Hibs in Euro horror show - ratings and report as Easter Road side suffer Conference League shocker

In a banana-skin tie played on a treacherous surface, there was always a danger that Hibs would slip up. But few would have predicted such a mighty fall from grace, as David Gray’s men suffered a brutal 2-0 defeat that leaves their UEFA Conference League hopes hanging by a the most slender of threads.

The few hundred punters who made the journey to Malisheva’s temporary home of the Fadil Vokrri Stadium in Pristina for the first leg of this second qualifying round tie were irked, annoyed and even infuriated at the end of a bruising afternoon. With absolute justification.

Against opponents ranked just over 100 places below them in the UEFA standings, David Gray’s men were rocked by a Kreshnik Uka goal midway through the first half. New No. 9 Nathan Lowe squandered a glorious chance to equalise with less than 25 minutes remaining.

And Malisheva punished the Scots in the final minute of regulation time, substitute Valjmir Nafiu finishing off a three-and-three break to spark wild delight among home supporters. And sparking a minor exodus among Hibs fans who had shown their commitment to make the journey to the Kosovan capital.

There can be no sugar coating the poverty of this result or performance. Given a chance to start the campaign with a bang, Hibs failed to rise to the occasion.

With the winners of a tie between Slovenian side Bravo and Macedonian challengers Shkendija awating the victors of this two-legged contest, both Malisheva and Hibs would have been forgiven for feeling that the draw had opened up – ever so slightly, maybe – for whoever managed to seize the initiative. Opportunity was knocking for someone, clearly.

If Hibs were to take the chance presented them, a task made more difficult by the absence of both Jamie McGrath and new attacking midfield option Callum Wright, not to mention Nicky Cadden and Ante Suto, they’d need to get some sort of result here. With cloud rolling in and temperatures dropping before kick-off, Gray’s men must have felt comfortable, in more ways than one, with the challenge ahead.

Indeed, even on a pitch made slippery by a pre-match watering, they might have taken the lead after just seven minutes. Felix Passlack’s cross from the right was headed above and beyond the keeper by Owen Elding – but home captain Dreni Kryeziu rather acrobatically cleared off the goal line to keep his team from falling behind.

But the surface was something of a leveller, as demonstrated by a Warren O’Hora slip that allowed Arlind Veliu to rip in a right-footed shot from a tight angle on the left with about a quarter of an hour gone. Fortunately for Hibs, Raphael Sallinger was able to get fingertips to the effort.

The Austrian goalie was rooted to the spot as Malisheva took the lead with 21 minutes on the clock, amid much sliding and tumbling – Miguel Chaiwa just fell over like Bambi on ice – in the Hibs ranks. Uka’s conversion on a low cross from the left seemed to go past Sallinger from around eight yards almost in slow motion.

Hibs seemed to retreat into themselves, rather than rally in any real footballing sense, after the loss of that shock opener. It’s not that they didn’t have the ball. But they didn’t really do much with it.

Against opponents who had own their most recent game with five unanswered goals, Malisheva having absolutely battered Albanian rivals FK Vllaznia in the second leg of their first qualifying round tie, there was a real danger that all of the confidence would flow in one direction. With no signs of a reversal.

The visitors were booed off the park by their own fans at half-time, the mood of travelling fans not helped by seeing Passlack hit a tame shot straight at home keeper Ilir Avdyli with the last act of the first half.

Jack Iredale was replaced at half-time and, given a free hand an unlimited substitutions, Gray might well have hooked another five from his starting XI.

On-loan Stoke striker Nathan Lowe probably should have equalised five minutes into the second half, missing on the short side at the near post after Josh Mulligan’s shot deflected into his path. Chaiwa also blazed over from all of 12 yards after a corner from Adam Mayor was only half cleared, the midfielder losing his footing as he shaped to shoot.

And Lowe really had to score when put clean through by Martin Boyle with 66 minutes on the clock, the big target man shooting wide from all of 15 yards with only the keeper to beat. They would pay for that miss.

With time almost up, Hibs – still in the tie at 1-0 down – inexplicably let themselves get caught on the counter. Hanley was sat on his backside by a bit of fast footwork. And the finish beyond Sallinger left the Scottish Premiership side with a mountain to climb back in Edinburgh next week.