Hibs host Rangers at Easter Road on the anniversary of the pair’s 2016 Scottish Cup Final, where the Edinburgh side upset the odds to provide one of the club’s most memorable days in recent history.
Lee Johnson came into the early kick off with European places in his sights, with the aim of providing more iconic moments for the Leith faithful, similar to that at Hampden seven years ago.
Michael Beale made no secret of his lack of squad depth prior to kick off, claiming the light blues only had 16 players to see them through the final three games of the campaign. Beale also confirmed that defensive stalwart Connor Goldson would not feature again until pre-season, with an injury picked up in last week’s Old Firm win ruling him out for ten weeks.
The visitors started the brighter with a string of corners in the opening 5 minutes, keeping the Hibs defence on their toes in the early exchanges.
Despite Hibs forcing their own pressure through the opening period, it was Rangers captain James Tavernier who opened the scoring.
The full back marked his 400th competitive appearance for the Ibrox side by scoring a trademark free kick with just over half an hour gone. Whilst it was a clever effort that caught out David Marshall at his front post, questions will be asked over the veteran ‘keeper who looked favourite to make the stop.
Josh Campbell looked certain to level the score minutes before the break, when he latched on to an inch perfect Kevin Nisbet delivery, only to steer his effort wide of the mark.
