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By STEPHEN HALLIDAY Published: 07: 35 AEST, 22 August 2025 | Updated: 08: 36 AEST, 22 August 2025 View comments It will require one of the finest away performances of Hibernian’s 70-year European history if David Gray’s players are to salvage their bid for a place in the Conference League proper this season. On a frustrating night at Easter Road, they paid a heavy price for their wastefulness in front of goal as Legia Warsaw secured a lead to take into the second leg of this play-off round tie in the Polish capital next Thursday. Jean-Pierre Nsame’s contentious penalty and a smart finish from Pawel Wszolek put Legia 2-0 up at the break after Hibs had passed up several good opportunities to take the initiative. Josh Mulligan’s 87th minute strike reignited belief a recovery mission can be mounted and Hibs will take encouragement from their 2-0 away win over Partizan Belgrade in the previous round. They nonetheless now face a mammoth task to earn a £4. 5million place in the league phase of the competition. Gray reverted to the line-up which started against Partizan, entailing no fewer than six changes to the side he sent out for the Premier Sports Cup win at Livingston on Sunday. Josh Mulligan leads the applause for the home fans at the end of a testing 90 minutes Hibs boss David Gray was left to rue a performance which didn't match the last two home ties Josh Mulligan fires home what could be a crucial consolation for Hibs to keep hope alive It is a sign of the depth of squad at Gray’s disposal, something he will need to rely on should Hibs go on to win this tie and secure league phase European football until late December. That’s a schedule which would test their resources to the full but this is a club eager to embrace that challenge. Hibs began with a tangible sense of purpose and could have been ahead inside the opening 60 seconds. Some intricate interplay on the edge of the penalty area between Kieron Bowie and Martin Boyle allowed Mulligan to wriggle his way into a one-on-one situation with Legia goalkeeper Kacper Tobiasz. The Hibs fans rose to their feet in anticipation of a dream start but Mulligan delayed his attempt just a fraction of a second too long and Tobiasz was able to smother the ball at his feet. Hibs kept up the frantic early pace against a nervy-looking Legia defence. Bowie flashed in a shot which Tobiasz parried unconvincingly and the visitors were fortunate the loose ball eluded Jordan Obita, who was lurking on the edge of the six yard box. Josh Campbell was next to threaten, heading wide at the back post after rising to meet Obita’s corner from the right, and even at this stage it was easy to wonder if Hibs would come to rue their profligacy. For while Legia looked vulnerable at the back, they soon displayed the attacking threat which had seen them score in the away legs of all three of their previous European qualifiers this season. Josh Mulligan is denied a dream first-minute opener by Legia Warsaw goalie Kacper Tobiasz Pawel Wszolek sinks to his knees after claiming a second goal on the stroke of half-time Wszolek showed blistering pace down the right before whipping over a cross which Hibs struggled to deal with. The ball eventually broke to Nsame whose powerful shot was brilliantly blocked by Warren O’Hora. Hibs continued to get in behind the visiting defence with regularity at the other end but the finishing touch remained elusive. Chris Cadden had the beating of left-back Steve Kapuadi and picked out Bowie with a perfect cutback in the 13th minute. The striker elected to take it first time and try to guide a shot home but sent it just wide. Boyle then found himself racing clear on the left into the penalty but unfathomably floated the ball harmlessly across the face of the six yard box instead of attempting a shot. The sense that Legia would punish Hibs came to fruition, albeit not without a hefty dose of controversy just after the half hour mark. Jordan Smith did well to keep out a shot from Rafal Augustyniak, the ball breaking to Wszolek whose follow-up shot was blocked by Rocky Bushiri. The Legia players immediately claimed a penalty for handball but Finnish referee Mohammad El-Amara initially waved their appeals away as he indicated the Hibs defender had his arms crossed tight to his chest. To the hosts’ dismay, however, a lengthy VAR check ensued before the official was called to the screen to review his decision. Inevitably, he then pointed to the spot to the fury of the Hibs backroom staff who had claimed one of the Legia players was in an offside position at the time of the incident. Jean-Pierre Nsame beats Hibs keeper Jordan Smith from the penalty spot to put Legia ahead   Nsame kept his cool amid the voluble derision of the Hibs fans, smashing the penalty high beyond Smith. If that deflated the atmosphere inside Easter Road — although not among the noisy contingent of Legia fans in one corner of the stadium — it fell completely flat three minutes into first half stoppage time. It was a well worked second goal for the visitors as Nsame curled over a cross from the left which was volleyed in smartly at the far post by Wszolek. Hibs tried to lift the mood again with an aggressive start to the second half and Bushiri should have done better than head over from close range when he got on the end of Obita’s corner. Chances came and went with increasing regularity at both ends and Easter Road breathed a huge sigh of relief when Bartosz Kapustka’s sublime 61st minute strike was ruled out after a VAR check. Vahan Buchakhchyan then let Hibs off the hook when he missed an absolute sitter from close range and Gray’s men grabbed the lifeline in the close stages. Sub Junior Hoilett’s effort was saved by Tobiasz but Milligan, by a distance Hibs’ outstanding performer, smashed home the rebound. Hibernian (3-4-1-2): Smith 7; O’Hora 7, Bushiri 7, Iredale 6 (N Cadden 53); C Cadden 6. 5 (Hoilett 75), Levitt 6 (Chaiwa 53), Mulligan 8. 5, Obita 6. 5; Campbell 6 (Mc Grath 53); Boyle 6 (Klidje 80), Bowie 6. 5. Booked: Campbell, Levitt, Chaiwa, Bushiri. Manager: David Gray 6. 5. Legia Warsaw (4-3-3): Tobiasz 7; Jedrzejczyk 7, Ziolkowski 7, Kapuadi 6, Vinagre 6. 5; Wszolek 7. 5, Augustyniak 7, Elitim 7 (Szymanski 88); Bichakhchyan 6. 5 (Morishita 72), Nsame 8 (Rajovic 78), Kapustka 7 (Stojanovic 88). Booked: Kapustka, Bichakhchyan, Ziolkowski. Manager: Edward Iordanescu 7. Referee: Mohammad Al-Emara (Finland). Attendance: 18, 958.

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