Hibs complete stirring Euro comeback - report and ratings as star man Martin Boyle inspires Easter Road win

Hibs pulled off a stirring European comeback at Easter Road, as they secured progress to the third qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League by dint of a thunderous - if slightly nervy, in the end - 4-1 win over FC Malisheva. David Gray’s men will host North Macedonian side Shkendija in Edinburgh next Thursday night, before travelling to Skopje for the return leg a week later.

Two goals inside the opening quarter hour here, Martin Boyle and Felix Passlack the scorers, put Hibs back on level terms after their embarrassing 2-0 loss in Pristina last week. And they got the job done, effectively, when Nathan Lowe – who had missed two great chances in the first leg – stooped to nod into an empty net with 11 minutes of the first half remaining.

A stunning Martin Boyle solo goal just before the hour mark gave the home side an added cushion that survived a late consolation strike from the hosts that set nerves jangling as the aggregate score was narrowed to 4-3.

Only once in 11 previous attempts had any Hibs side overcome a first-leg deficit of two or more goals in European competition. The fact that they got the job done here, tearing into their inexperienced opponents from the start and not allowing the visitors to draw breath, is a testament to the work done by Gray and his staff since one of the worst European results in club history.

Under pressure to put on a performance here, they did that – and got the goals needed to bury opponents who had looked so full of life and energy just a week ago.

With new summer signing Jason Kerr in for Grant Hanley – the biggest, if not only, culprit at the second goal last week - and Adam Mayor’s inclusion at left wingback allowing Jordan Obita to step into the back three, Hibs didn’t so much fly out of the block as explode into this contest like an unstoppable force. They certainly weren’t for hanging about.

Martin Boyle pulled shot wide after just 20 seconds, an early statement of intent, while Elding saw an effort deflected and Josh Mulligan hit the bar – from a Warren O’Hora cutback on the overlap, a sign of attacking intent from the centre-half – even before the home side took the lead. The breakthrough could hardly have come as a surprise, then. Not least to the boys in blue.

Boyle was the creator, driving in from the left and shaping to shoot, holding the defence just long enough for Elding to ghost into the inside left channel for a slipped pass. From there, the young Irishman did the necessary, smashing the ball beyond the visiting keeper with power.

The two-goal deficit was wiped out completely with 14 minutes on the clock as Hibs, desperately trying to prevent Malisheva from wasting time and slowing play down, went flying at their opponents. When Passlack’s cross from the right came back to him off a couple of bodies, the wingback finished with his left to send the home fans wild.

Those supporters, some of whom will have been among the angry mob who gathered outside the Fadil Vokrri Stadium to voice their displeasure over the first leg performance last Thursday, had to wait a little longer for their team to move ahead on aggregate. But the third goal was worth waiting for.

Boyle created it by cutting in from the left, again, and delivering a right-footed cross that found Elding steaming in beyond the far post. The former Sligo Rovers forward sent a header back across goal, finding Lowe perfectly placed to put away a sitter.

Even as Malisheva mounted their inevitable attempt at a comeback after the break, Hibs still found themselves slicing through the away ranks. And Boyle’s wonder goal with 58 minutes gone, dancing his way past a string of defenders before beating the keeper with a low strike, was no more than they deserved.

Going two goals clear in the tie allowed Gray to start thinking ahead, not just to Sunday’s visit of Motherwell in their Scottish Premiership opener, but another European tie on the dance card. Off came Boyle, Mulligan and Mayor in one triple change just after the hour mark, then new No. 9 Lowe with 12 minutes remaining.

Malisheva made things more than interesting when substitute Omer Bajraktari beat Sallinger with a 20-yarder seven minutes from time, the ball ripping past the goalie and into the top corner. But the hosts held on to stay alive. And dream of going further still.