Hibernian manager Nick Montgomery was left rueing ‘great’ contributions at either end from Jack Butland and Todd Cantwell during Wednesday’s 3-0 home defeat to Scottish Premiership challengers Rangers.
During their first league game since the winter break, it certainly didn’t take Philippe Clement’s side long to get back into their stride.
Cutting the gap at the top of the table to five points – with a game in hand on league leaders Celtic too – Rangers stormed to victory at Easter Road, even if the eventual result was perhaps more one-sided than the game itself.
The visitors needed Jack Butland, one of the club’s most inspired signings since their top-flight return in 2016, to pull off a string of trademark stops before the rapidly-improving Cyriel Dessers put the icing on the cake with a sumptuous backheel finish reminiscent of Grafite’s famous goal against Bayern Munich for Wolfsburg over a decade ago.
Rangers hammer Hibernian at Easter Road
“I don’t think it was a 3-0 game,” Hibs boss Montgomery tells BBC and the club’s YouTube channel. “It became a 3-0 game because we missed massive moments in the game. We had two one-on-ones with goalkeeper at 2-0 down, and that could’ve been 2-2 but it wasn’t to be.
“Elie Youan has a great chance as well in the first half and he had a header later on in the game. But if you don’t put your chances away against a team like this they’re going to punish you – and then you’re going to start chasing a game and it becomes stretched.”
Rangers took the lead with 30 minutes on the clock at Easter Road. The exit-linked Ridvan Yilmaz – only a few hours after Galatasaray hinted at a return to Turkey for the £3.5 million former Besiktas man – converted following a clever John Lundstram through ball.
Todd Cantwell then doubled the lead with a thumping long-range finish before Dessers celebrated his eight goal contribution in the last five weeks.
Cantwell and Dessers score stunners in big win
“The second goal (from Cantwell) is a great strike,” Montgomery adds. “And we’re chasing the game from that moment.
“We had the massive moment at 2-1, and the keeper makes a great save which could have changed the game. We then had a one-on-one with (Emiliano) Marcondes and it’s another great save.”
