McCready has debut as Hibs fight back

A YOUNG Hibs side, in which former Everton midfield player Tom McCready was given his debut, were held to a 1-1 draw by East of Scotland League side Gala Fairydean at Netherdale.

The young Hibees got off to the worst possible start when they conceded a goal after only 45 seconds. Defender Sean Welsh and goalkeeper Lewis Graham attempted to pass the ball back and forth to each other when they were pressurised by Gala striker Jamie Gibson. A loose pass then fell into the path of Chris Anderson who slipped the ball into the empty net.

It was not the ideal start for Hibs although they took only ten minutes for the Easter Road boys to equalise. An in-swinging free kick from Lee Currie on the right was headed powerfully into the net by central defender Ewan Moyes.

Gareth Evans, the Hibs coach, said: "We had a young team who did not cope with the condition of the pitch and the strength of the Gala players. Having said that, I thought that Gala acquitted themselves very well.

"The game gave us a chance to look at some of our younger players and we were able to give Tom McCready, who has not really trained for the past week because of a back injury, 45 minutes of competitive action."

Fraser Lothian, the Gala manager, said: "We gave Hibs a wee fright and I will take performances like that all through the season."

Gala: Turnbull, Hay, Wood, Szczesniak, Waldie, Young, Anderson, Sutherland, Gibson, Hossack, Hardie. Subs: S Noble, Holness, Glass, McKenzie, B Noble, Greene.

Hibs: Graham, Taggart, Booth, Welsh, Moyes, Currie, Wilson, Horner, Deane, McCready, Cropley. Subs: Bell, Murray, Smith, Crawford, Welch, Grant, Burns, Martindale.