Hibs fight back after roaring night at Easter Road
Hibernian 4 - 1 Malisheva (Hibernian won 4-3 on aggregate)
Hibernian swept aside Kosovan side Malisheva to overturn last week’s first-leg defeat in and book a Conference League third qualifying round tie against North Macedonia’s Shkendija.
Author | Sean M
Stadium | Easter Road
After the disappointing performance and result in Pristina, head coach David Gray had demanded a response and got one from the outset on a warm summer evening in the Scottish capital.
Three first-half goals from Owen Elding, Felix Passlack and Nathan Lowe put Hibs ahead on aggregate, with the hosts threatening to add more during a dominant 45 minutes in which Josh Mulligan and Martin Boyle both struck the woodwork.
Boyle added a fourth after the interval and, although Omer Bajraktari pulled one back to leave Malisheva within a goal of forcing extra time, the visitors could not create another clear opportunity.
A closer analysis of what happened
Elding opened the scoring inside eight minutes after being picked out by Boyle, before Passlack doubled Hibs’ advantage with a composed left-footed finish soon afterwards.
Boyle was involved again for the third, delivering a cross to the back post where Elding laid the ball into the path of Lowe, who made no mistake for his first goal since joining on loan from Stoke City.
Hibs continued to find openings after the break and Boyle deservedly got his name on the scoresheet in the 57th minute. Taking advantage of some static defending, he cut inside on to his right foot before beating goalkeeper Ilir Avdyli.
Elding and Lowe both passed up excellent chances to make the result more emphatic, before Bajraktari gave Malisheva hope of a remarkable comeback with an excellent strike from outside the box.
Despite that Malisheva goal, there didn't seem to be any nerves from Hibs
Hibs remained composed during the closing stages, however, seeing out the tie and moving one step closer to the Conference League group stage.
Shkendija, who had lost 2-1 away to Bravo in Ljubljana last week, overturned the deficit with a 3-1 home victory to progress 4-3 on aggregate.
Hibs will host the first leg on 6 August, with the return in Tetovo scheduled for 13 August.
