came away yesterday very disappointed, but I was in no way disheartened by what I saw both on and off the field.

All the fans who had taken their new seats in the magnificent new East Stand certainly had lots to shout about in the first half. And what a difference to the atmosphere now that the stadium is fully completed, it really does look and sound superb. When the team sheets confirmed that John Hughes were giving the Hibs fans what they wanted by starting with Stokes and Riordan up front, the signs were looking good.

For the entire first 45 minutes Hibs matched Rangers all over the park and had the game continued into the second 45 with the same 11 players then I am absolutely convinced that the scoreline would have been very different. I don't think there are many teams who could maintain an organised performance after losing three very important players in quick succession. And to make it worse, two were through injury and one a face saving red card.

In the first half I thought Hibs were the more threatening but the tone of the game changed when Derek Riordan "clashed" with Allan McGregor. What followed was nothing short of cringeworthy - not only for any Rangers supporter but for the whole of Scottish football. You can only imagine what the viewing public across the country must have made of his performance when it was replayed in slow motion afterwards. Having obviously not learnt anything from Kyle Lafferty's previous shenanigans at Ibrox against Aberdeen, Allan McGregor's attempt to get Derek Riordan sent off by pretending he'd been head butted was an absolute disgrace. And given the speed in which he got back on his feet, he had obviously thought better of his actions.

The SFA have stated they cannot act in this incident as they say Riordan wasn't unfairly punished, but if there is no sort of public apology from McGregor then it can only be seen as another two fingers to the game that pays his wages. (rant over).

Then we had the small matter of the sendings off. To be fair, I've seen the incident away from my seat at Easter Road a couple of times now and I think McBride walked because Iain Brines felt he had to send off Lafferty and needed to even things up.

Perhaps, in the cold light of day, two yellows may well have been better merited, but without a shadow of a doubt that was where the game changed.And then for Hibs go on and lose two more influential players in Riordan and Hart meaning this already tough match was now going to be very, very tricky.

Of course Hibs didn't go without their chances and if only Edwin De Graff had the slightest inkling that Majid Bougherra was chasing his tail, then again, things might have been oh so different. But once Kenny Miller's first goal went in, the writing was pretty much on the wall. In saying that, I thought Danny Galbraith really looked the part when he came on for Riordan and I hope this is his season to get a real decent chance in the first team. Mark Brown did very little wrong and I thought he actually did well at the first goal in getting a hand on a shot which had taken at least two deflections before it got to him.

Hibs' Man of the Match was chosen by match sponsors Hall Construction, who were responsible for building and completing the East Stand a full month ahead of schedule.

They deemed Sol Bamba as Hibs key man over the 90 and not many would disagree. His performance yesterday, and last week at Motherwell, show just how important a player he is to Hibs and I don't think I'm alone in hoping that we can hold on to him for another season.

So, in essence, we lost the sparkle and edge that we showed in the first half, but that is perhaps forgivable after losing three key players.

I think there is much more to come from this current Hibs team and let's not forget there still might be an addition or two before the transfer window shuts so there still might be even more reasons to be optimistic. Our next three games must be viewed as three potential wins if Hibs are to show their intent. St Mirren, Inverness Caley and Hamilton are the sort of teams that Hibs must deal with if they are to improve on last season and judging by what I've seen so far, I don't think that's too big an ask.