Hibs 3 Luzern 1: Dylan Vente enjoys dream debut as Lee Johnson’s men take huge step towards Aston Villa clash
DYLAN VENTE scored his first goal and gave his new club hope of promotion to the Europa Conference League.
But it was Jordan Obita’s last breath hit that keeps dreams of a battle from Great Britain Play-off against Aston Villa alive.
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Dutchman Vente seemed to have won Hibs after a strong Lucerne team had equalized.
Then Obita’s dramatic solo goal gave Lee Johnson’s side a two-goal lead Switzerland next Week.
Lucerne enjoyed a huge territorial advantage in the first half, but Hibs took the lead seconds after the restart through a Joe Newell drive.
Kosovan defender Ismajl Beka used weak defense to equalize but Vente showed his finishing prowess and scored 44 points Goals in 75 games for Roda with a clinical degree.
In the later stages, both sides hit the bar – then Obita got Easter Road up with a powerful 89th end of the minute.
After receiving his work On Wednesday, £700,000 frontman Vente started at the helm alongside veteran frontman Adam Le Fondre – one of four changes from the side that lost home to St Mirren on Sunday.
The first glimpses of the Dutchman were promising. Showing a change of tempo, he accelerated away from Swiss defender Marco Burch and forced a corner that earned an appreciative point to cheer from home care.
Luzern, however, confirmed that Lee Johnson was right before the game when he predicted they would put the opposition to the test. With the 1.95 meter tall frontman Kemal Ademi as GoalThey came forward at every opportunity.
Hibs’ recurring threat came from Lewis Miller’s long throws, and on one of those, Ismajl Beka’s defensive header gave Will Fish a glimpse of goal – but the Swiss defense responded wisely to block.
Although Lucerne is European record is modest – by the time they beat Sweden’s Djurgardens in the last round, they had been eliminated in eight out of nine games the first time around campaigns – They showed a mix of resilience and attacking spirit that had calmed the home crowd.
Johnson on Wednesday had asked his team’s fans to turn out in large numbers and to shout out loud support for his team – but it was Lucerne’s 100 fans who enjoyed what they saw.
The celebration of the evening’s first yellow card, given to Lucerne midfielder Ardon Jashari for blocking a Hibs free-kick, showed how little progress the home side had made.
But in the last five minutes of the first half they put Lucerne keeper Pascal Loretz to the test for the first time when he was asked to parry a Martin Boyle shot for a corner.
But Lucerne almost took the lead at the break. Martin Frydek’s cross was met on the edge of the box from Plus Dorn and Hibs were grateful to Newell for a key blocking challenge.
Hibs had kept himself at bay so successfully that Johnson made a substitution at the break and Obita came on for Elie Youan.
The Hibs manager would have wanted a reaction, but even he could hardly have expected such an immediate response. Vente put the ball back into Newell’s path, whose left-footed shot left Loretz rooted to the spot as it flew past him.
The goal revived the team and the support. Another long throw from Miller was met by a superb header from Fish, which went just wide.
Lucerne seemed so sure and suddenly got nervous. Dorn unnecessarily let Lewis Stevenson have the ball and needed Nicky Beloko to clear, then Le Fondre sent a shot wide from the edge of the box.
But Lucerne calmed down – and promptly responded by equalizing ten minutes after Hibs’ goal.
It was another bad goal to lose in a season already littered by them. Skipper Max Meyer’s corner kick should have been handled better, but Beka had the opportunity to duck and send a fleeting header past David Marshall.
Just like Hibs, the goal enlivened Lucerne. Substitute Lars Villiger’s run down the left fell to Beloko, but he was only able to fire his shot wide.
A flurry of four yellow cards in the space of five minutes from the Lithuanian referee – three of them for Lucerne – lifted spirits but Martin Boyle, holding up a yellow card from the referee’s pocket, brought some lightness to the game that threatened to boil above.
However, the atmosphere saw Hibs regain the lead. Le Fondre deftly held one attack alive and shoved the ball back down Vente’s run, whose header defeated Loretz in his close range post to trigger jubilant scenes.
Both Hibs frontmen were replaced – Christian Doidge and Elias Melkersen came on – but Lucerne showed they would not accept defeat and Jashari sent a drive just over the lead.
It was a merciless exchange of blows and as Boyle hopped past Frydek on the left, Doidge caught his cross at the near post – but the cross flew off his boot onto the bar and over the bar.
Seconds later it was Lucerne’s turn, cursing the woodwork. Dorn’s shot beat Marshall but bounced off the crossbar.
And Obita gave Hibs a two-goal advantage for Switzerland when he intercepted a through ball and his shot was deflected by Beka to make it 3-1.
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