David Gray admitted that there is still plenty of work to do in the tie after Hibs secured a 2-1 victory over KF Shkëndija at Easter Road last night.
But he praised his side’s character and resilience which means a lead to take to North Macedonia next week.
After a cagey first half, Hibs opened the scoring thanks to Owen Elding’s clever finish on 73 minutes, but our lead didn’t last long with Marko Gjorgjievski equalising moments later.
However, in the final moments of the match, Warren O’Hora popped up to grab a crucial winning goal in stoppage time to the delight of the home fans.
Speaking to Hibs TV after the match, Gray admitted he had mixed feelings on the performance, but was pleased with the character of the group.
“It’s only half-time in the tie, so we’re not getting carried away at all, but we’ve certainly taken home advantage into the second leg.
“To get ahead, then get pegged back, and still find a winner late on showed great character and resilience. I think that’s huge, because if you think back to Sunday, we conceded late in the game, and you know the feeling that brings.
“It wasn’t a great time to lose a goal tonight, and we’ll certainly have to look at it because it was a really poor goal to concede. But the reaction from the players to go and find a way to get back in front in the tie shows great character.”
Gray acknowledged his side can improve ahead of the return leg in seven days but he is confident of the progress we are making.
“I can’t stand here and say we should have been three, four or five-one up after the first leg because we weren’t good enough on the night to do that,” Gray continued.
“But I know we’ll be better in terms of our individual performances.
“Another positive is the squad. They’ve been really stretched, and we’ve started the last three games with the same XI.
“There will need to be changes moving forward because we’ve gone Thursday-Sunday, Thursday-Sunday, and we’ll lose a day’s recovery before the weekend.
“The substitutes did exactly what they needed to do by coming on and impacting the game. Every day the players who have been out injured are getting closer as well, so we’re certainly moving in the right direction.
“There are a lot of positives to take from tonight, but the focus now quickly turns to Sunday.”
