No last post for Hibees' hopes

Dnipro 0

THE door to European glory remains ajar - but for the fickle hand of fate Tony Mowbray's young Hibees would have kicked it wide open.

Twice, as veteran Ukrainian coach Evgeniy Kucherevskiy admitted, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk rode their luck, shots from Scott Brown and man-of-the-moment Ivan Sproule crashing back off the post with goalkeeper Artem Kusiliy beaten.

So, instead of heading east in a fortnight's time with a two-goal cushion, Hibs will need to produce an away performance to match that of any in their proud 50-year history in European football.

If, as Mowbray insisted, his side began as underdogs in this UEFA Cup first round, first leg, tie despite being at home, they now face the daunting prospect of keeping their Euro dream alive at the Meteor Stadium, the raucous home of a team which reached the final 32 of last year's competition and which was only three minutes from making further progress.

And while Kucherevskiy can look forward to the return of players such as Sergey Nazarenko and Aleksandr Rykun - identified by Mowbray as the major threat from his spy trip to Dnipro - along with Vladimir YezerkiyAlleksandr Melaschchenko, internationalists all, Hibs will do so without midfield powerhouse Scott Brown and veteran defender Gary Smith, both out for up to six weeks.

The injuries picked up by both players allied to the calf knock which forced Michael Stewart off early in the second half undoubtedly disrupted Mowbray's game plan, the Hibs boss would have the obvious preference to decide when to make substitutions rather than have them thrust upon him.

Mowbray admitted that "ultimately" he and his players were disappointed with the outcome, one which has tipped the balance decidedly in favour of Dnipro.

But in Hibs' favour was the fact that they did not concede at home, Mowbray pointing out, quite rightly, that his side have gone to most grounds in the SPL, including Ibrox and Celtic Park, and scored more than once.

However, he conceded that the loss of Brown, who twisted an ankle, in particular will be felt not only in a fortnight's time but over the course of the next few weeks in which Hibs are due to play a series of important matches.

He said: "It's frustrating. I asked Scott if it was a 'fatigue' injury because he has played a lot of intense football in the last month but he said it was just one of those things.

"He tried to change direction quickly and went over on his ankle. It's evident Scott is a major talent, he can play a number of positions and he will be a loss but he will be back as quickly as he can."

Brown's qualities were there for all to see as the 20-year-old held off the unwanted attentions of Bogdan Shershun to fire in a shot which cracked off Kusliy's post three minutes before the interval - but it was the lung-bursting 70-yard run which he made as Dnipro broke three-on-one to recover the situation which also brought approval from his manager.

That incident was just one of several in which the Ukrainian side lived up to the billing accorded them by Mowbray, the Hibs boss having warned they'd play a short, sharp passing game, something they did to near perfection, particularly in the first half.

If anyone thought Dnipro, shorn of several of their stars, would be intent on playing a defensive game, they were quickly disabused of such notions, the pace, movement and willingness to flood forward from the back causing Hibs all sorts of problems. Twice Zibi Malkowski in the home goal was forced to produce decent saves from Sergey Kornilenko while left-back David Murphy had to take an Olexandr Grytsay header off his own line.

However, after the interval it was virtually one-way traffic towards Kusliy's goal with Sproule living up to the threat Kucherevskiy felt he would pose to his side. Twice Kusliy had to look sharp to prevent him scoring but there was nothing he could do as Sproule turned on the after-burners to leave Konstyantyn Kravchenko trailing in his wake on the left touchline before cutting inside before unleashing a low shot which seemed destined for the bottom corner of the net.

But somehow it cracked off the inside of the post and instead of ricocheting into the net came out to leave everyone holding their heads in disbelief, not least Sproule himself, who said: "I've watched it again and again on television and each time I've thought 'it's going to go in this time'."

Kucherevskiy admitted his side had got lucky - but insisted they'll make the most of those breaks on home turf.

He said: "I'm happy with the result, it was essential not to lose. You could say luck was on our side because Hibs hit the post on two occasions. In the second leg we will have players coming back, regular first-team players who will strengthen the side and we will be stronger for the second game."

Kucherevskiy probably has every right to feel confident, but you couldn't find anyone in the Hibs camp immediately after the match willing to concede their chance of making the lucrative group stages had gone.

Mowbray said: "We are disappointed because of the way the game panned out. We had a few chances but I think the quality of the team we were playing against was evident to everyone, particularly in the first half.

"But I've said to the players that we are happy enough at 0-0. I feel we can go over there and give them problems because we can score goals away from home."

It was a sentiment echoed by Caldwell, who made his first-team return a month after breaking two ribs and puncturing a lung, the Scotland defender replacing Smith, who had damaged a medial ligament.

Caldwell himself almost grabbed a goal, turning to direct Chris Hogg's knock-down goalwards only to see the ball nestle in the arms of Kusliy but he retained the belief that Hibs can defy the odds in a fortnight's time.

He said: "They are a decent team and we know it will be difficult but we are confident and believe we can still win.

"We showed a great desire, a lot of passion and the crowd got behind us and drove us on. With a bit of luck we could have won."