Hibs reaction: Emergency loan possibility, youngsters in running, strike options, home advantage key

Hibs were comprehensive 6-1 winners over Inter Club d’Escaldes last night as they booked their place in the third qualifying round of the Europa Conference League.
Young Hibs goalkeeper Max Boruc made his debut in the European match against Inter Club d'Escaldes.Young Hibs goalkeeper Max Boruc made his debut in the European match against Inter Club d'Escaldes.
Young Hibs goalkeeper Max Boruc made his debut in the European match against Inter Club d'Escaldes.

We pick out some talking points after the victory over the Andorrans ahead of the cinch Premiership starting this weekend:

Youngsters take their chance

In a breakthrough moment and after three seasons spent on loan at Airdrie, Arbroath and Edinburgh City, Josh Campbell, having just turned 21, was thrown in against another Andorran side, Santa Coloma, in 2021. He was named man of the match that night and the maturity of his performance proved the springboard for a decent run of form as he successfully established himself as a first team regular. Two years on, and at the same stage of the same competition – the Europa Conference League second qualifying round – he scored two of the six home goals and played a key role as Hibs overwhelmed their guests to set up a meeting with Luzern FC in the penultimate qualifying stage.

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And, while 30-year-old Martin Boyle captured headlines, it was a notable evening for a couple of youngsters as Max Boruc was unexpectedly thrown on in goals, following injuries to first choice David Marshall in the warm-up and then back-up keeper Jojo Wollacott early in the game. The 20-year-old Pole, who is the cousin of former Celtic and Poland goalie Artur, was signed in the summer as a prospect for the future and was expected to feature primarily for the development squad after he impressed on trial last term. But was handed a quick promotion at Easter Road on Thursday night and, although Inter Club d’Escaldes did not trouble him too much, he showed himself capable of handling such an occasion.

Speaking after the match manager Lee Johnson said that he would look into the possibility of making an emergency loan signing if Marshall and Wollacott are ruled out of Sunday’s Premiership opener, but it may be that the youngster has further opportunity to impress as the curtain rises on the new domestic season. “We had a good look at him last year and looked into his personality as well and we were delighted to bring him back,” said Johnson. “He’s got a great frame. He can kick a ball and pass a ball as well. Naturally he is young and teams will put him under pressure but that’s up to him. That’s how you get your opportunity as a young goalkeeper, through the misfortunes of others. And when that happens you have to take it.”

He wasn’t the only fresh face given a run out in European competition as the emphatic early turnaround allowed Johnson to give 17-year-old Reuben McAllister a substitute appearance. The promising midfielder - the son of Hibs assistant manager Jamie - has impressed in pre-season showings. That earned him involvement in the competitive action, which his gaffer hailed among the positives. “You can see the strength in depth we’ve got,” added Johnson. “After the game was effectively won we brought on players that needed to bed in and have minutes, which was great. It was great to give Academy product Rueben McAllister his debut. There were a lot of positives.”

Strike options

It wasn’t too long ago that Martin Boyle and Christian Doidge performed as two thirds of one of the highest-scoring strike forces in the country. But, last season he did not seem to have any long-term role in manager Lee Johnson’s plans and went out on loan to Kilmarnock.

It looked like his time at the Leith club would be limited when he returned for pre-season,with another move likely, but he snatched the opportunity to impress, where others failed, against the specific threat of Inter Club d’Escaldes. Along with Joe Newell, his entrance into the game across in Andorra helped Hibs begin to shift momentum and, as part of the starting XI at Easter Road, he was involved in several goals, and many more attacks, claiming one himself and unlucky not to make it two after another effort was erroneously ruled offside.

Dylan Vente has arrived to join fellow summer signing Adam Le Fondre, and will offer Johnson further options at the tip of the attack, but there could yet be a place for the Welshman, who offers something different to the other strikers in the ranks and has shown in previous seasons that he can feed of the service, pace and directness of Boyle and, now, Eilie Youan.

The window is still open and other clubs will start sniffing around but much will depend on how content the 30-year-old is to stay and fight for a place, knowing that he is unlikely to start every week. It had been assumed that he would be farmed out, with the likes of Elias Melkersen kept as back-up but Doidge has offered food for thought.

Home advantage

Much was made of the poor performance across in Andorra but that might not have been the case had the order of the ties not been shifted. Anyone who had swotted up on Inter Club d’Escaldes knew that they would be a tough nut to crack on their own turf, where the setting and the conditions became an unwelcome factor and played to their strengths. The Hibs first-half display did not help but losing the early goal gave the underdogs free rein to tap into their playbook.

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That was never likely to be as easy on the wider pitch and better surface in Leith, where altitude was not a 12th man for the continental side. A comfortable Hibs victory was always expected there and had theScottish side been able to keep home advantage in the first leg, the shut up shop tactics and time-wasting indulged in by their hosts across there would have been rendered an irrelevance, as they would have been the team chasing, forcing them to open up.

It might still have been an uncomfortable encounter on the tight municipal pitch, in the heat, at altitude, but it is unlikely to have been as painful or reputationally-damaging as it turned out to be. Which is why, while Luzern FC are likely to pose an altogether different test, at least Hibs have the advantage of home and a revitalised Hibs support for the first leg of the third round qualifier next week.