Hibs learn European opposition but face wait for fixture order to be confirmed

Hibs look set for a trip to Andorra next Thursday for the first leg of their UEFA Europa Conference League second round qualifier after Inter Club d’Escaldes drew 1-1 with Víkingur Gøta in the Faroes.

The Andorrans had taken a 2-1 lead into the second leg and scored first at Við Djúpumýrar through Sascha Andreu to give themselves a 3-1 aggregate lead. Sølvi Vatnhamar’s penalty set up a fascinating final 15 minutes as the hosts chased a second goal which would take the tie into extra time and there was high drama when Víkingur scored again seven minutes into injury time but the referee ruled it out.

Manager Lee Johnson was present in Klaksvík on Thursday to cast an eye over Víkingur and Inter and will return to Edinburgh for Friday night’s friendly with Groningen with a clearer idea of how best to prepare his team for their encounter with the Andorrans.

Earlier on Thursday, Hibs’ former European foes Santa Coloma needed extra time to see off Penybont of Wales in their first qualifying round encounter, with Ivan Garrido and Cristian Novoa on target and Chris Venables sent off for the Welsh outfit for two bookable offences. With both Primera Divisió sides advancing to the next stage, Hibs are expected to travel to the principality for the first leg against Inter on Thursday July 27, with the return leg taking place at Easter Road a week later on Thursday August 3 although the fixtures are still to be confirmed.

A general view of the Estadi Comunal, where Hibs will take on Inter Club d'Escales. Picture: Craig Foy / SNS Group

It is the third consecutive year that Inter will compete in the second qualifying round of the Conference League. In their maiden year they were eliminated by Teuta of Albania, while CFR Cluj eliminated them from last year’s competition. On both occasions the club had dropped into the tertiary competition after losing in the Champions League preliminary qualifying rounds.

Elsewhere in the Conference League, Hibs’ Marbella friendly opponents Europa had three men sent off in their 3-2 defeat by Dukagjini of Kosovo. Jesús Pozo, who was fortunate not to be red-carded for his lunge on Élie Youan during Hibs’ 2-0 win, was given his marching orders just 29 minutes into the game along with Bujar Shabani of the visitors while Manu Heredia followed suit on 88 minutes. Striker Cipri was also dismissed deep into injury time.