Hibs defender Warren O’Hora is anticipating a tough test against KF Malisheva in the first leg of today’s Conference League Second Qualifying Round encounter.
O’Hora was part of the squad that beat FK Partizan last season following a tightly-contested battle against FC Midtjylland, before losing out in extra time versus Polish club Legia Warsaw.
One year on, David Gray’s side go again in Europe – with a first contest occurring in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo.
Speaking to the press, O’Hora insisted there are no walkovers in football – with the hosts showing their threat during their 5-0 second leg defeat of established Albanian outfit KF Vllaznia in the prior round.
“It’s going to be a tough game. They have a little bit of experience with the qualifiers last year. No game is easy, as we saw last year. Obviously, we pushed it extra time in three of the ties. So, going into this game, we’re not expecting an easy one.
“If you put your guard down, it’s going to be a tough place to come and try and get a result. So, it’s definitely in our plans to try and get a result, because that’s the whole reason we’re here. I think it’ll be a tough game for us, but one to look forward to.
“We’ll say we go into every game trying to get results, and there’s no lie behind that. We don’t go in thinking we’ll just hold on and wait till we get to Easter Road. I don’t think you can do that in European ties. I don’t think you can do that in any two-legged tie, to be honest.
“You need to go with your game plan to go and try and get a good result, which we did in Denmark and Serbia last year – and we tried that in Poland as well. So, this is definitely going to be another test for us to go and try and get a result and to make sure we’re in a strong position for next week.”
The Irish defender played the full 120 minutes in Warsaw as Hibs fell short after an enthralling 3-3 draw, and he now seeks to make up for the disappointment this time round.
“I think [last season’s] run had unbelievable moments,” added O’Hora. “We finished in Warsaw, and you can’t help but think, ‘Wow, how close were we?’ It’s definitely something that we want to put right, and we have an opportunity to do that. That’s exactly what we’re planning on doing.
“That’s one of the targets for this Club, and it should be. That’s why people come to this Club, I say that a lot, it’s one of the biggest pulling points because of the size of this Club, the fan base, and the history of it. It’s something that us as players, and as a group, everybody involved at the Club, will definitely be wanting.
“If you think of the moments that we’ve had, European days are the best ones. You think of the stadiums we played in, of the nights at Easter Road, the atmosphere, what it meant to our fans, and what it meant to us. You could see that in the way we were playing, pushing Legia Warsaw to the last minute of extra time.
“You could see how much we wanted it. Obviously, we were deflated, coming into the dressing room after it, and then it just sits in the back of your mind, thinking, ‘We could have been there’. Like I said, we’re in a position now where we pushed ourselves last season to get here, and we’ll try our best to make sure we get one step further.”
KF Malisheva, only founded a decade ago and with just three European ties played in their history, are an unknown quantity to many outside of Kosovo.
Since their recent foundation in 2026, they have rapidly risen up the Kosovan leagues and established themselves as a top-flight threat following their second-place finish last season.
O’Hora admits there is still an air of mystery around the Kosovan upstarts, and believes that focusing on ourselves is the most effective course of action.
He added: “We haven’t seen much [on KF Malisheva]. I think we’ve been focusing on ourselves. We’ve obviously had meetings on them. Like I said, we’re totally focused on ourselves. We can only control what we can do. We have to respect the opposition, and it’s definitely going to be a tough game.
“In my head, I’m already planning for a tough game. As a defender [seeing KF Malisheva’s 5-0 second-leg win over KF Vllaznia], I’m thinking, ‘This is a warning’. There’s no doubt that we’ll be in the right mental state to prepare for that, but also focusing on ourselves and how we can hold them.”
