Hibs keep confidence in wake of Andorran humiliation - 'we won’t be as bad as first leg'

Joe Newell scored a late free-kick to halve Hibs' deficit in the Europa Conference League qualifier.

With the barracking of the travelling support still ringing in his ears, he acknowledged just how bad the Leith side’s performance had been, describing it as “embarrassing” and “unacceptable”, and when asked about the conditions – the tiny, municipal ground, the altitude, the heat, the wind or the opposition’s dedication to eating away the minutes as soon as they got their noses in front – he made a smart decision.

“No excuses there,” Newell said, well aware that in that moment none would be palatable. “It was windy, but we play in Scotland, don’t we? I’m not going to sit here and give any excuses. The better team on the day won. They deserved to win, but it’s half-time isn’t it.”

And, that was a key reminder. With emotions still running riot, it wasn’t the time to try to explain away the goals conceded or the inability to live up to expectations as the new season got underway. But in the cold light of day, context and rational thinking suggest that while it was an embarrassing evening, thanks to Newell’s late set piece, there remains time to salvage the situation and prevent it becoming categorised as catastrophic.

David Marshall held his hands up for the error for Inter Club d'Escaldes' second goal.

“I’ve not scored too many so it’s got to be up there,” the Englishman said of his last-gasp contribution. “I genuinely am not bothered about goals, never have been, but it does give us a chance and make it slightly easier. At 2-0 I would still have fancied us being at home. But a one goal deficit makes it a little bit easier.”

Yes, the result was a blow and the first half performance in particular was woeful as too many players had an off day and seemed stuck in pre-season friendly mode. It improved after the interval following a half-time reminder of what was at stake, as the arrival of substitutes Newell and Christian Doidge helped bolster the intensity and imbue the side with a sense of urgency.

“We started sluggish and that’s what they like,” explained the 30-year-old. “I’ve not seen the first goal back but it’s too easy how they get in and that gives them a lift. It gives their fans a lift. Then they can sit behind the ball even more. We just didn’t start with the urgency or style of play we expect from ourselves. We were fully prepared. We gave them the respect that they deserved. We knew how they were going to play and what it would mean to them. We knew the kind of antics they’d get up to. But this is all part of playing these European games, it’s a different kind of test. It was just us on the day not being as good as we should have been.”

In the opening 45 minutes Hibs’ play was pedestrian and they let the home team dictate play. After they took the lead the organised and dogged home outfit, used their physicality and their patience to good effect, picking their moments to ruffle up their guests with some direct play.

Hibs know they will have to improve when they welcome Inter Club d'Escaldes to Easter Road.

Up front for Hibs there were few chances, with Elias Melkersen struggling to impose himself out wide, and Elie Youan drifting inside and running into trouble instead of letting the ball do the work. It left Adam Le Fondre struggling for service. Behind them, Dylan Levitt is not up to speed yet, while Jake Doyle Hayes allowed frustration to get to him Josh Campbell’s attempt at goal epitomised the side’s overall play as it lacked drive and punch. But it was defensively that the real frailties were obvious.

Lewis Miller excepted, they were at sixes and sevens, and it will be interesting to see how many survive into the second leg. Like Martin Boyle further up the field, and, unquestionably Newell, Will Fish comes into the reckoning for a starting berth at the back, as does Riley Harbottle and, if fit, Jordan Obita, while there is an intriguing decision to be made regarding the goalkeeping position after David Marshall gifted Inter their second goal. “He came in [to the dressing room], held his hands up and said: ‘Sorry lads, that was my fault’,” revealed Newell. “But these things happen. Every single player in the dressing room will make more than one individual mistake this season.”

And, while Newell steered away from excuses, the reality is next week’s second leg will be played on a bigger, better pitch that will impact the Andorrans’ tactics. In a ground that generates a better atmosphere, the temperature will be more suitable and there won’t be the same issues with altitude. And, Newell is sure they can turn things around.

“I’m fully confident. We know what they’re like now. We know the test they’ll bring. They’re obviously not going to come and roll over and I’m not saying we’re going to go back to Easter Road and win 3-0. It’s going to be a very, very tough game. But I know for a fact we won’t be as bad as what we were in the first leg – tempo-wise, intensity-wise, aggression and all that stuff. We’re playing at home and want to play our way.

“It’s half-time, isn’t it? It’s only halfway through [the tie]. If we win next week, get through and win the first game of the season at home, it will kind of be forgotten. We’ve just got to dust ourselves down, look back and learn from it. We can’t just brush it under the carpet and we need to go home, have a look at where we’ve gone wrong and why we didn’t start how we should and why we didn’t implement our style and gameplan. But then we go again.”