Al-Wasl 0, Hibs 1: Florian Kamberi on target but Ryan Gauld denied debut in Dubai

Hibs wrapped up their week-long training camp in Dubai with a narrow victory over local side Al-Wasl thanks to a first-half goal credited to Florian Kamberi.
Florian Kamberi scored for Hibs in DubaiFlorian Kamberi scored for Hibs in Dubai
Florian Kamberi scored for Hibs in Dubai

The Swiss striker appeared to have got the merest of touches to Paul Hanlon’s downward header from Daryl Horgan’s corner although it was the defender who received the congratulations of his team-mates.

There was, though, no first glimpse of Ryan Gauld for the 50 or so Hibs fans who had travelled to take in the match in the Zabeel Stadium, a hold-up in the paperwork required to complete his loan deal from Sporting Lisbon delaying his first appearance for the Capital club.

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Hibs forced four corners in the first ten minutes but it was Al-Wasl who went closest to scoring in the early stages, as Hussan Mohammed sent a header crashing off goalkeeper Adam Bogdan’s crossbar.

Horgan curled a shot just wide of the target before supplying a corner which Hanlon nodded down and goalwards, the ball appearing to brush off Kamberi’s shin and deceive goalkeeper Youssef Al Zaabbi.

With the floodlights on for the second half, Hibs head coach Neil Lennon rang the changes with a series of substitutions, among them a first sighting of Tom Glover, the young Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper who is on trial as he replaced Bogdan.

But, other than a Jamie Gullan header fumbled by Al Zaabbi a few minutes after the interval, there was little to excite the supporters of either side.

Hibs: Bogdan (Glover 67), Gray (Bartley 46), McGregor, Hanlon, Mackie, Whittaker (Stirling 61), Slivka, Mallan (F Murray (54), Horgan, Kamberi (Allan 81), Gullan (Shaw 64). Substitutes: Dabrowski, Nelom.