Hibs U19s 1 Motherwell 0

A return to winning ways for the wee Hibees as Josh McDonald's first-half strike settled a tight contest against Motherwell at HTC.

The midfielder struck brilliantly to open the scoring on 14 minutes, before a hard-fought battle ensued for the remainder of the 90.

Hibernian XI: Mallon, McSporran, Riddell, McNeill, Buckley, Bruce, Downie (Burns 59'), MacDonald (Gallacher 59'), Jimenez, McDonald, Calder (Shankland 80').

Substitutes: McGurk, Shankland, Gallacher, Burns. 

The visitors took on the first shot of the match in the third minute after a lightning-quick counter-attack, with Ryan Mallon forced into a crucial stop to deny centre-forward Evan Samuel. 

Less than 60 seconds late, Motherwell keeper Jack McConnell spilled a trivela from McDonald, though Callum MacDonald fired into the shot-stopper's midriff from point-black range on the rebound. 

McDonald would open the scoring inside a quarter-of-an-hour with a smart finish. Teed up neatly by MacDonald, the midfielder arrowed his strike precisely into the bottom corner with aplomb. 

Moments after the restart, Reiss Downie would find the side-netting after rediverting a low Arran McSporran cross narrowly wide of goal.

Two injury stoppages slowed the game down, with a blocked Adam Buckley header and a long-range Samuel Ngandu effort the only respective chances of note for the two sides before the break. 

After a quiet start to the second 45, Jay Gallacher and Alisdair Burns were introduced off the bench to provide a spark but the match continued to stall as both teams nullified each other's attacking threat.

Hibs would show serious threat down the flanks throughout the match - particularly through Calder and MacDonald on the left - but would continually struggle to pick out a forward in the box as Motherwell defended their box with great resilience.

McConnell was forced into a double save on 66 minutes before the visitors were let off as Logan Jimenez fires just over the bar during the second phase of the attack.

On 69 minutes, McDonald would send a looping, placed half-volley over McConnell's goal as Hibs continued to push for a two-goal cushion.

Substitute wing-back Cole Shankland would be next to threaten, as he fired over from a low Burns delivery with a first-time finish. 

A final chance fell for Hibs - who continued to keep Motherwell at bay with relative ease - in the 88th minute, as McDonald curled a speculative shot wide of the post after some neat footwork in the middle of the park.

The ferociously contested encounter ended in Hibs' favour, with a 1-0 victory ensuring the side returned to winning ways after a rare league defeat last time out.