Hibernian are one step closer to being ready for European football following their 1-1 draw with Porto in Portugal, says head coach David Gray. The closed doors game at the Jorge Costa Training and Sports Development Centre gave Hibs' valuable game time before they enter the Conference League at the second qualifying round against either Vllaznia lead Malisheva.
What happened?
Borja Sainz gave Porto the lead shortly before half-time but Felix Passlack levelled during the second period. Recent signings Azeem Abdulai, Jason Kerr, and Callum Wright started in a Hibs team captained by Martin Boyle.
Why it matters for Hibernian
The draw was a positive result for Hibs, but Gray said there are a lot of things within it where they can improve. He praised the team's performance, saying it was a really good exercise for what they set out to do.
What comes next?
Hibs will now focus on their next game against Brondby, which will be their last chance to get significant minutes into players before they go into the real stuff the following Thursday. Gray said he's really grateful to FC Porto for taking the game on and putting a real strong side out as well.
Hibs' preparation for the Conference League
The closed doors game was a test for the European campaign in terms of travelling the day before, training when they come over here, then playing the game and flying straight home. Gray said it was a real good test for the players and they'll take a lot of confidence from that and a lot of things to work on moving forward as well.
Hibs' squad is starting to take shape
The big thing is always about minutes in the legs and players getting fitter and stronger, said Gray. He praised the recent signings, saying they're starting to take shape and get more minutes into players. Callum Wright missed the first couple of games when he joined, but they got a good 45 minutes out of him today. Azeem Abdulai went and played 45 minutes during the week for them, and then they pushed him to 60 minutes today. Josh Mulligan got 90 minutes today, which he'll massively benefit from, especially when you think back to how his season ended last year.
