Lee Johnson backing David Marshall as Hibs boss gives update on Maksymilian Boruc

Lee Johnson has backed Hibs goalkeeper David Marshall to bounce back from last weekend’s 3-1 defeat by Motherwell at Easter Road.

The veteran shot-stopper gave away a penalty by fouling Blair Spittal before allowing the resulting spot-kick by Kevin van Veen to somehow squirm past him despite initially appearing to save the attempt. He also clashed with the Dutch striker in an off-the-ball incident resulting in the ‘Well forward seeking out the goalkeeper after scoring his second and the Steelmen’s third to rub it in.

But Johnson insists ‘one bad half in twenty-odd games’ shouldn’t detract from the former Scotland No.1’s performances over the course of the campaign. Speaking ahead of Sunday’s trip to Tannadice, the Hibs boss said: “Marsh has performed pretty well throughout the season. I think he would be disappointed, and he said so himself, with his second-half performance against Motherwell but that’s one bad half in twenty-odd games that I can remember.”

One spectator watching the action last Saturday from the Main Stand at Easter Road was Maksymilian Boruc. The Polish ‘keeper, who is under contract with Śląsk Wrocław in his homeland until the summer of 2025, is currently on trial with Hibs, and the 20-year-old earned words of praise from Johnson for his efforts so far.

David Marshall and Maksymilian Boruc during training at HTC

“Maksymilian is still here; he was always going to be here for a couple of weeks, and he’s done alright, to be honest. He’s a good size, he’s got a good frame, he’s decent with his feet. Stuart Garden, the goalkeeping coach, works closely with him,” he said.

Two first-team goalies departed Hibs in January with loanee Ryan Schofield recalled by parent club Huddersfield and Kevin Dąbrowski allowed to join Queen of the South on loan for the final few months of his Easter Road contract, leaving 18-year-old Murray Johnson as back-up to Marshall and Tom Carter as third choice.

"It wasn’t something we were necessarily desperately chasing,” Johnson continued. "We’ve got a good young goalkeeper in Murray and a couple of younger goalkeepers as well who we think are very good. The thing is to keep Marsh ticking over, keep him fit, keep him flying, and make sure we give all of our young goalkeepers every opportunity to be the succession plan for him.”