Hibs youngster reflects on a perfect few days

He may only have got less than 15 minutes on the pitch, but that cameo appearance at Fir Park capped the most memorable week - so far - in the career of Hibs kid David Stephens.

Capped as the Welsh Under-21 side drew 1-1 away to Malta earlier in the week, the 18-year-old got his first taste of SPL action in the dying minutes as Hibs held on to beat Motherwell 3-2 to get their new season off to a flying start.

"It has to be right up there, most definitely," grinned Stephens when asked how he'd rank those few days, "the best so far and the fact we won was the perfect end to it all."

However, the former Norwich City youngster admitted he'd fretted throughout the week as to whether he'd even be involved on the opening day of the season, his trip to Malta having robbed him of a final chance to impress boss John Hughes as Hibs completed their preparations for the new campaign with a win over English Premier League new boys Blackpool. He said: "There was a wee worry at the back of my mind that going away with Wales might push me out of the manager's thoughts as I missed the trip to Blackpool because of it.

"But he has faith in me and it completed the biggest week of my career so far, my first cap for Wales Under-21s, my SPL debut and a win - it was as good as it gets.

"I'd been on stand-by for the Welsh Under-21 squad in the past but it was great to get a start and I feel I did well. However, I'm someone who sets high standards for himself and although it's been a week to remember I'm well aware that I am a very young player who is far removed from the finished article, someone with a lot of hard work in front of him."

Stephens found himself thrust into the action as Hibs, having seemed assured of victory after goals from Anthony Stokes, Paul Hanlon and Liam Miller more than compensated for Motherwell striker John Sutton's opener only for a Jamie Murphy penalty to leave Hughes' players and the fans alike living on a knife-edge for the final few minutes.

However, the 6ft 4in youngster took the 11 minutes remaining and the three added on by referee Craig Thomson in his stride, coming up with a last-gasp block to ensure there would be no dramatic equaliser for the Steelmen this time round. He said: "You never know quite what might have happened had the ball got past me but it was good to get that block in and to come away with the three points which is always important in the first game of the season, particularly being away from home.

"I think the fans got a bit nervous, people possibly thought 'here we go again' after that 6-6 draw last season when it went to 3-2. There was definitely a lot of pressure on us with Motherwell looking for an equaliser but you have to try to block it all out and concentrate on playing as you normally would."

Stephens admitted, though, there was a concern as Motherwell started the better side, well worth their opening goal before Hibs got into their stride, looking threatening every time they went forward as the game began to stretch in the second half.

He said: "I think there's always a worry when you go a goal down but we have some great players in the team and with the guys we have up-front and in midfield there's always the chance we're going to hit the back of the net."

While seeing Stokes claim the equaliser would have come as no surprise to the travelling fans, the Republic of Ireland star last season's top scorer with 23 goals, few would probably have tipped Hanlon and Miller to also beat Motherwell goalkeeper Darren Randolph, the midfielder earning himself a booking following his over-jubilant celebrations as he rushed into the Hibs support.

Aligning himself with the old football saying that it doesn't matter who scores - although Stokes, Derek Riordan and Colin Nish may take issue with that particular mantra - so long as the team wins, Stephens said: "I was really delighted for Paul and Liam. They maybe don't score as often as they might like as you could see from Liam's reaction, while Paul looked so surprised he'd almost forgotten how to celebrate.

"But while it's great to have guys like our front three who score so many goals, it's terrific to have others in the team who'll chip in from time-to-time.

"We might have scored a few more, we had a lot of chances but Motherwell also had some of their own so maybe it could have been 6-6 again if they'd all been taken but I felt we just had that wee bit of added quality which enabled us to win."

Now, Stephens insisted, it's up to Hughes' players to take the confidence gained from their victory in Lanarkshire into Sunday's home match against SPL champions Rangers, a game which will mark the opening of Easter Road's new East Stand which will take capacity at the ground to 20,250.

He said: "Bring it on, it's one for everybody to look forward to. We've both got off to the perfect start in winning our opening games. We are under no illusions that it's going to be anything other than a tough match and that we'll have to be at our best.

"But I'm sure our victory at Motherwell will have lifted everyone, players and supporters alike, so we'll be approaching the game with confidence. In the meantime, it's a case of putting in a week of hard graft on the training ground to make sure our preparations for the match are spot-on."