Hibernian began pre-season with a comfortable win against neighbours Edinburgh City at Meadowbank on Saturday afternoon, as supporters got a first look at a David Gray team. Chris Cadden, Dylan Levitt, Harry McKirdy, Reuben McAllister, and Josh Campbell were all on target. 

The squad heads out for a summer training camp in the Netherlands on Monday but this was an occasion to blow the cobwebs away and get some minutes in the legs ahead of next week and friendly matches against MSV Duisburg of Germany, and Greek side PAOK, before returning to Edinburgh to prepare for the first Premier Sports Cup group game against Elgin City on July 13.

Gray opted for a mix of experience and fringe players in the first half, with new signing Josef Bursik starting in goals behind a back four of Kanayo Megwa, Nohan Kenneh, Riley Harbottle, and Oscar MacIntyre. Joe Newell, captaining the team, and Levitt were given holding roles while Luke Amos started as the ten, flanked by McKirdy on the left and Cadden on the right, with Dylan Vente up top. 

Hibs took just 15 minutes to open the scoring against a City side missing a couple of new signings, Levitt's lofted through ball sitting up nicely for Cadden to tuck home for the opener. Cadden and Vente were both involved in the second goal eight minutes later - Cadden picked out the Dutchman, who was in a good position himself but rather than shooting he elected to lay it off to Levitt, who side-footed home. 

McKirdy then made it three with a sumptuous effort from 30 yards, lobbing Mark Weir in the City goal after a knockdown had fallen nicely for him. 

Gray rang the changes at half-time, bringing out an entirely different XI for the second half. Max Boruc took over in goals with Jordan Obita taking up his usual left-back berth with Rory Whittaker on the right. Lewis Miller took the right-sided centre-back role partnered with youngster Joe McGrath. Jake Doyle-Hayes and McAllister were the deep-lying midfielders with Rudi Molotnikov and Jair Tavares on the flanks. Campbell, wearing the armband, tucked in behind centre-forward Josh Landers.  

McAllister made it four shortly after the restart, finishing well from a neat through-ball and Campbell made it five with a fine finish from just inside the area with 25 minutes remaining. Hibs hit the post twice after that, and both Obita and Molotnikov went close with chances but there were no more goals. 

Patrick McPartlin was at Meadowbank to provide the instant analysis...  

McKirdy stakes a claim

This time last year, Harry McKirdy was missing from the Hibs squad that faced Edinburgh City following the discovery of a heart issue that required surgery. He did make a comeback early in 2024 before a loan spell with former club Swindon but returned early and is now playing for his third manager since signing in August 2022. It's hard to take much from a pre-season friendly, but McKirdy put in a shift during his 45 minutes and capped his performance with a fantastic goal. 

He hasn't had his problems to seek - be it injury, his heart problem, or ill-advised social media posts - but could Gray be the man to get the best out of him? With a full pre-season under his belt and a coaching staff who might be able to work out what makes him tick, he could have a big part to play this season. 

Missing players 

Hibs were without a number of first-team players for a variety of reasons - Martin Boyle, Rocky Bushiri, and Nathan Moriah-Welsh are still a bit behind the others having been on international duty while Jojo Wollacott was also away with Ghana but took part in the pre-match warm-up with Boruc, Bursik, and Craig Samson. Élie Youan is still getting up to speed after an injury at the tail-end of last season while Allan Delfèrriere was also not selected - possibly because his season with loan side MSK Vyskov ran into early June.

All the players were present, however, along with new signings Marvin Ekpiteta and Warren O'Hora, who weren't involved due to the 'timing on when [they] joined the club', according to Gray, who was asked about the missing players after the match. 

Those who didn't play a part against City will almost certainly be involved against Duisburg and / or PAOK next week. 

Amos impresses

With the caveat that City were something of a makeshift side and are three divisions below Hibs, Luke Amos caught the eye in the first half, playing in a slightly unexpected number ten role - although with several players missing there was an experimental tinge to the Hibs XI in both halves. The former Tottenham youngster spent his time off before pre-season in Bali, working on his fitness, and didn't look off the pace at all despite a tough week of training at HTC. 

It would be a surprise to see him playing there this season given the other options available - Campbell played there in the second half, there's the possibility of new arrivals, and it depends how often Gray wants to play with a number ten given his promise that he wouldn't be sticking to just one formation - but Amos didn't look out of place, and the most pleasing aspect of his performance was getting through 45 minutes unscathed. He looked tidy on the ball and is another who could have a big part to play this season.

Satisfaction for Gray

No injuries, a clean sheet, five different goalscorers, and a useful 90 minutes in the breezy north Edinburgh sun would have been pleasing for Gray, who spoke to the media for the first time last week and outlined his plans for Hibs. 

It's early days of course and next week's game against PAOK will provide a sterner test while Duisburg, although playing in Germany's fourth tier, will be a different proposition as well. Given his previous role, he doesn't have much to learn about the players - but the training camp, and today's game, may well have given him food for thought in terms of formations and fringe players.