Gray's Hibs silence the doubters as Easter Road sings again

David Gray went from being booed in Kosovo to being serenaded by the Easter Road crowd in the space of a week. After the 2-0 first-leg defeat by Malisheva, the Hibernian head coach was a man under pressure. Traveling supporters let the team hear it in eastern Europe, and Gray did not hide from the criticism, calling the result and performance unacceptable. Thursday night was his team's chance to answer. They did exactly that. Hibs flew out of the blocks, erased the two-goal deficit within 15 minutes and kept pushing. Martin Boyle, still the standard-bearer for this group, produced a moment of magic to make it 4-0 on the night, leaving defenders in his wake. The tie was effectively over, even if Malisheva's late goal gave the scoreline a slightly awkward edge. Gray's name echoed around the ground - not just because he is the man who won the Scottish Cup as a player, but because his team showed the character supporters wanted to see. "We spoke about the intensity we want to play at, the intent from the start to play forward, run forward and get the crowd behind us," Gray said. "I saw it in training and they fully deserved to win tonight. We should have been out of sight, we hit the woodwork a couple of times and missed three or four big chances. That goal at the end made it a little bit edgy but at the same time, the players deserved what they got tonight. Delighted for them." Gray acknowledged the relief but insisted the job does not stand still. "It's different for a coach winning games to being a player," he said. "Relief kicks in and then it's the next game. You enjoy it for two minutes and then on to the next one." There were notes of caution. Hibernian had to manage without Jamie McGrath, Nicky Cadden and summer signing Callum Wright, yet the front three of Boyle, Owen Elding and Nathan Lowe all scored and looked dangerous throughout. Elding and Lowe could each have had more, but their movement and Lowe's physicality gave Gray plenty of encouragement. "We've got real good options [up front]," Gray said. "I've always spoken about being flexible. Nathan Lowe brings a focal point and the front three were all very good tonight." Context matters, of course. Malisheva have never won away from Kosovo in three European seasons, and Vikingur put eight goals past them in Iceland last season. Hibernian did what they needed to do. Whether they can reproduce that aggression against Motherwell in the Premiership on Sunday is the next test - especially as the Steelmen have looked sharp in their own European run under Alfred Johansson, even after losing Elijah Just and Jens Berthel Askou this summer. "We're in the next round and can take that momentum into Motherwell," Gray said. "We're ready for Thursday-Sunday-Thursday - that's what everything in pre-season has been geared up for."