15th August 2017 Hibs Colts v Elgin City 1-2


I was intending to go out to Newtongrange today but our Hibs supporting postman mentioned that Hibs U20s were playing in Irn-Bru Cup against SPFL Elgin City at Ainslie Park tonight. I therefore changed my mind and decided to go to Ainslie Park to cheer on Elgin. Two reasons why : 
1) As a Hearts fan I could never cheer on Hibs and 
2) In my teens I had gone to see Elgin play at Borough Briggs while staying on holiday with my aunt in Elgin.

Yet again I walked to Ainslie Park but got a shock when I arrived. Admission price was £12 in line with SPFL League Two but seemed to me to be a bit much to watch an SPFL team against an under 20s side. I paid and in the ground bought a programme for £1. Programme was issued by some Hibs fans and all proceeds would benefit Hibernian Youth Development. SPL teams are allowed to field two over 20s players in Irn-Bru cup and Hibs fielded Deivydas Matulevicius their recently signed Lithuanian centre-forward. After all Hibs fans said about Hearts fielding a number of Lithuanian players during Vladimir Romanov's period in charge of the club it seemed to me ironic that Hibs now had two Lithuanian players in their first team squad. Elgin were fielding a strong side as they were looking to move into the next round of the competition.

Elgin opened the scoring after about 20 minutes when Jon-Paul McGovern, another who has lost pace but still has a football brain, sent a cross into the box which Chris Macleish headed back across Maciej Dabrowski in the Hibs goal and into the net. Both sides had chances thereafter in the first half but highlight for me was a shot from Hibs Oli Shaw which went past the goal and over the wall and netting at the back of the goal ending up in the back garden of a house outside the ground. I had a vision of Hibs sending a substitute round to the house, knocking on the door and saying “please mister can we have our ball back?”.

At halftime I met a former neighbour Wendy. Her son was on the bench for Hibs and had been promised a runout in the second half however with game being close no substitutions were made by Hibs.Despite promises Jamie Gullan did not get on as substitute.

Early in the second half Matulevicius was bundled to the ground just outside the Elgin penalty box. Hibs Fraser Murray curled a lovely free-kick into the Elgin net for the equaliser. Both sides were looking for a winner but with seconds remaining Elgin won a corner and centre-back Stephen Bronsky headed the winning goal. I loved the headline in the Edinburgh Evening News the next day - Bronsky beats young Hibees late on. 

Not a great game but pleasing to see Elgin victorious. On the bus home I saw on my phone that Hearts U20s had won 3-2 after extra time at Highland League Formartine United.

Teams
Hibs U20s: Dabrowski, Donaldson, Mackie, Porteous, Waugh, Stirling, Watson, Martin, Matulevicius, Shaw, Murray
Subs: None used
Elgin City : Waters, Eadie, Smith, McHardy, Bronsky, McGovern, Reid, Cameron, McLeish, Reilly, Dodd.
Subs: Ferguson, Allan, Sutherland

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