Hibs Urged to Start Fast Against Malisheva in Second Leg

Easter Road has seen this movie before. Hibernian walk into a European second leg with a deficit, the mood on edge, the margin for error thin. And yet, as Joelle Murray points out, this club has a habit of ripping up first-leg scripts.

Malisheva arrive in Leith with a 2-0 lead from last week’s first instalment of this Conference League second qualifying round tie. On paper, the Kosovan side hold all the cards. On the pitch on Thursday night, Murray believes the story can change quickly – if Hibs ignite from the first whistle.

“The Easter Road crowd can be unforgiving at times,” the Hibs women’s head coach told the BBC’s Scottish Football Podcast, a line delivered with the knowing tone of someone who has lived it. The message that followed was blunt: start brave, or suffer.

She wants forward passes. Penetrating passes. Intent, not caution. No feeling-out period, no gentle probing. Hibs, she argues, have to play as if the tie is on a knife-edge from the opening kick, because it is.

The logic is simple. An early goal, and the whole night changes. Nerves in the away end. Noise from the home stands. A two-goal deficit starts to feel like an invitation rather than a sentence. “With an early goal, that should hopefully see them progress,” Murray said, pointing to Hibs’ “history of overturning a poor first leg in the second one” as more than just a comforting myth.

The club’s European past is littered with chaotic, breathless second legs. That memory bank matters on nights like this. It gives players something to cling to when the scoreboard doesn’t.

Murray, though, knows Hibs will have to do it without some important pieces. Wing-back Nicky Cadden is still out. New signing Callum Wright remains sidelined. Jamie McGrath, a key figure in midfield, is also missing again through injury. Three absentees that strip some craft and balance from the side at a time when control and creativity are at a premium.

There is, at least, one shaft of light. Striker Ante Suto could return, and Murray didn’t hide how significant that could be for a team chasing the game.

“Another attacking player is good because that’s what we need from the get-go, getting on the front foot, getting an early goal,” she said.

That’s the plan in a sentence. Load the attack, trust the crowd, and lean on a history that says Hibs don’t always accept what the first leg tells them. Tonight, they find out if that reputation still holds.