Hibs' Edwin De Graaf laments absence of striking instinct and admits glaring miss was turning point

EDWIN de Graaf was not signed by John Hughes in the summer for his finishing ability, although the Dutch player has scored a few goals in his time - including two already this season for Hibs.

But the midfielder was left bemoaning his lack of strikers' instinct yesterday after he allowed Rangers defender Madjid Bougherra to clear the ball from his feet as an open goal gaped before him. Both Hughes and opposite number Walter Smith agreed that it was a defining moment of a match which Hibs went on to lose 3-0.

"It was fantastic defending," said Hughes later, who as a former centre-half had to admire Bougherra's goal-saving clearance. "It showed a great desire to defend. Maybe Edwin might have been a little bit more decisive and flung himself at it. But I felt if we had scored first it would have given us a chance. We were playing against the Scottish champions and they punished us for it."

Smith agreed that his team had been "a little bit fortunate" not to concede a goal when it was still 0-0, and De Graaf had his chance. "I felt scoring the first goal was always going to be a decisive factor in the game and we managed to get it, and go on from there," he said.

De Graaf, too, had to sadly side with this view as he accepted he had possibly cost his side the match. The midfielder had been a peripheral performer in the game prior to the 59th minute, when opportunity came his way after good work from substitute Danny Galbraith. "I looked to my left and did not see anybody and thought: 'This is a goal,'" De Graaf said. "But I didn't see him (Bougherra] come from the other side. If I had made the goal then it would have been a completely different game.

"It gives you a lot of confidence and power when you score a goal. It makes you believe that it is really going to happen today. I didn't score. Instead they did."

"It was a great tackle," conceded De Graaf. "But I still had to score the goal. When you have a chance like that you have to take it. If I had seen him, then I would have made a more powerful effort to get the ball. But I thought I was totally free and that I only had to tap it in. I was concentrating on the ball coming to me. I looked at one side and thought I was totally free."

De Graaf also gave his backing to Kevin McBride, who was red-carded in a melee which followed a Liam Miller tackle on Kyle Lafferty just three minutes before half-time. Lafferty was also sent off after clashing with McBride, who had kicked the ball at him.

But De Graaf claimed that McBride had not heard referee Ian Brines blowing his whistle for a foul, and that his team-mate had not meant to hit the prone Rangers player.

"Kevin was very unlucky," De Graaf said. "He did not hear the whistle when he shot the ball against the guy on the pitch. Then everyone suddenly came together.

"Kevin is an important player for us," he added. "When he is off the field it is a problem. I did not think it was necessary to give both players a red card. It was better for the game when it was 11 v 11. In the first half we played like we wanted to play."

Another pivotal moment was the introduction of new Rangers winger Vladimir Weiss. The Slovakian, on loan from Manchester City, replaced James Beattie after 65 minutes and helped further turn the tide in Rangers' favour. Just four minutes later he had set Kenny Miller up for the second of his three goals. He also provided Maurice Edu with a chance to score following a well-taken free-kick.

His trickery thrilled the away fans and signalled an exciting arrival in Scottish football.

"I wasn't sure whether I would come on or not, but I came on and everything about the match, including the atmosphere, was very good," Weiss said. "My job is to create or score goals and I did that once today, so it is a good start.

"The Rangers fans supported me from the moment I came on. You need that on your debut. The fans were with me. It was a good feeling."

His manager praised the 20-year-old for his performance. "We have not really had a winger in my last three-and-a-half years here," said Smith. "We have struggled manfully to get one. He was one who was brought to my attention. I think the lad can be a huge benefit to us.

"A teams like ours needs that type of player. Once he can get a few games under his belt we will see him come on to an even better level."