Hibs sent warning by Conference League opponents as 'fired up' head coach hails historic achievement
The Kosovan’s are one of the smallest and newest clubs in the UEFA family
FC Malisheva head coach Thomas Brdaric has fired a warning to Hibs ahead of their Europa Conference League second qualifying round tie after eliminating his former club FK Vllaznia and creating history in the process.
Knocked out in the first qualifying round of UEFA’s third-tier competition in each of the last two seasons, the Kosovans progressed to the second round for the first time in their short decade-long history last night, courtesy of a 5-0 demolition of their Albanian neighbours.
Trailing 2-1 after last week’s first leg in which they ended the game with 10-men following defender Andreas Skovgaard’s red card, Malisheva turned on the style in front of just 837 supporters at Kampi Nacional to secure a 6-2 aggregate win.
It set up a meeting with David Gray’s side, who are ranked more than 100 places higher than their opponents. Hibs will travel to Kosovo for the first leg on July 23 before the return leg takes place at Easter Road seven days later.
And Malisheva’s experienced German head coach Brdaric, who starred for a number Bundesliga clubs during his playing career including Stuttgart, Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg, noted their success was a result of hard work and a never-say-die attitude.
Speaking to Kosovan media outlet RTK post-match, he declared: “We worked hard to get through this round. We knew beforehand that playing against Vllaznia would be very difficult. I am very proud of my guys and the sacrifices we made. It was a top-notch performance -100%. I can't say anything else.
“I am very grateful to my players. For now, we will celebrate advancing to the next round. Starting tomorrow, I’ll turn my attention to Hibernian. What the president, the staff, and the members have built over the last ten years is a wonderful club.
“When I was asked to come here, I was immediately fired up. I appreciate the opportunity to take this team to the next level. As a coach, I am grateful to lead this wonderful team.”
Malisheva opened the scoring through Kreshnik Uka after 30 minutes to level the tie up on aggregate before striker Dzemal Ibishi converted a first-half stoppage time goal to edge the home side ahead overall. Three further strikes from Uka, Arlind Veliuto and Krenar Dulaj after the break wrapped up the rout.
Who are FC Malisheva?
Based in central Kosovo, sandwiched in between Serbia, Albania, North Macedonia and Montenegro, Malisheva are one of the smallest and newest clubs in the UEFA family. Only founded in 2016, they rose from the third tier to the top-flight within five years.
The play their home games at the Liman Gegaj Stadium, which has an artificial pitch – and a seating capacity of just 1800, but does not meet UEFA’s stadium criteria, meaning they have to play any European fixtures at a neutral venue.
Malisheva finished runners-up in the Kosovo Superleague last season, seven points behind champions FC Drita. They will head into the tie against Hibs as underdogs.