Steve Kean’s side took part in three days of competition in the Algarve, competing against several teams from across the continent and worldwide.
DAY ONE
The Hibees were drawn in Group B alongside Benfica, FC Porto, Danish side SonderjyskE and a select side from American Soccer Universities. Each team played each other once, with games lasting 45 minutes.
On the first day, Hibs played both Portuguese sides – losing 2-0 in their opening match against Benfica.
Steve Kean’s side put in a much better performance in their following match against Porto, creating plenty of chances and pressing much higher up the pitch. Unfortunately, we couldn’t take any of those chances and got caught by a long ball over the top from the Portuguese side and fell to a 1-0 loss.

DAY TWO
After a disappointing first day against strong opposition, the wee Hibees picked themselves up to go again on day two.
In their third game of the tournament, Steve Kean’s side were held to a 0-0 draw with Danish side SonderjyskE. Despite dominating the majority of the 45 minutes and creating plenty of chances we couldn’t find that crucial goal and had to settle for a point.
The goals began to flow in game four – beating Soccer Universities 2-0 in our final group game. Ethan Laidlaw grabbed both goals; the first – a brilliant solo effort, intercepting the ball high up the pitch before rounding the keeper and tapping into an empty net. The second came from the penalty spot after Josh McCulloch was brought down in the area.
Josh O’Connor also had the ball in the net but it was ruled out for offside in what was a dominating performance from start to finish.

That meant, we finished the group on four points and were drawn to play Braga and West Sydney All-Stars on the final day of fixtures.
DAY THREE
Ethan Laidlaw continued his goalscoring form on the final day of the tournament. The Hibs striker was on target again against Braga within five minutes.
Malek Zaid was quickest to react, winning the back deep inside the Braga half before unselfishly picking out Laidlaw who made no mistake with the finish. With a lead to protect, the wee Hibees defended their box well and saw out the game to secure victory.
The final match saw Hibs contest the 5th/6th place play-off with West Sydney All-Stars. Once again Laidlaw was at the heart of the action from the outset.
Again, the high press was paying dividends for the Hibees – the 17-year-old capitalised on a defensive mistake before rounding the keeper and squaring it for Josh O’Connor who tapped home for a 1-0 lead.

Kanayo Megwa added a second, putting the game beyond all doubt. The Hibs centre-half smashed home from close range after the ball dropped to him from a Hibs corner.
That meant Hibs finished 5th in the competition – winning three matches, drawing once and losing twice to the eventual tournament finalists, with Benfica beating FC Porto 2-0 in the final.