Valiant Hibs bow of Europe on bonkers night in Warsaw after being minutes away from history

In a contest that felt like a test of endurance for players and fans alike over the course of 120 barmy minutes, the scoreboard at the Polish Army Stadium showed the final tally to be Legia 3 Hibs 3. And so the Easter Road club did not make history, with a 5-4 aggregate defeat denying them the progress they so desperately craved.

At the end of a week when our national sport has been kicked from pillar to post all over the Continent, however, Hibs coming so close to making group/league stage football for the first time at least soothed some of our wounded collective pride. And their performance here also feels like another significant step in the fledgling managerial career of Gray, whose team continue to show a degree of mental and physical fortitude – not to mention footballing talent – that makes them a force to be reckoned with.

Trailing 2-1 from the first leg of this play-off, Hibs found themselves a further goal behind inside the opening quarter hour on a sweltering night. They then mounted a quite ridiculous fightback at the start of the second half, as Rocky Bushiri – who else? – powered home a header from a corner just four minutes in, before the big man set up Martin Boyle for his team’s second with 58 minutes gone.

If those two goals prompted bedlam among the 1700 travelling fans, that nothing as compared to the scenes – the absolute scenes – when new signing Miguel Chaiwa scored a stunning solo goal bang on the hour mark. But Legia silenced those fans, if only temporarily, with a goal to make it 4-4 on aggregate with three of the seven added minutes played.

That was the set-up for a proper coup de grace by Legia sub Mileta Rajovic with 98 minutes gone. That Hibs could not find a response to this hammer blow was a shame. But no harsh reflection on either their endeavour – or their ability to keep their heads, for the most part, in a truly incredible atmosphere.

Stadium full of noise and colour

Modern but with an old-school emphasis on intimidation, the 31,000-seat Polish Army Stadium was packed with fans long before kick-off, the Legia ultras – complete with a drum kit that could have come straight out of the latest Spinal Tap revival – putting on a display of noise and colour to match the sheer bedlam of Partizan in Belgrade. Which is saying something.

True to form in this summer campaign of European football, though, Hibs started quickly. And might have gone a goal up inside the opening minute, if a falling Warren O’Hora had managed to get proper purchase on his scrambled effort from the second phase of a free-kick into the Legia box.

When the home side struck, however, few could argue that they deserved the lead. If only for the quality of their play in the build-up, as Bartosz Kapustka showed a delicate touch and driving ambition before picking a perfect pass to set up Vahan Bichakhchyan for a thumping, low, left-footed finish across Jordan Smith and into the goal.

Hibs genuinely struggled to muster a response to this early blow to morale. Not because they lacked any fight or spirit. But because Legia suddenly looked just half yard ahead of them in every area of the park.

Hibs come out fighting

To say that Hibs were a changed team after the break would be an understatement. In those opening three or four minutes, they were all over Legia, swarming around the boxing and forcing a flurry of corners – the last of which gave big Rocky the chance to remind everyone that he IS the main character in this movie, with the rest of us merely playing supporting roles.

Bushiri, who had stayed up field after a throw-in, provided a beautiful chest lay-off in the build-up for Boyle to equalise. And then Chaiwa, thrown in along with Junior Hoilett moments earlier, danced and drove his way into the right-hand side of the box before beating the keeper with a crashing finish across and in at the far post.

There was more drama when Hoilett was shown a red card no more than 180 seconds later, only for Belgian referee Lawrence Visser to correctly downgrade the punishment for the Canadian’s tackle to a yellow. And breathe? No chance.

This was no longer football. It was pure adrenaline being channelled by 30,000-plus supporters and an ever-changing cast of 22 athletes.

Hibs were so close, so very close, to getting the job done in regulation time. But Juergen Elitim’s goal with 93 minutes gone meant we were in for another half hour. And then came the killer third for Legia on the night, leaving the visitors with too much to do, despite Roma-bound defender Jan Ziolkowski picking up a second booking with five minutes to go.