David Gray criticised Hibernian's 3-0 defeat to St Mirren, calling it “unacceptable” after their season opener in Paisley turned into a disaster.
The Easter Road team drew a crowd of over 1,500 away supporters for their first Scottish Premiership match of the 2024/25 campaign, but they fell behind early in the second half when Roland Idowu found the back of the net with a precise shot into the far corner.
Shortly after the goal, the VAR system went down, leading to a temporary halt in play before it resumed in a limited capacity.
Nevertheless, the outcome was unaffected, as Oisin Smyth scored a header in the 77th minute and added a second goal just two minutes later, both assisted by fellow substitute James Scott.
The Hibs head coach conceded the overall result isn't good enough and went on to rue the manner his side allowed St Mirren to cruise in front - and ultimately leave them heading back to the Scottish capital pointless.
Gray said: “It was certainly a game of two halves but as soon as you see the result, the performance becomes irrelevant because to lose 3-0 is unacceptable for us.
“We created enough chances to be in front so there is enough positives to take from that, the fact that we created chances is great and we limited them to very little.
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“And to concede straight after half-time, the goal was very avoidable, and the second goal is a genuine mistake (a misplaced pass) which of course happens in games.
“To lose the third goal in the manner we did was so avoidable. From the top end of the pitch there was three or four things we could have done to affect that better.
“I say it all the time, don’t let one mistake become two mistakes because three mistakes usually results in a goal.
“So we just can’t accept, especially the third goal, because at that point the game is gone.
“We huffed and puffed at times and had a few half-chances but the damage had been done at that point.
“Overall, they were more clinical and defended the box better than we did and that’s why the result was 3-0.”
