Dylan Vente the Easter Road hero but one Hibs star shines brightest in thrilling European victory

Dylan Vente’s heroic introduction to the Easter Road support helped Hibs establish a two-goal advantage going into next week’s second leg of Europa Conference League qualifying against Luzern.

Lee Johnson’s side are now just 90 minutes away from a spot in the play-off round after the Dutchman capped an impressive debut with a headed debut goal which took the roof off Easter Road and restored confidence that had been rattled by Ismaji Beka cancelling out Joe Newell’s opener. The night’s football was then completed with Jordan Obita being the second player on the night to grab his first goal for the club and givr the hosts a nice little cushion before the trip to Switzerland.

Making his first appearance after a delay in his work permit, Vente showed good pace at the tip of the Hibs attack. He dovetailed well with Adam Le Fondre in a 4-4-2 formation and showed some nice touches throughout. The £700,000 shelled out for his signature is already beginning to look like a decent investment.

Johnson wondered aloud after the defeat to St Mirren whether he’d been wrong in selecting the same ten outfield players which defeated Inter Club d'Escaldes last Thursday. Well he certainly didn’t take a conservative approach when naming his starting XI for this one.

Dylan Vente celebrates giving Hibs a 2-1 lead in their Europa Conference League third-qualifying round game with Hibs. Picture: SNS

The midfield three struggled against the Buddies, so it was surprising to see the Hibs boss elect to go with just Newell and Dylan Levitt in the centre. Around them were four forwards with Martin Boyle and Elie Youan on the wings.

It seemed like a foolishly gung ho approach, but this was the type of game which showed that tactics and personnel can sometimes be overrated, at least with regards to individual contests. There may have been a number of flair players in the side, but they each, to a man, worked their socks off. It was the kind of performance you want to see more from Scottish clubs in Europe – if you can’t be technically better than them, just run over the top of them.

It helped that Newell enjoyed one of his best performances in green and white. This included his defensive shift as he and Levitt both made key interceptions. On the ball the pair impressed, though Newell was a level above.

It was fitting Vente and Newell were leading protagonists for the first two Hibs goals. The first saw the former lay off for Newell to curl an outstanding finish from outside the penalty area into the far corner. With the second, a great debt of gratitude was owed to Adam Le Fondre, who took a brilliant touch to control a Lewis Stevenson cross before perfectly lifting for Vente to head home. Though Hibs wouldn’t have been in that position were it not for Newell’s slaloming run through a number of opposing defenders.

Both teams hit the bar in the closing stages within a minute of each other. First substitute Christian Doidge and then Pius Dorn rattled the woodwork. The latter acted reminded Hibs that Luzern still packed a healthy punch, but the home crowd was made to feel a lot better about things when Obita – who came on for the ineffective Youan at half-time – intercepted a poor pass, drove forward and found the far bottom corner.