Liam Miller insists Hibs can net result against NK Maribor

JUST as there is gold in them thar hills, there are goals in this current Hibernian team, according to midfielder Liam Miller.

But they will have to come in a rush tonight if the Easter Road side are to take their place alongside the likes of Manchester City and - somewhat relevantly - Napoli in tomorrow's draw for the play-off round of the Europa League, though defence is as likely to hold the key.

Hibs need to score three times to take the tie into extra-time, but this must also be combined with a clean sheet. One strike for NK Maribor would require the hosts to score five times. Though Hibs once succeeded in hitting this number past Dino Zoff of all people, overturning a 4-1 away defeat to Napoli, it would be another miracle of Easter Road if this were to occur again tonight, 43 years later.

Hibs scored six times as recently as the penultimate match of last season, but proving how difficult it is to simultaneously excel at both attack and defence, they also conceded six times. Indeed, John Hughes' side have only kept three clean sheets since the turn of the year.

With Graham Stack carrying a knock, it could be that either Graeme Smith or Mark Brown is charged with keeping the '0' lodged next to Maribor's name. It seems certain that this has to remain blank in order for Hibs to even think about progressing.

"We're going to have to fly by the seat of our pants, we're going to have to have a go and carry luck," admitted John Hughes this week. "We might have to leave ourselves open a wee bit and, as I said, they're good on the counter-attack."

The probable return of Sol Bamba will help defuse the threat of the fast-breaking Slovenians in tonight's challenge, which stirs memories of a wild, passionate evening at Easter Road in 2001, when Hibs got to grips with the task of overhauling a two-goal deficit against AEK Athens, and very nearly managed it.

But for Paco Luna's point-blank miss near the end of the 90 minutes, Alex McLeish's team would have staged a feat of feats, having fallen 2-0 in the first leg in Greece. The Spanish striker had already struck twice to level the tie, and might have headed Hibs into the next round right at the end.

Hopes were still high that the home team could complete the task in the 30 extra minutes. But the familiar story of a team relaxing briefly having done the hard part allowed AEK to score a deflating goal just two minutes into the first period. Another strike killed Hibs off completely.

The home side could be about to clock on for 120 minutes' work tonight, and Hughes may be asked to impart his inimitable brand of homespun homilies down on the newly-laid pitch, and in front of an empty, but impressive-looking, new east stand prior to extra-time. It is a sight the home fans will ache to see.

But first comes the need for goals, an ambition Miller is confident can be realised. "There's goals in this team," he said simply. "There are a lot of goalscorers out there. We are very capable of scoring three goals in 90 minutes. I don't see why not.

"How many goals did Stokesy get last year? Deeks [Riordan] as well. It is up to the manager what team he plays, [but] there are plenty of goals in the team."

Miller did acknowledge that scoring "three goals on the night and not conceding is going to be really hard". The Irish midfielder is likely to be one of those charged with transferring the ball quickly from midfield to attack, where Stokes and Riordan seem certain to be recalled to the starting line-up after beginning last week's match in Slovenia on the bench. Hughes remains comfortable with that decision, although Colin Nish will also be a key component again tonight.

"It was a tactical reason," stressed Hughes. "We identified one or two dangers from them and we had to set it up with a five across the midfield to keep us right in the match and give us a chance. We went with big Nish as the lone striker and when he is on his game he is a handful.

"I don't think there is anything to learn from the first game, I don't think I could have done it any differently," he added.

The comeback is one of football's most beguiling features. Miller remembers featuring in a Leeds United match which saw them hit back to win 4-3 after being 3-0 down to Southampton at the interval. There is hope.