Young Hibs side lose out to Blackpool in final pre-season friendly

Just a handful of first-teamers were involved as eight academy players featured, with Oscar MacIntyre, Reuben McAllister, Kanayo Megwa, and Rudi Molotnikov all starting while Riley Harbottle got more minutes after featuring against Groningen.

Lee Johnson also gave starts to Jimmy Jeggo, Elias Melkersen, and Dan MacKay who all played during Thursday night’s 2-1 defeat by Inter Club d’Escaldes while Martin Boyle made his first appearance since October last year after undergoing treatment on an anterior cruciate ligament problem.

The Australian internationalist looked bright on the right of a front three, if a little rusty, unsurprisingly after so long on the sidelines but could be in the reckoning for Thursday’s return leg against the Andorrans. It took just 11 minutes for him to get a sight of goal but his effort was easily gathered by Dan Grimshaw in the Seasiders goal, following on from Melkersen’s first chance which the Norwegian blazed over.

Blackpool summer signing Matt Pennington had already headed over from a corner as Neil Critchley’s side looked to get an early goal but it was Hibs who just about edged the first half in terms of chances – after a couple of heart-in-mouth moments for the visitors.

Sonny Carey was first to try his luck, slaloming through the midfield before bending an effort just wide of Jojo Wollacott’s post minutes before Albie Morgan should have done better from close range as he failed to divert CJ Hamilton’s cross into the net.

Melkersen, playing in his favoured centre-forward role, was set free from a clever ball forward from Reuben McAllister but Marvin Ekpiteta timed his challenge to perfection to snuff out the danger before the striker could pull the trigger. Ekpiteta came to Blackpool’s rescue again moments later when he cleared a net-bound MacKay header off the line from Boyle’s cross.

Lavery was set free just after the half-hour mark but couldn’t keep his effort down and Morgan had another sight of goal but again it didn’t trouble Wollacott as the first half meandered to a close.

Boyle was replaced by Jacob MacIntyre for the second period but Johnson will have been satisfied to see the talismanic winger emerged unscathed from his first action in nearly ten months. Blackpool kept the same team until midway through the second period, by which time they had taken the lead. Hamilton’s deep cross from the right to the back post found Lavery, with Wollacott unable to keep out his powerful header.

The Ghanaian internationalist did deny Carey moments later before Critchley made a host of changes with 25 minutes remaining, Pennington the only player remaining from the hosts’ starting XI. Hibs were struggling to create chances in front of goal with substitute ‘keeper Rich O’Donnell largely uninvolved, while Dale glanced a header narrowly over with ten remaining.

With the young Hibs side starting to feel the effects of cramp, a Tom Trybull free kick picked out Dougall whose powerful header made it 2-0 to Blackpool and almost straight away they made it three, Dale finishing off a impressively volleying beyond Wollacott who was then replaced by Max Boruc for the final few minutes.

Blackpool: Grimshaw (O’Donnell 65’), Connolly (Thompson 65’), Ekpiteta (Tharme 65’), Pennington, Husband (Casey 65’), Morgan (Dougall 65’), Norburn (Trybull 65’), Hamilton (Oakley-Boothe 65), Carey (Lyons 65’), Beesley (Apter 65’), Lavery (Dale 65). Sub not used: Chapman

Hibs: Wollacott (Boruc 86), Delferrière, Harbottle (Hastie 66’), Megwa, O MacIntyre, Molotnikov (McAllister 82), Jeggo, McAllister (Zaid 72’), Boyle (J MacIntyre 46’), Melkersen, MacKay (Hamilton 74’).