Hibernian in tough after losing 3-0 to NK Maribor
Scottish Premier League side Hibernian face a difficult task in attempting to qualify for the next stage of the UEFA Europa League, after falling 3-0 to NK Maribor of Slovenia in the third round qualifying tie first leg. The hosts triumphed thanks to a double from Josip Ilicic anda third goal from Marcos Tavares.
Ilicic was the chief instigator of Hibs’ downfall as he orchestrated Maribor’s domination of the game. The 22-year-old midfielder netted either side of half-time.
Lone striker gamble
Hibs manager John Hughes opted to deploy Colin Nish as a lone striker, a decision which meant the visitors rarely looked like scoring. Fellow forwards Derek Riordan and Anthony Stokes were left kicking their heels on the bench as Nish was asked to fight through the Maribor defences by himself – though that task proved to be too big for the frontman.
Hibs employed a five-man midfield of Edwin de Graf, Kevin McBride, Liam Miller, John Rankin and David Wotherspoon – though that quintet struggled to maintain any rhythm against the Slovenian league runners-up. Graham Stack was chosen to play in goal ahead of rival Graeme Smith, and the visitors’ goalkeeper was kept busy for most of the game.
Shot parried
The match, which proved a difficult game for the visitors to stay in, burst into life in the 17th minute, when Stack superbly parried a strike by Dalibor Volas to deny Maribor an early lead. The eight-time Slovenian league champions had been pressing forward at any opportunity and had been looking to turn that early territorial dominance into a goal.
Maribor’s continued pressure paid off after 32 minutes of play, when Ilicic struck to hit the ball home against the underside of the crossbar from inside the box. At the other end of the pitch, Miller attempted to restore the game to a level playing field, but his effort was pushed away by Maribor goalkeeper Marko Pridigar.
Hopes dashed by second goal
After the interval, the SPL team had looked to even matters up, but their aspirations of returning to Scotland with something to show for their efforts were dealt a blow when the home team doubled their lead after 52 minutes of play.
Wotherspoon had the ball nicked away by Armin Bacinovic, who rolled it towards the lethal Ilicic. The midfielder then lobbed over the Hibs goalkeeper from 20 yards out to double his team’s advantage. Stack was able to stop Maribor from extending their lead when he pushed away an effort by Tavares, but the Slovenian side’s skipper made amends for that miss when he struck after 60 minutes with a left-footed shot.
Substitutes fail to score
After falling to a 3-0 deficit, Hughes decided to play for broke in the hopes of grabbing a vital away goal to take back to Edinburgh for the second leg of the tie next week. He sent on star striker Riordan for Nish and replaced McBride with fellow forward Stokes. The Hibees had a glimmer of hope after 73 minutes when Rankin’s corner struck Maribor’s near post before the ball was cleared back down field.
Daniel Galbraith was introduced in place of Wotherspoon, but Hughes’ final change proved ineffective as the Hibees could not find a way to crawl back into the tie.
Rankin received the only yellow card of the game.
“Maribor played the ball quicker than us,” Hughes said after the match. “They are a good team, very sharp and quick. We played a competitive game but they outpaced us.
“We have to pass with purpose, not just for the sake of passing it. We need to pass a bit better and a bit quicker.”
Tags: