“Mallan fires a double as Hibs survive early scare to hit Faroe Islanders for six again”
● Lennon’s men two down in six minutes ● Poor defending in high-scoring win
NEIL LENNON’S side progress to the second qualifying round of the Europa League with a 12-5 aggregate victory.
Hibs brought a little shaft of Leith sunshine to a dreich day in the Faroe Islands as the Easter Road side clinched their place in the second qualifying round of the Europa League, but not quite in the style they – or anyone else – had envisaged.
Neil Lennon’s side had effectively secured a tie against Greek outfit Asteras Tripolis by hammering NSI Runavik 6-1 a week ago in Edinburgh and they could hardly have dreamed of anything more than another stroll against a side which had provided such poor opposition.
But they found the second leg in this North Atlantic outpost much tougher, going two goals down within five minutes as the Faroese part-timers began to sense a memorable upset might be on the cards.
Although Hibs eventually ran out winners again, it was a less-than-convincing performance in which they never managed to entirely shake off the home side for whom captain Klaemint Olsen led from the front with a well-taken hat-trick.
With Lennon banished to the stand in the surreal surroundings of Toftir’s cliff-top Svangaskard Stadium, his assistant Garry Parker could only look on impassively from the touchline in the first minute as Efe Ambrose sliced a low cross high into his own net before, five minutes later, Runavik skipper Klaemint Olsen slid in to beat goalkeeper Adam Bogdan and make it 2-0 to the hosts on the night.
Hibs slowly settled the nerves and John Mcginn, restored after missing the first leg through injury as he continues to find himself at the centre of a maelstrom of speculation as Celtic seek to entice him to Glasgow, narrowed the gap by calmly firing the ball home.
When Lewis Stevenson thundered a super shot high into the net of rookie Runavik goalkeeper Eli Joensen, pressed into action only minutes before kick-off as Tordur Thomsen picked up an injury, it looked as if Hibs had shaken off that early scare and would repeat the totally dominant performance of last week.
Runavik had other ideas and Klaemint Olsen restored their lead, drilling a precise shot low into the corner of Bogdan’s net from 18 yards only for Hibs skipper David Gray to steal in at the back post on the stroke
of half-time to meet Mcginn’s deep free-kick to restore parity on the night and the Edinburgh club’s five-goal advantage overall.
As banks of fog drifted in, the Hibs players would no doubt have been thinking that at least they would be spared a halftime rocket from Lennon, the terms of his ban extending to the dressing-room.
That first half was not what the 200 or so Hibs fans who made the long journey expected, but it shouldn’t be forgotten that despite having failed to progress beyond the first qualifying round in 12 previous attempts, Runavik had beaten both Dinamo Tblisi and Linfield and held Fulham to a 0-0 draw on their own plastic pitch.
The fog which enveloped the ground became more dense as the second half got underway, but it was just possible to pick out Ambrose as he knocked home Mcginn’s pass from close range to put Hibs ahead for the first time on the night.
It was a short-lived lead, Olsen latching onto a long ball to outstrip the Hibs defence, completing his hat-trick with an assured finish past the horribly-exposed Bogdan.
Lennon had described Hibs’ final game of last season, a 5-5 draw with Rangers as “absolutely bonkers” and this match was rapidly finding itself fitting into the same category, Mallan sending a sumptuous free-kick from 30 yards sailing into the top corner of Eli Joensen’s net, the goalkeeper reduced to no more than an interested spectator.
Mallan’s expertise from long range and his delivery from set-pieces were a major attraction for Lennon as he signed him from Barnsley and he delivered again to surely give Hibs victory with another eyecatching strike.
Despite questions marks against the quality of Hibs’ defending it was wonderful entertainment; ten goals with Hibs eventually running out 12-5 winners on aggregate. The scoreline was still a little bit short of their European record, a 12-3 win in two games against Norwegian outfit Rosenborg in 1975.
If Lennon learned one thing, there must be a marked improvement next Thursday when Asteras, who reached the group stages of the Europa League – the stated goal of the Hibs head coach – in successive seasons recently, roll into town.