The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Petrie: Montrose can learn from Hibs loss
Gable Endies boss philosophical after tough encounter at Easter Road
HIBERNIAN 4 MONTROSE 0
Montrose manager Stewart Petrie insists his side will be better off for the experience of facing Hibs at Easter Road on Saturday.
The Gable Endies fell to a 4-0 defeat in their opening Betfred Cup Group D clash in a game the hosts dominated.
The part-timers’ best chance of the game came just after half-time when Gary Fraser wasted an opportunity to bring the score back to 2-1 from close range.
But in the end, Montrose were well beaten as a brace from former Dundee United striker Simon Murray and strikes from Fraser Murray and ex-St Johnstone and Dundee United forward Brian Graham saw off the challenge from the Links Park club.
Despite the comprehensive score line, Petrie, whose side hosts Ross County tomorrow, believes his players will draw a lot from the challenge of facing a top-flight club.
He said: “I’m proud of the boys, it was a great occasion for them – it was great for the young ones to come too. You want to get something out of the cup games but the big thing for us is the league in August.
“Overall I’m no complaints. It’s a fantastic experience for the young guys coming here, even the senior ones as well.
“It’s great when you come and see the stadium here.
“It’s just fabulous, it’s a great place to come and play football and the pitch is like a bowling green as well.
“It was always going to be a difficult afternoon and when you lose an early goal you’re up against it.
“Credit to them, they worked as hard as they could for us this afternoon and the better team won.
“As soon as you lose an early goal you’re going to struggle and they’ve got some quality players as well.
“We’ll take out of it what we can, we’ll rest up and we’ve got anther tough one on Tuesday night.”
Hibs cruised to a two-goal lead inside 22 minutes as the two Murrays ran riot.
Former Tannadice star Simon headed in Lewis Stevenson’s cross after 12 minutes before teeing up namesake Fraser to bury a low drive beyond Allan Fleming.
Simon added his second in the 53rd minute when he nodded in Martin Boyle’s cross and Graham came off the bench to convert a penalty two minutes from the end after Graham Webster was adjudged to have handled a Stevenson cross.
Hibs defender Ryan Porteous, meanwhile, insists going up against the likes of Montrose during his loan stint at Edinburgh City last season has prepared him for first team football at Hibs.
The 18-year-old, who made his competitive debut at the weekend, said: “I played against teams like Montrose last season.
“You have to be physical in that league playing against guys like Chris Templeman.
“It’s a tough test but every player should do that at the beginning of their career to gain that physical edge.”
I’m proud of the boys. It was a great occasion for them. STEWART PETRIE