What's happened
Hibs have taken a major step toward the league phase of the Europa Conference League after a disciplined goalless first leg against Gent in Ghent. Elding’s saved penalty keeps the tie alive ahead of the return at Easter Road.
What's behind the headline?
Analysis
- Hibs have carved out a credible route to Europe’s group stages, harnessing a compact shape and resilient defending.
- Owen Elding’s miss is offset by a performance that showed leadership and composure in a pressure-filled away tie.
- The tie remains very much in the balance, with the return leg at Easter Road offering a real chance to complete the job.
- The result signals potential for more goals in the second leg as Hearts and Hibs look to continue turning European attention into tangible progress.
How we got here
Hibs reached the play-off round by beating Shkendija in North Macedonia. The first leg in Ghent was tight, with Gent pressing but the visitors defending resolutely and keeping a clean sheet.
Our analysis
BBC Scotland reports on the tie, with emphasis on Elding’s penalty and the team’s defensive resolve. The Scotsman provides additional context from the manager and players on the performance and next steps.
Go deeper
- Will Hibs complete the result at Easter Road next week?
- Which players will carry the strategic plan into the home leg?
- How does this tie affect their domestic form going forward?
More on these topics
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Easter Road - Football stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Easter Road is a football stadium located in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland, which is the home ground of Scottish Premiership club Hibernian (Hibs). The stadium currently has an all-seated capacity of 20,421, which makes it the fifth-largest football stadium in Scotland. Easter Road is also known by Hibs fans as "The Holy Ground" or "The Leith San Siro". The venue has also been used to stage international matches, Scottish League Cup semi-finals and was briefly the home ground of the Edinburgh professional rugby union team. Hibs first played at the present site of Easter Road in 1893. The ground holds the record attendance for a Scottish match outside Glasgow, when 65,860 attended an Edinburgh derby on 2 January 1950. The size of the terracing was greatly reduced in the 1980s. After the publication of the Taylor Report, Hibs considered leaving Easter Road and moving to a different site (Straiton, near Loanhead, was mooted), but these plans were abandoned in 1994. Redevelopment of the stadium began in 1995 and was completed in 2010. The Easter Road pitch had a pronounced slope until it was removed in 2000.
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Davy Roef - Belgian association football player
Davy Roef (born 6 February 1994) is a Belgian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Gent.
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Gent - Belgian football club
Koninklijke Atletiek Associatie Gent (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkoːnɪŋkləkə ˌʔɑtləˈtik ˌɑsoːˈʃaː(t)si ˈɣɛnt], English: Royal Athletic Association Ghent), often simply known as Ghent or by their nickname De Buffalo's (English: The Buffalos