How Hibs came within 90 seconds of playing Christian Doidge as a goalkeeper

Hibs manager Lee Johnson could have been faced with putting Christian Doidge - a striker by trade - in goal.

Firs- choice goalkeeper David Marshall withdrew after hurting his hamstring in the warm up, elevating substitute Jojo Wollacott to the starting spot. But, they nearly missed out on being able to name another keeper on the bench for the Europa Conference League second qualifying round tie against Inter Club d’Escaldes as they struggled to fight through the red tape in time for kick-off.

According to relieved Hibs boss Lee Johnson, UEFA clearance only came as the players were about to head out the tunnel. A couple of minutes later and the capital side would have had no specialised cover when, in a stroke of bad luck, Wollacott was also forced onto the sidelines with a thigh injury 16 minutes into the action.

“If there is an injury in the warm-up, you can go and say we need to make an adjustment to the team sheet,” explained Johnson, who revealed that both Marshall and Wollacott have undergone scans to assess the extent of the damage but said that both could be out for a while. “It did seem to go right to the wire, if I’m honest. Derek White, our football operations guy, and UEFA delegate Gary O’Hagen were both involved. And, it was a case of going through the protocol. The doctor had to sign a letter to say it was a genuine injury. In terms of getting Max on the bench, it all took until probably 90 seconds. It was still going on when the whistle went for the boys to come out of the dressing room.”

They got the green light just in time as Boruc was soon called upon to help the team progress to the next round with a 7-3 aggregate win. One of those goals was scored by Doidge but had Boruc not made it, the former basketball player would have spent the night at the other end. “I would’ve put Doidge in goal. He has great spring, he’s brave and confident enough to take it on. That’s who I would’ve turned to.” said Johnson, who has now temporarily recalled Murray Johnson from his loan spell at Queen of the South for Saturday’s league opener against St Mirren.