Jack Ross thrilled with Hibs performance against Arsenal as he hails 'emotional' return of fans

Jack Ross was delighted with his side’s performance after Hibs recorded a fine victory against Arsenal.

Jack Ross was delighted with his side's performance against Arsenal, claiming the scoreline was a 'bonus'

Goals in either half from Martin Boyle and Daniel Mackay gave the hosts a 2-1 win, with Emile Smith Rowe’s goal ten minutes from time a mere consolation for Mikel Arteta’s side.

Around 1,800 Hibs fans returned to their seats for the club’s fourth pre-season friendly and they were treated to some scintillating passages of play from both teams.

Admitting after the match that he had momentarily forgotten the game would be played in front of spectators, Ross paid tribute to those inside the ground.

"It was quite emotional seeing the supporters – fathers and sons, mothers and daughters – back in the ground.

"You could see how genuinely excited they were to be back and it sounded like a lot more than 1800.

“It makes such a difference to the match and we look forward to hopefully seeing more supporters in for the European game. It makes the game a million times better for everyone.”

The head coach has been effusive in his praise for his players throughout the summer and was delighted with another good performance.

“I think the scoreline is actually a bonus for us. When you lose one in pre-season, the first thing a manager will tell you is it doesn’t matter that much,” he added.

“The most important thing is the performance – and that side of it was really good.

“You’ve got to work really hard off the ball and be really disciplined, and the fact we played against the bulk of two different teams meant the energy of their players was good.

“It was just a good night for us. All aspects of the performance were good and it’s nice for the players to quickly have that taste for winning games against good teams as well.

“It’s been such a different pre-season for us [compared to last year] but the players have been bang at it from the first day.

“The only downside is we’ve picked up quite a lot of niggling injuries and some illnesses that have disrupted us a little bit.

“But, in terms of what the players have produced, in all the games to date and on the training pitch, it’s been pleasing.”

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