Hibernian will face Shkendija in the Conference League third qualifying round after recovering from a 2-0 first-leg defeat to beat Malisheva and progress on aggregate. The result ends what had been a fraught week for David Gray, whose side’s display in Kosovo drew sharp criticism from supporters who had made the trip to eastern Europe.
Gray had acknowledged the first-leg performance was unacceptable, but his team delivered their answer on the pitch. Martin Boyle led the charge from the front, with Hibs wiping out the two-goal deficit inside 15 minutes. Boyle then capped a dominant display by dancing past several defenders to make it 4-0 on the night, at which point the tie looked well beyond Malisheva’s reach.
A drop-off in the final 20 minutes allowed the visitors to pull a goal back and introduce a degree of late tension, but it was not enough to deny Hibs. By the second half, with the tie firmly in hand, the Easter Road crowd were singing Gray’s name — not for his famous Scottish Cup final goal as a player, but for the way he had guided his team through adversity.
Gray was pleased with the response but kept his focus on what had been demanded of his players from the outset. “We spoke about the intensity we want to play at, the intent from the start to play forward, run forward and get the crowd behind us,” he said. “I saw it in training and they fully deserved to win tonight. We should have been out of sight, we hit the woodwork a couple of times and missed three or four big chances.”
On the subject of relief following last week’s disappointment, Gray was characteristically measured. “It’s different for a coach winning games to being a player,” he said. “Relief kicks in and then it’s the next game. You enjoy it for two minutes and then on to the next one.”
Image credit: BBC Sport / BBC Sport
