Christian Doidge pleased to get first Hibs goal as he targets Betfred Cup success

Hibs striker Christian Doidge is hopeful there are "loads more goals to come" after opening his account for the Easter Road side on his home debut against Alloa in the Betfred Cup.
Christian Doidge chips the ball over the onrushing Alloa 'keeper Neil Parry to net Hibs' first goalChristian Doidge chips the ball over the onrushing Alloa 'keeper Neil Parry to net Hibs' first goal
Christian Doidge chips the ball over the onrushing Alloa 'keeper Neil Parry to net Hibs' first goal

The Welshman latched onto a perfectly-weighted through-ball from substitute Fraser Murray and dinked the ball past visiting 'keeper Neil Parry, who sustained a nasty injury as he bravely attempted to thwart the former Forest Green striker's effort.

Doidge had the ball in the back of the net a second time on 82 minutes; the offside flag depriving him of a debut double and a two-goal cushion for Hibs. However, his countryman Tom James secured the win with a sumptuous hit from around 20 yards out just moments later.

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Speaking to Hibs TV after the game, Doidge admitted he was glad to chalk up his first strike in green and white, adding: "You want to get that first goal as quick as possible.

"Fraser played a great ball into me, it was a one-on-one with the 'keeper and it's nice to get that one out the way - and there's hopefully loads more to come."

Doidge collided accidentally with Parry, who received extensive treatment on the park from the Wasps physio and Hibs' club doctor Duncan Reid, eventually being replaced by back-up 'keeper Chris Henry, and the ex-Bolton forward insisted it was part and parcel of football.

"It was just momentum where I ran into the 'keeper but sometimes you've got to do those things to get on the score sheet," he explained.

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Despite the Championship side holding their own in the first half, Doidge felt Hibs were never in any danger.

He said: "I think we were in complete control of the game, at 1-0 up we kept most of the possession and then Tom's done an unbelievable finish and secured the points for us.

"We changed the shape at half time and I think that helped us."

Next up for the Capital club is another Betfred Cup clash with Arbroath the visitors to Easter Road on Tuesday night. The two teams met in a pre-season friendly earlier this summer with the League One champions running out 3-2 winners.

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The 26-year-old striker missed a first-half penalty in that fixture and is adamant Hibs can make up for the performance.

"We're looking forward to Arbroath. You want to have games all the time - it's better than doing the running on the training pitch. It's another good opportunity for us to work on things and make sure we're right for the season," Dodige said.

"Hopefully we can play a little better than we did [in the pre-season friendly at Gayfield] but when the game's here, the ball will be zipping around and hopefully we can move it around really quick.

"Pre-season games can be a little bit stale and boring for the spectators, so when you've got a cup competition, everybody wants to win and it's really competitive."

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