Hibs Urged to Leverage Comeback History Against Malisheva

Easter Road has seen this film before. A European tie apparently slipping away after a poor first leg, the mood dark, the margin daunting – and then a revival under the lights in Leith.

Joelle Murray believes Hibernian must tap straight back into that history on Thursday night.

The women’s team head coach knows exactly what a restless Easter Road can feel like, and exactly what it can become when hope is stirred. Hibs trail Malisheva 2-0 from the first leg of their Conference League second qualifying round tie, and Murray is adamant there is only one way to approach the return.

Start Fast

Start fast. Play forward. Drag the crowd with you.

“I know the Easter Road crowd can be unforgiving at times,” she told the BBC’s Scottish Football Podcast, laying down the challenge as much as offering advice. The message was clear: don’t wait for the supporters to lift you – give them something to bite on from the first whistle.

For Murray, that means risk and intent, not safety-first possession. She wants Hibs to punch through the lines, not circle around them. “Forward passes, penetrating passes and just really playing with that intent from the very first whistle is important,” she said.

The equation is brutally simple. Concede first and the tie is almost gone. Score early and the whole night changes.

“With an early goal, that should hopefully see them progress,” Murray argued, leaning on the club’s familiar European storyline. “They’ve obviously got history of overturning a poor first leg in the second one. So hopefully we can replicate that this evening with a similar result and a really good performance.”

That history matters. It feeds belief in the stands and in the dressing room. Hibs have lived off the chaos of two-legged football before; they know how quickly a deficit can shrink when the noise rises and chances come in waves.

Team news has not been kind to them, though. Murray admitted her frustration that wing-back Nicky Cadden, new signing Callum Wright and midfielder Jamie McGrath are all set to miss out again through injury. Creativity, experience and balance – all stripped from the matchday options on a night when control and guile could be priceless.

There is at least one shaft of light. Striker Ante Suto could return, and Murray did not hide how important that might be for the way she believes Hibs must attack this tie.

“Another attacking player is good because that’s what we need from the get-go, getting on the front foot, getting an early goal,” she added.

It leaves Hibs walking a tightrope: commit bodies forward to chase the comeback, but stay sharp enough to avoid the away goal that would turn the climb into a cliff face.

The script is set. A two-goal deficit, a demanding crowd, a stadium that has seen late European drama before. Now it comes down to whether this Hibs side can turn old stories into something real again, or watch Malisheva write a new one in their place.