Martin Boyle became the Club’s all-time European top goalscorer after scoring Hibs second against Legia Warsaw on Thursday night, his ninth goal for the Club in European competition.
That strike meant he became the Club’s outright top European goalscorer – surpassing the likes of Pat Stanton, Alan Gordon and Joe McBride (all tied on 8 goals).
Boyle’s first goal in Europe came in July 2021, when he bagged a brace against Santa Coloma in a 3-0 win at Easter Road. His next came in the following round, coming up with an important equaliser in a 1-1 draw against HNK Rijeka in Edinburgh.
Boyle added to his tally with another brace in a 6-1 win over Inter Club d’Descaldes at the start of the 2023/24 Europa Conference League qualifying campaign, before netting another vital goal away in Switzerland as we knocked out FC Luzern (5-3) over two legs.
This campaign saw his seventh and eighth European goals on another memorable night in Belgrade as Hibs overcame Serbian giants FK Partizan – before breaking the record with his second-half strike against Legia Warsaw.
“I am extremely proud, as an individual accolade, it is great. I want to be scoring goals for this Club week-in, week out and I feel I still have a lot to offer. Long may it continue and hopefully, I can add a few more to the tally.
“I am extremely proud to represent this Club and extremely proud of the boys and the efforts that they gave. It is a hard one to take, but I am extremely proud, I am proud of our supporters and everyone who travelled over to back us during a busy period. I would like to thank them all personally for all their support, it definitely spurred us on and we wish them a safe journey back.”
Boyle put the Hibs ahead on the night in Warsaw – levelling the tie on aggregate – before Miguel Chaiwa put them in front.
It wasn’t to be on the night however, with Legia equalising in injury time in regulation before finding a winner in extra-time to bring Hibs European journey to an end. Reflecting on the match as a whole, Boyle said:“It is not a nice feeling, everyone is hurting in their and it is a hard one to take. We have to dust ourselves down because we have a massive game on Sunday and the fixtures don’t stop.
“The Manager explained that we had to win the game and that hadn’t changed at half-time – we had nothing to lose.
“Nobody expected us to get back into the game, but goals change games and we scored three goals in a short period of time that gave us real momentum – unfortunately, we couldn’t see the game out and that has cost us.”
