The night John McGinn inspired Hibs to a famous European victory in Greece

John McGinn celebrates after opening the scoring in Hibs' 1-1 draw away to Asteras Tripolis on August 2, 2018. Pic: SNS Group Ross Parker

Two summers ago, Hibs enjoyed one of their most memorable forages into Europe with an aggregate victory over Asteras Tripolis.

Having produced a sensational fightback a week earlier, recovering from two goals down at Easter Road to take a 3-2 lead into the second leg, Neil Lennon's men travelled to Greece in the hope of completing the job.

That would be a tall order against a side with two away goals in the bank and a good European pedigree having previously reached the group stages in consecutive seasons, not to mention the heat Hibs players had to contend with on that sweltering August evening.

But inspired by John McGinn, who scored his last Hibs goal in what would prove to be his penultimate game for the club before being sold to Aston Villa the following week, a battling 1-1 draw was enough to complete a 4-3 aggregate victory, ensuring a night to remember for the 1,500 fans who made the journey.

McGinn produced the type of big-stage performance that would eventually lead him to the English Premiership, with Lennon branding his performance "outstanding", adding: "Even when our backs were against the wall at times he was the one spark that we had in all areas."

The first half was all about adapting to the conditions and protecting the lead they had worked so hard to claim in the first leg, and led by captain David Gray, the Hibs defence handled everything the Greeks could throw at them.

With half-time looming, there came a pivotal two minutes when, at one end, Kosmas Tsilianidis crashed a header off the crossbar from just six yards.

Just moments later, having won the ball deep in Asteras territory, McGinn broke into the box and drove the ball into the corner of the net to spark bedlam - and smoke flares - among the Hibs fans.

The home side were reduced to 10 men just three minutes into the second half when Michalis Manias lunged recklessly into a tackle on Paul Hanlon to earn himself a second yellow card.

At two goals and a man up, the visitors looked firmly in control of the tie but they lost their composure and a defensive mix-up allowed Tsilianidis to slot home the equaliser on the night, and leave Hibs hanging onto a one-goal aggregate lead.

Step forward Adam Bogdan. Having been maligned for the manner of Asteras' goals in the home leg a week earlier, the on-loan Liverpool goalkeeper was the hero of the hour as he denied the home side with save after save.

One stop in particular, from a goal bound header from Anastasios Douvikas, was simply stunning and put the seal on a famous European night for Lennon and his team.

"I'm very proud of everyone associated with the club," the Hibs boss said afterwards. "It's a big achievement.

"You can see there's inexperience in us at this level, we didn't manage the game as well as we should've done in the second half, especially with the goal advantage and the 10 men.

"But you have to respect the opposition. They've been through this many times before and qualified for the group stages, whereas we're a little horse with very little experience and a very thin squad.

"It's a fantastic night for the club."