Hibs boss must solve his goal puzzle - fast

Hibs boss John Hughes has been left with a major headache after watching his side stumble to defeat at the hands of Carlisle United - just where are the goals going to come from to sink Euro rivals NK Maribor in just three days' time.

The Easter Road outfit need a minimum of three to force their third qualifying round tie with the Slovenians into extra time in the Capital on Thursday - the exact number they have managed in their past six matches, having netted eight in the opening two games against Dunfermline and Queen of the South.

True, five of those, including this 1-0 defeat, count for nothing being pre-season friendlies but, nevertheless, Hughes will be anxious given the apparent lack of firepower on display.

Assistant manager Brian Rice, however, while admitting to being frustrated at this performance, insisted that with Anthony Stokes, Derek Riordan and Colin Nish, Hibs have the players to get the goals.

He said: "The goals are there, someone like Edwin de Graaf will also score, the way we play and the way he gets into the danger area."

There was little of that evident at Brunton Park, however, with Rice detecting a mental tiredness among some players following the trip to Slovenia.

A powerful header from Ian Harte was enough to give Carlisle, a team which finished 14th in League One last season, victory, the goal the result, said Rice, of a lack of organisation at the corner which led to the winner.

But other than a John Rankin strike which was ruled out for offside against Stokes and an effort from the Republic of Ireland hitman which was well saved by goalkeeper Adam Collin, Hibs never looked like scoring throughout the 90 minutes.

And had substitute Craig Curren applied a bit more power to his shot three minutes from time, Carlisle's winning margin would have been doubled, substitute goalkeeper Graeme Smith managing to do just enough to prevent to ball from creeping over the line.

There was little rest for those who had suffered at the hands of NK Maribor less than 72 hours earlier with Hughes starting with no fewer than six who began the match in the Stadion Ljudski, while all three of the substitutes used that night, Derek Riordan, Stokes and Danny Galbraith, featured from the first whistle.The exceptions were goalkeeper Mark Brown, who didn't strip for the first leg of the Europa League third qualifying round, and 18-year-old David Stephens.

Although Hughes and his assistant Brian Rice have obviously spent the last few days debating exactly where it all went wrong in Slovenia and plotting how to overcome that three-goal deficit, one would imagine little could be read from this team selection and formation in looking ahead to Thursday night's second leg at Easter Road.

The absence of Sol Bamba once again, however, wouldn't have been missed by the 800 or so Hibs fans who had travelled south, another indication of the determination of Hughes not to allow the Ivory Coast defender's behaviour to interfere with his preparations.

Whether it was the exertions of Thursday night, most of these players having spent an energy-sapping 90 minutes in a torrential downpour chasing the ball, the travelling involved an added burden and possibly thoughts turning to the enormity of the task ahead, Hibs made a listless start, unable to get hold of the ball far less retain it as their hosts made much of the early running.

The League One side forced a series of early corners which came to nothing athough Harte should have done better than head Matty Robson's cross over when presented with an alarming amount of space ten yards out.

For all their possession, that remained Carlisle's best opportunity, their promising lead-up play often counting for nought as the final pass went astray.

Hibs slowly but surely took a foothold in the match, Stokes drilling in a low cross which tantalisingly zipped inches in front of Nish before Riordan lined up a free-kick in his favourite position, 28 yards out, but on this occasion only managed to find the empty stand behind Collin's goal.

John Rankin thought he'd fired Hibs ahead against the run of play on the half-hour mark as he hammered a low free-kick from 32 yards through the defensive wall and under the body of Collin.

The goalkeeper's blushes were spared, however, as he got to his feet to see the offside flag raised against Stokes although it was highly debatable whether the former Arsenal, Falkirk and Sunderland hitman had played any part in distracting Collin.

It was a rare moment, though, for Hughes' side which, again, hadn't found a real tempo to their game. the sort of slick passing their manager had looked for in Maribor and was once more, no doubt, disappointed not to see against lesser opposition.

There were glimmers of Hibs proving at least a little more potent at the beginning of the second half, Riordan twisting and turning Frank Simek only to find the angle against him before Stokes bore in on goal only to be halted by a terrific covering tackle from James Chester, a youngster on trial from Manchester United.

But Carlisle came even closer in the 65th minute, the ball arriving after a penalty box melee at the feet of Craig Curren eight yards out. He swivelled and struck his shot at same time but Steven Thicot, on the park for only a couple of minutes, managed to get enough of his body between ball and goal to deflect it for a corner.

Thicot, however, then went from saint to sinner, playing a ball inside "blind" to present Jason Price with possession 25 yards out.

Thankfully for Hibs, though, Stephens hadn't switched off, the big stopper shutting the door in the Carlisle striker's face before Marc Bridge-Wilkson skimmed the bar with a speculative shot from distance. The disappointment for the travelling support as the rain fell on them on that open terracing behind Collin's goal would have been the distinct lack of penalty box action directly in front of them, the Carlisle goalkeeper having enjoyed that "let off" earlier in the match again adopting the role of spectator, his only call into action being to collect a tame effort from Riordan.

And those fans, desperate for something to remember before heading from home, made their displeasure heard as they watched Hughes' players turn the ball back to retain possession, their spirits lifted a few seconds later as Stokes fired in a terrific shot which Collin, for all his inactivity, brilliantly beat away.His save was to prove important as the Cumbrian side took the lead with eight minutes remaining, Harte atoning for that first- half miss as he powered in to meet James Berrett's corner from the right, bulleting an unstoppable header into the top left hand corner of substitute keeper Graeme Smith's net

Carlisle United (4-4-2): Collin; Simek, Chester, I Harte, McDaid Murphy 58); Hurst (Curren 46), Thirlwell (Berrett 46), Taiwo, Robson; Zoko (Bridge-Wilkinson 67), Madine (Price 58). Subs not used: Caig, Kavanagh, Kane, Cook, Gillespie, Bowman.

Hibs (4-4-2): Brown (Smith 58); M Hart (Thicot 63), Hogg (Hanlon 46), Stephens, Murray (Stevenson 63); Galbraith (Currie 75), De Graaf (McBride 58), Rankin (Miller 58), Riordan; Stokes, Nish (Wotherspoon 58).

Referee: Graham Salisbury.

Attendance: 3034.