Hibs' European adventure starts early: 2000 German fans, pyro, eye-catching ref, mini-rammy and two injuries

A match organised with the German third-tier outfit to mark their encounter 70 years ago in the European Cup, there was a carnival atmosphere on a balmy summer's night in Leith. Back in September 1955, the two teams played out a 1-1 draw on the back of Hibs winning 4-0 at the Georg-Melches-Stadion. Neither club is at the lofty perch of yesteryear, although unlike Essen, Hibs at least have genuine continental competition to look forward to this term.

This will have been a useful exercise for Hibs head coach David Gray and his players in terms of European opposition, although one expects Danish side FC Midtjylland to be a whole lot stronger than the Germans when they meet later this month in the second qualifying round of the Europa Conference League. Owe Koschinat's 3. Liga side were plucky and summoned a spirited second-half revival, but they had their limitations.

What FC Midtjylland may struggle to match is the sizeable travelling support that made its way over from North Rhine-Westphalia to witness what was essentially a glorified friendly. More than 2000 Rot-Weiss Essen followers packed into the South Stand to noisily cheer on their team. A generation of their fans have not watched their team outside of Germany. They soaked up the pre-match sunshine in central Edinburgh and put on a sort of pyrotechnic display when the teams emerged that the SFA does not like.

There was also the celebration of Pat Stanton, the Hibs legend who now has Easter Road's East Stand named after him. He was warmly welcomed on to the pitch and looked emotional as he gazed up at his structure.

In terms of the match, which was refereed by former Hibs reserve goalkeeper Sean Murdoch, Gray named a strong Hibs team in what has become a trademark 3-5-2 formation. They moved 2-0 ahead early on, Jamie McGrath opening the scoring on two minutes before Junior Hoilett doubled the advantage on 14 minutes with a lovely chipped effort.

Essen fightback

Essen changed their team after the break and netted on 47 minutes through Dominik Martinovic from close range to give the visiting support something to cheer about. Their joy was doubled on 51 minutes when the same player netted with a daisycutter that didn't make Hibs keeper Raphael Sallinger look too clever.

Hibs looked leggy at this points, but the introduction of Martin Boyle livened them up and he put Hibs back in front with a left-footed strike on 75 minutes and should have scored again rather than blazing over towards the end.

That allowed Essen to fashion one last chance and it came when Marvin Ekpiteta gave away a penalty on 88 minutes. However, Sallinger more than atoned for any sloppiness with the Essen leveller by plunging to his right to save Torben Musel's effort. Tempers threatened to boil over just before full-time with a mini-rammy, with the Germans desperate to leave with a draw.

In what was a good work-out, the only real downsides for Hibs were injuries to Australian defender Lewis Miller, replaced on 32 minutes, after an over-zealous Essen tackle and half-time substitute Elie Youan leaving the pitch not long after his arrival with a back issue. Gray will hope the duo are not ruled out of more pressing assignments.