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Hibs show nerves of steel at last as keeper Jordan Smith reveals 'we've found the answer'
Jordan Smith admits it was a joy not to suffer the jitters as Hibs finally ducked any damaging late drama to win.
Hibees didn’t just manage their lead well after first-half goals from Junior Hoilett and Mykola Kuharevych against Motherwell. They increased it, thanks to sub Josh Campbell firing home for 3-0 with nine minutes left. That was the cue for a colossal sigh of relief throughout the team. Late collapses had stalked – and cost –David Gray’s side all season.
Now keeper Smith hopes they can leave those horror stories well behind. He said: “There is a nervousness you can sense and everyone can but we need to put that to bed. Games are going to be tight at this level. Teams are similar, with all due respect. I’m not going to say it comes down to who wants it more because I don’t think anyone doesn’t want it. But it’s about having that belief and that fight. It’s gone against us one too many times. So we just needed to look internally and come up with the answers. We found that answer.
“Within the game, I don’t think the boys are thinking ‘what if?’ at 2-0 up. It’s probably more something you’d sense as a fan or onlooker.
“We just had a job to do so we concentrated on the task in hand. You probably saw that steely resilience, boys getting behind each other for blocks or whatever, celebrating them like goals almost! But, yeah, when we went three goals ahead it felt like an absolute weight was lifted off us.”
Smith suspects having the final word last week against Aberdeen in a 3-3 thriller created new belief. Skipper Joe Newell held a player-only summit the day before the Dons match. And the message has had a major impact on turning their torrid season around.
Smith said: “We know we’ve not been good enough. We just said: We owe it to ourselves, we owe it to the fans to turn in better performances. It’s alright using a hard-luck story here and there. Ultimately, it makes little difference because the results are there and we’re fighting at the wrong end of the division.
“The game on Tuesday, when we scored really late, probably made a massive difference. They’ve been going against us. But that one went for us. So there’s been a bit of a momentum shift. We needed to make sure we got the three points by any means necessary, to feel that momentum and carry it on.
“We’ve not beat ourselves against Motherwell. To a man, everyone performed brilliantly. That’s got to be the minimum required for a football club of this stature. If we do that going forward, get that little bit of luck, we give ourselves every chance.”
Smith came in for his Premiership debut against the Aberdeen at the expense of benched Josef Bursik. It was a daunting feeling after not playing much football for several seasons and he confessed to being culpable for at least one Dons goal.
A clean sheet in Lanarkshire five days later was a welcome confidence boost. Smith said: “It was difficult against Aberdeen. You probably think you’re ready more than you know you are. It’s no secret I made a bit of a whiff for the second goal on Tuesday night.
“Even looking at the third, with the goalkeeping coach being critical, that’s probably one where I could save because of where it goes.
“It would be easy for me to say: ‘Look, I’m rusty’ and just buy myself that excuse. But that’s not something we can do at this level, in a top division. Whoever plays must be the best version of themselves and give the team the best platform to get results.”
Smith spent 20 years from age seven on the books at Nottingham Forest, with loans at Barnsley, Mansfield and Huddersfield, moving to Stockport on a free in 2023. He featured just five times at Edgeley Park before being snapped up by Gray in the summer. He said: “It’s been a difficult few years. I feel I’ve done well to stay in the game. I’ve been fortunate the gaffer here has shown a bit of faith in me and thrown me in.
“Take nothing away from Joe.He’s a fantastic goalkeeper, has good pedigree, he was signed to be No.1 here for a reason. We’ll try to bring out the best in each other. And whoever gets to play, hopefully we can keep on getting good results.”
