Emmanuel Johnson scored the only goal of the game as the Dev Squad emerged 1-0 victors against a strong Livingston outfit.
The Hibees starting XI featured a mixture of the UEFA Youth League U19 squad and a few current Hibees out on part-time loans including Jack Brydon, Allan Delferrière, João Baldé and Emmanuel Johnson.
Speaking to hibernianfc.co.uk after the match, Kean was pleased with the way his young team gelled and controlled the game from the outset. He said:
“It was a really good team performance – that had a lot of good individual performances within it. Everyone slotted into the system well and gelled together.
“That is the beauty of part-time loans, it gives us the opportunity to get these guys extra minutes in a Hibs shirt and we can see how they are progressing.
“I thought we controlled the game against a strong Livingston side that had five or six First Team squad players amongst it.”
The win builds on an impressive start from the Hibs Dev Squad, having picked up four points from their opening two cinch Reserve League fixtures.
That builds on the success of the U19s who progressed to the Second Round of the UEFA Youth League having beaten Molde FK over two legs.
Kean is pleased with the progress the Dev Squad are making and insists the lads are benefitting from playing more competitive football.
“The good thing about the cinch Reserve League is that there is no age group, so the lads are playing against more senior players. You can feel that there is a step-up in class and intensity in these games and there is certainly a competitive edge to these fixtures.
“When you are playing against players that play First Team football, that can only benefit your game and help drive our young lads development.”
