Hibs’ under-20s take on Rangers in a top of the table clash which will now take place at Murray Park tonight (kick off 6pm, admission is via donation to a bucket collection with all funds raised going towards youth development).
The scheduled SPFL U20 League match was due to have taken place at Livingston’s Energy Asset Arena but this has been postponed.
With Jordan Sinclair, Callum Crane and Cody Mulhall all injured and Alex Harris and Sam Stanton both unavailable due to first team commitments, Head of Academy Coaching McDonaugh admits the squad are down to the bare bones, but he also stresses the youngsters will be up for the match against second-placed Rangers, who are narrowly behind on goal difference in the SPFL U20 League standings.
McDonaugh told www.hibernianfc.co.uk : “We’ve got quite a few players out injured plus Bradley Donaldson, who is eligible to play and is now back from being away on loan, is also injured.
“Nevertheless we are all looking forward to the game and we have to show Rangers respect, who are just behind us at the top.
“We fully understand that we need to be at our very best in order to win the game and that’s exactly what we’ll be aiming to do.”
The Rangers side will be led by former Hibs’ star Gordon Durie who expects a tough game. Durie told www.rangers.co.uk
“It will be a big test and since we beat them in the Youth Cup, they’ve gone on a great run just like we have.
“I’ll be saying to the boys tomorrow that the cup game is gone. It’ll be a totally different Hibs team and they are playing with confidence.
“We expect nothing more than a really tough match because that’s what we got at Ibrox last year.
“The final score was probably a bit flattering for us, although it was one of those games where everything was flying in for us.
“Overall, the team performance that day was probably one of the best we have had this season but they’ll probably have a bit more experience in their side for this game.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
