Kamberi caps Hibs’ comeback on good night for Scottish clubs
● Easter Road side recover from 2-0 down to beat ten-man Greeks in Europa first leg
It wasn’t the scoreline Neil Lennon and his Hibernian side had been hoping for but, given how bleak it had looked with half an hour to go, they will be relieved to be heading to Greece next week with an advantage.
Bouncing back from a 2-0 deficit, against a side who were clinical on the break, second-half goals from Efe Ambrose and substitute David Gray diluted the damage done in a sloppy opening period. A last-minute Florian Kamberi tap-in allowed them to end the evening with a flourish and a precious lead against a 10-man Asteras side.
There were celebrations at the end but Hibs will head to Tripoli well aware of their own vulnerabilities and their opponents’ ability to exploit them.
The starting line-up had been rejigged for the third successive game, with Gray relegated to the bench, along with Marvin Bartley, Ryan Porteous and Oli Shaw as the home side sought out the personnel most suited to plotting a way through this Europa League second round qualifying tie.
Unhappy with the way his players had conceded easy goals against NSI Runavik in the second leg of the previous round, the intention had been to offer sterner resistance this time. But, against a higher calibre Greek side who have made two of the last three group stages in this competition, the home team struggled with their own deficiencies and their desire to assert their authority.
Hibs started the brighter but while they have been scoring goals for fun, there was not the same cutting edge and they failed to translate their early possession into something more tangible.
That proved costly as the visitors began to get the measure of them and, with pace and movement, the Greeks capitalised on the openings left by the Easter Road side.
In the sixth minute Hibs had to defend a corner and they were troubled a couple of minutes later when the ball was played in behind Efe Ambrose for Kosmas Tsilianidis to run on to and send an inviting cross in front of Adam Bogdan’s goal.
In temperatures reminiscent of a balmy evening in Greece, Asteras were looking more and more at home and, in the 12th minute, they opened the scoring.
Georgios Kyriakopoulous made it look all too simple as he was allowed to burst forward. He wasn’t tracked by Vykintasslivka.andalthough Steven Whittaker and Darren Mcgregor tried to snuff out the threat as he cut along the byeline, from the tightest of angles the 22-year-old’s firmly struck shot sneaked through Bogdan at the near post and into the goal.
It was enough to stun the crowd and it rocked the home side.
Hibs tried to hit back and a long diagonal pass picked out Slivka. He found his way to goal blocked off but the ball was laid back for John Mcginn about 30 yards out and, on the run, he skelped an effort that clipped the top of the bar as it went over.
Whittaker then had a golden opportunity from a corner but, having wheeled away and finding himself in acres of space at the back post, he couldn’t find the net with his volley which was rising the minute it left his boot. In the 23rd minute Triantafyllos Pasalidis was booked and it was to prove costly as, when added to another yellow for a foul on Slivka in the dying minutes, it led to a red card.
But at that stage things still looked rosy for the visitors, especially when they added a second in the 35th minute. It was a cross in from the right as Lewis Stevenson struggled to get back to cover. The ball found Manias, whose header was blocked by Ambrose but Kyriakopoulous pounced as Hibs failed to clear their lines and scorched a left foot drive past Bogdan from 25 yards.
There was an edginess to proceedings, with Hibs well aware that another goal could kill of their European hopes and after half time they sent on Gray for Whittaker.
It helped Hibs as they began to apply more pressure.
Inthe63rdminutetheymanagedtopullagoalbackandthe belief simply grew. It came from Stevie Mallan’s corner and Ambrose headed off the bar but it came down and ricocheted off the defender and over the line. Fortuitous but few inside the ground cared as they roared their men on.
A minute later there were appeals for a Hibs penalty but the referee believed the Greek handballwasunintentional.it left Lennon, who was again in the stand serving a ban, furious but he was soothed when his men got a second goal in the 77th minute. Substitute Gray showed great composure as he picked his spot and drilled home an angled drive.
With the extra man advantage Hibs kept at it and, in the dying seconds, they got their reward. Martin Boyle had the first effort but it was Kamberi, on the line, who got the vital touch, to get the goal that keeps Hibs’ hopes very much alive.
HIBERNIAN: Bogdan, Ambrose, Mcgregor, Hanlon (Porteous 90), Stevenson, Whittaker (Gray 45), Slivka, Mcginn, Mallan, Boyle, Kamberi. Subs not used: Laidlaw, Bartley, Swanson, Martin, Shaw.
ASTERAS TRIPOLIS: Athanasiadis, Kotsiras, Pasalidis, Triantafyllopoulos, Kiriakopoulos, Iglesias, Bellocq (Rolle 55), Kaltzas (Martinez 77), Munafo, Tsilianidis (Christopoulos 86), Manias. Subs not used: Papadopoulos, Valiente, Douvikas, Bastianos.