'Sad to see the back of a great season for Hibernian'
Hibs brought the curtain down on a great season with a title-winning victory at Ibrox on Sunday. The women's team lifted the title for the first time in 18 years with the win over Rangers – a fantastic achievement.Grant Scott's team deserve huge credit for the way that they have come together as a team to defy the odds and win the title.It was a fitting end to what's ended up a great season for Hibernian. The men's team finished third, well clear of fifth-placed Aberdeen and Dundee United in fourth.The final league standings are a fair reflection of where the teams should be – Hibs' form since November has been stunning, with St Mirren finishing the season as the only top-flight side to have avoided defeat by Sir David Gray's team.Easter Road was buzzing on Saturday and we were treated to an entertaining match which saw Hibs come back twice to take a share of the points against Rangers.Sunshine on Leith played out as the fans acknowledged the players at full-time, although not before the Under-18s had some fun celebrating their own league title win in front of the Rangers support at half-time.There was controversy and a call for goalline technology (there always is when the Glasgow sides drop points to Hibs) after Rangers thought they'd scored.TV replays were inconclusive, and as we found out when Celtic complained about a similar decision earlier in the season, Willie Collum has directed his referees to defer to the on-field decision in instances where there's not conclusive proof of the ball crossing the line.Rangers' frustrations were no doubt heightened by the fact Hibs' first equaliser was scored less than 30 seconds later. Had the VAR looked back at Rangers' 'goal', there's every chance Nicolas Raskin's two-handed shove on Rocky Bushiri would have been enough to disallow it in any case.I'm sad to see the back of this season, which couldn't come quickly enough back in October/November when we looked odds on to be pulled into a relegation fight.It's a huge credit to Gray and his team, to Darren McGregor and his staff looking after the youth side, and to Grant Scott and his team on the women's side that Hibernian can look forward to European football now across the club next season.It's been great fun, highlights being wins over Rangers, Celtic, Hearts, Aberdeen and Dundee United, with some huge season-defining moments that will live long in the memory. Roll on next season!Matty Fairnie can be found at Longbangers, external
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South Wales Guardian
4 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
Scotland under pressure to secure victory in Vaduz
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Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
More woe for Scotland as injuries force McTominay and Tierney to pull out of Liechtenstein trip
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Rhyl Journal
4 hours ago
- Rhyl Journal
Scotland under pressure to secure victory in Vaduz
Steve Clarke's side lost 3-1 at home to Iceland on Friday in the first fixture of their June friendly double header. Here are some of the key talking points ahead of the game at the Rheinpark Stadium. Scotland are in dire need of a victory ahead of their World Cup qualifying campaign, which takes place in the autumn against Denmark, Belarus and Greece. Scotland looked like they had turned a corner after a solitary win, against Gibraltar, in 16 matches, when they recorded three impressive Nations League victories in a row. But they followed up by losing six goals in Hampden defeats against Greece and Iceland. Squad update. IN: Ross Doohan & Callan Angus Gunn & Robby McCrorie. Congratulations to both goalkeepers on their first senior call-ups 👏#LIESCO — Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) June 8, 2025 Steve Clarke called up Aberdeen second-choice keeper Ross Doohan after Cieran Slicker endured a difficult debut in the wake of injuries to Angus Gunn and Robby McCrorie on Friday, and with Craig Gordon, Liam Kelly and Zander Clark all missing through injury. Doohan has 13 Scotland Under-21 caps to his name and nearly 200 first-team appearances and the 27-year-old looks likely to start to give Slicker some respite. Locked-in for MD-1 🔒#LIESCO — Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) June 8, 2025 There are only three professionals in the Liechtenstein squad and they are listed at 205 in the FIFA world rankings, although they were on the end of bottom-ranked San Marino's first win for 20 years in November. Liechtenstein have started their qualification campaign with three defeats without netting a goal, the latest a 3-0 loss against Wales. Scotland have laboured to wins in their only two encounters against the Alpine principality. Stephen McManus headed a winner seven minutes into stoppage time at Hampden in September 2010 to saved boss Craig Levein from a disastrous competitive home debut. Mario Frick had grabbed a shock opener on his 36th birthday before Kenny Miller levelled. Craig Mackail-Smith's first goal in his first start for his country was the difference between the sides in Vaduz in the return fixture in the Euro 2012 qualifiers. Clarke signalled he would freshen up the team more than he usually does and he will have to make at least two outfield changes after losing Kieran Tierney and Scott McTominay to injury. He is likely to revert to a back three in the wake of the returning Celtic defender's absence while Andy Irving and Kieran Bowie are pushing for debuts after Lennon Miller won his first cap off the bench against Iceland.
