Hibs boss Lee Johnson praises competitive spirit in 'feisty' friendly win

Lee Johnson has praised his side’s competitive spirit after Hibs’ pre-season victory over FC Europa on Saturday.

New signing Adam Le Fondre scored one of the goals in the 2-0 win over the Gibraltar side in Marbella.

Josh Campbell scored the other in the friendly match that got a bit heated at time with tackles flying in from both teams.

Speaking after the game, that was played in intense heat, Johnson said: “We got a lot out of that today. It was a competitive game, it was feisty – when you come over here you have to experience different conditions.

“The heat was blazing, the pitch was dry and we were playing against a very motivated side. We’re going to experience situations and scenarios like this in the UEFA Conference League Qualifiers and we need to learn to adapt and deal with it.

“I thought we stayed in control and managed our emotions well. We played some fantastic football in the first half and the playing philosophy came out well.”

The manager used the game to give some game-time to the squad’s younger players and he was pleased with what he got from them.

He said: “Naturally, I was looking at the young players a lot throughout the game – as I know what the senior players can do.

“The young players are just as important as they are the future. I thought Kanayo Megwa was excellent, Jacob MacIntyre, Reuben McAllister and Rudi Molotnikov were all good in the second half. Collectively it was a good performance all round.”