Hibs boss David Gray delighted to see Kieron Bowie showing poacher’s instinct

Hibernian head coach David Gray took greater satisfaction from watching striker Kieron Bowie score his tap-in than his stunning long-range opener in their 3-0 victory over Falkirk.

Bowie struck twice after Martin Boyle had set Hibs on their way with a penalty in the 36th minute, having been clipped by Filip Lissah.

Scotland international Bowie then curled a sublime effort into the far corner from the edge of the area before the break.

Falkirk improved after half-time but Hibs sealed the three points when Bowie tucked away Josh Campbell’s pass from inside the six-yard box in the 80th minute.

Gray said: “It was two very different goals and I’m delighted with the second one because of where it was.

“He scores from in the middle of the six-yard box, which is everything we’re trying to work with Kieron to do, to make sure he keeps putting himself in there.

“He had a couple of opportunities in the first half where he didn’t do it, he kept pulling out.

“There’s a lot of improvement still to come, but that really pleases us and pleases him that that’s where he gets the rewards for going in the six-yard box.

“That’s just something you show in the videos, you show in the clips and try to educate him as much as you can when he has to make the decisions at the time.

“Kieran’s not been an out-and-out nine for large parts of his career.

“So I’m delighted with the second one, even though his first one was a special finish.”

Following successive losses, Gray hailed his team’s response ahead of two games on the road against Rangers and Dundee United.

He added: “It was an important win, especially off the back of what was made of back-to-back defeats going into this game.

“It’s a sign of how positive it’s been for over a year since that’s happened.

“But you need to then bounce back in the right way and they’ve done that.

“It’s given us a platform to build on because of the fixtures that are coming up, back-to-back away games.”

Falkirk manager John McGlynn, who saw Ethan Ross have a goal disallowed for offside, admitted his team shot themselves in the foot with the goals they conceded.

He said: “We were the makers of our own downfall. We lose the ball in our own half and it leads to the penalty.

“The second goal is similar, again we’ve got possession of the ball, keep it in our own half, we turn the ball over and it’s a good finish.

“It was really difficult for (goalkeeper) Scott (Bain) to do anything about it.

“We were the better team in the second half. We’ve been a team very much in the ascendancy and it’s a really good goal we scored.

“When I look at my monitor, which doesn’t have lines, it looks like it’s onside.”