Hibernian dumped out of Europa League
Scottish Premier League side Hibernian were dumped out of the UEFA Europa League at the qualifying round stage by NK Maribor. After putting three past Hibernian without reply, the Slovenian league runners-up triumphed 3-2 at Easter Road to send John Hughes’ side out of Europe.
Goals from Marcos Tavares and Dejan Mezga either side of an Edwin De Graaf consolation for the home side were enough to wrap up the win, before Tavares snatched a third for his side. Dutch winger De Graaf was able to net once more just before the final whistle, but Hiberian lost the tie 6-2 on aggregate.
Hiberian was already facing a mammoth task as the team had lost convincingly in the first leg. Hughes had returned to his tried-and-tested 4-3-3 formation after playing more defensively in Slovenia. Strikers Derek Riordan and Anthony Stokes returned to the starting line-up along with defender Sol Bamba. There was also a change in goal as the injured Graham Stack made way for Graeme Smith.
The Edinburgh club started the match by pressing forward, but despite this pressure they were unable to make the breakthrough.
With his strikers failing to create any clear chances for themselves, De Graaf tried his luck from just outside the box though his thunderous shot sailed wide of the target. The winger was then able to play in Riordan. The striker snapped off an effort but the ball was blocked by Maribor’s defensive line.
Winger shines
De Graaf excelled as he tried to pull his team-mates back into the tie but during Hibs’ initial period of dominance, he wasted a tremendous chance when he fired directly at Marko Pridigar, the goalkeeper having no trouble in preventing an opener for the home side.
With the home team in complete control, the life was sucked out of them when Maribor found themselves with the ball at the other end of the pitch. Striker Marcos Tavares was able to head home to send the away side four ahead on aggregate and leaving Hibs needing to find at least five goals to stand any chance of progressing to the next round.
That killer blow seemed to undo all the good work Hughes’ side had done and left them looking deflated and exposed as Maribor began to dominate the match. Dalibor Volas created a chance for himself when he broke free of his marker, but his strike from a distance failed to trouble Smith as it flew over the crossbar. Dejan Mezga then took advantage of a nervous defence as he was given space to shoot, but his effort found the post. Armin Bacinovic also tried his luck, but Smith managed to force the ball wide.
Looking lively
After Hughes likely dished out some strong words in the dressing room, Hiberian once again looked lively at the start of the second half. Riordan quickly shot from around 25 yards out, but the effort went straight to Pridigar. Hiberian then found themselves a glimmer of hope when a shot by Stokes deflected off De Graaf and found its way into the Maribor net.
Fired up, Hiberian began pushing even further forward but Colin Nish was only able to head wide. Some good passing play then led to Stokes trying his luck, but Pridigar was able to snuff out the threat when he collected the ball.
Any ideas Hiberian may have had of progressing were ended after 67 minutes when Kevin McBride pulled down Mezga in the penalty area. The midfielder dusted himself down and slotted past Smith. Six minutes later, Tavares notched his second of the night from a counter-attack. A minute from time, De Graaf restored some pride to the home side when he fired into the top right corner, but it wasn’t enough to stop Maribor from progressing through to the next round at the Hiberian’s expense.
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