Late flourish sees Hibs turn 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 victory in final friendly test
● Doidge and Campbell net their first goals as visitors beat Pressley’s side
CARLISLE UNITED
HIBERNIAN
3
Bridge 30, Hope 47, Mcgregor og 67
4
Kamberi 37, Allan 73, Doidge 87, Campbell 90 It may have been another patchy performance, but the one thing Hibs head coach Paul Heckingbottom couldn’t question was his side’s battling qualities after they fought back to snatch a last-minute win in their final pre-season friendly against Carlisle United.
The Easter Road side looked well beaten at 3-1 down and the minutes ticking away, but the capital side delighted their travelling support with late strikes from Scott Allan, Christian Doidge and Josh Campbell, the latter two claiming their first goals of the club.
After being beaten by Arbroath and forced to come from behind to beat Dunfermline Athletic at the weekend, Heckingbottom will be glad of another win before Hibs face Stirling Albion in the Betfred Cup on Saturday.
Last night’s game proved a tough test for Hibs and Jack Bridge put Steven Pressley’s English League Two side ahead against the run of play before Flo Kamberi hauled Hibs level before the interval.
A stunning strike from Carlisle substitute Hallam Hope put Carlisle back in front and they stretched that lead when Hibs defender Darren Mcgregor pushed a leg out to deflect Keighran Kerr’s flick into his own net.
Heckingbottom’s players refused to lie down, Allan pulling one back before £350,000 signing Doidge headed home the equaliser with four minutes to play. At that point it looked as if Hibs would settle for a draw but with only seconds left, youngster Campbell angled home the winner to send the 1067 Hibs fans back up the road to Edinburgh happy.
The Hibs boss will now look to League Cup games against Stirling, Alloa, Arbroath and Elgin City to fine-tune his side ahead of the league opener against St Mirren.