Lewis Vaughan testimonial - kids star as first team travels

Lewis Stevenson, Jair Tavares, Reuben McAllister, Paul Hanlon, and 15-year-old Josh McDonald were on target for the Hibees with Callum Smith on the scoresheet for the hosts. 

Martin Boyle was among the many Hibs first-team players in attendance (Image: SNS Group)

Will Fish was the only regular starter who lined up in Kirkcaldy, playing the first 45 minutes before making way for Harry Wright, but a host of senior players were in attendance including captain Joe Newell, goalkeeper David Marshall, strikers Adam Le Fondre and Dylan Vente, as well as Luke Amos, Martin Boyle, Rocky Bushiri, Chris Cadden, Josh Campbell, Emiliano Marcondes, Lewis Miller, Nathan Moriah-Welsh - who would have been on international duty with Guyana had he not picked up a knock last week - and Jordan Obita.

Speaking afterwards, Montgomery said: "I'd never met Lewis until tonight but I had a chat with him before and he's a great guy. I thought it would be fitting for us to take the game because he's a Hibs fan, his family are Hibs fans, he's from Edinburgh and everybody is representing the club. I thought it was really important to have everyone there to show support for a great achievement from Lewis.

Lewis Vaughan is given a guard of honour by the Raith and Hibs players (Image: SNS Group)

"It was also a good opportunity to get minutes into the boys that needed it and have a look at some of the young boys as well, so I'm very pleased with how the game went."

On Fish, Montgomery explained that the on-loan Manchester United centre-back had played virtually out of necessity. 

"Will is 20 years old, he's played a lot of football but that's the sort of kid he is. Everyone who played needed minutes and quite a few boys have niggles from playing three games last week, plus the international boys are away so it was good to put a competitive team out for a competitive game.

"The players get the weekend off now. There will be a controlled session for the boys who are recovering from little knocks, then they'll get the weekend off and start again on Monday for full preparation for the Rangers game."

Youngsters impress

Hibs had teased a starting team comprising fringe first-teamers and youngsters, so it was little surprise to see Jacob Blaney starting at right-back, McAllister and Robbie Hamilton anchoring the midfield, Malek Zaid at number ten and Dean Cleland as the lone striker. Blaney cruised through the game, switching briefly to centre-back at the start of the second half following Fish's substitution to accommodate full-back Harry Wright, before returning to right-back until he was subbed off, while McAllister caught the eye in midfield, not least for his assist for Jair's goal, and his sumptuous free-kick for goal number three. 

Up top, Cleland came close on a number of occasions, most notably dragging a shot just wide of the far post after being nicely set up by Zaid with a cheeky through-ball, and he wasn't far away from connecting with a couple of crosses from Jair and Stevenson. 

Harry Wright battles for possession with Raith's Scott McGill (Image: SNS Group)

Wright, son of former Hibs and Raith striker Keith, caught the eye at right-back before moving to the right-wing, and then back to full-back late on. The versatile youngster has had a couple of injuries to contend with this season but has bounced back with some impressive showings for the academy team and he put in a decent showing in front of the first-team coaching staff in Kirkcaldy. Owen Calder and and Jay McGarva got most of the second half and didn't look out of place against the Championship title-hopefuls, while McDonald got stuck in and popped up with the fifth and final goal late on. Joe McGrath slotted in at centre-back, benefiting from playing alongside Hanlon, while Alfie Smith looked comfortable in midfield. There were late cameos for midfielder Zach Bruce, defender Jamie Bulloch, and goalkeeper Freddie Owens., with Bulloch flashing an ambitious effort just over the bar. 

Many of the academy players who featured have already trained with the senior squad at HTC and having seen Montgomery hand senior debuts to Josh Landers, Jacob MacIntyre, Kanayo Megwa, and Rory Whittaker since his arrival, following on from Reuben McAllister and Rudi Molotnikov earlier this season, were keen to catch the eye against Raith. 

Paul Hanlon is congratulated on his goal by Robbie Hamilton and Lewis Stevenson (Image: SNS Group)

Playing alongside senior players such as Hanlon, and Stevenson won't have done the youngsters any harm either, although the Easter Road stalwarts rolled back the years with impressive performances themselves, with well-taken goals. 

What did Vaughan say?

Vaughan was a season ticket-holder at Easter Road before signing for Raith, and came up against a few of his early Hibs heroes on Wednesday night. 

Speaking to HibsTV he said: "I’ve been at Raith Rovers for the best part of 13-and-a-half years now so I’ve been here since I was a kid, as long as I can remember. I had to get rid of the Hibs season ticket when I signed my professional contract here. 

"Hibs was obviously the team that I wanted to play against in my testimonial. I’ve had to wait a wee while to get it organised but thankfully the committee managed to pull Hibs through. A massive thanks to Hibs for coming through and thanks to the Hibs fans for coming here, the manager and all the players, it’s much appreciated.

Lewis Vaughan gets a shot away despite the attentions of Jacob Blaney (Image: SNS Group)
"[To] play against Lewis Stevenson and Paul Hanlon, players that I used to watch at Easter Road every week...  I still watch Hibs when I can so it’s a privilege to have them over here. To be honoured with a testimonial by Raith was a dream come true and to play Hibs just topped it off."