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Hibs hold firm in Skopje heat to reach Conference League play-off as next opponent confirmed Goalless draw keeps Hibs in Europe as late first leg winner proves decisive Hibs held firm in the Skopje heat to grind out a goalless draw with Shkendija and set up a showdown with Belgian side Gent in the Conference League play-off. The Hibees arrived in North Macedonia protecting a 2-1 lead from the first leg of their third qualifying round tie after Warren O’Hora’s late winner at Easter Road. And that goal from the Irish defender ultimately proved decisive as there was no further scoring in a tightly-contested second leg in the Todor Proeski National Arena. After withstanding some late pressure to eliminate a Shkendija side that reached the knockout phase play-off round of last year’s Conference League, the Hibs players celebrated in front of their 350 jubilant supporters who had travelled to the Balkans. “I’m delighted for the players,” manager Gray told BBC Sport. “It’s a brilliant time to get your first clean sheet of the season. “I just said to the players, don’t underestimate how big an achievement that is against a really good side who made it to the knockout stages of the competition last season. “Added to that, the conditions, the heat, we had to deal with all these things. I don’t think it was a brilliant game, but we put our bodies on the line and the attitude was there. “I thought we had the best chances of the game, but right towards the end, whilst it was still in the balance, you require your big players to step up and to a man, they’ve all done that. “The most important thing now is, can you recover the players as quick as we can and get them back to cool down? I think every single one of them has their head in an ice bucket at the moment because of the heat. “But they can be really proud of what they’ve achieved, because it’s an incredible achievement.” Gray made four changes to the side that started Sunday’s William Hill Premiership victory away to Rangers as Owen Elding, Nathan Lowe, Felix Passlack and Callum Wright replaced Ante Suto, Thibault Klidje, Josh Campbell and Kanayo Megwa. Shkendija were first to threaten when Almir Kryeziu sent a low shot just wide from the edge of the box. Hibs’ first opportunity came in the 18th minute when Wright, who scored the late winner at Ibrox on Sunday, was just unable to make contact at the back post after Passlack’s corner had been flicked on by Jason Kerr. Clear chances were scarce at both ends in the first half, although Elding and Lowe both had shots from promising positions in the box blocked by defenders. At the other end, Kryeziu cut in from the left and fired over from 25 yards out as a low-key 45 minutes ended goalless. The hosts started the second period on the front foot, with Fabrice Tamba firing harmlessly wide shortly before Fahd Ndzengue rasped an angled effort into the side netting after being set free in the box by Tamba. Hibs had a golden chance to break the deadlock in the 54th minute but Lowe blasted straight at goalkeeper Ferat Ramani after Elding’s dinked pass over the top had sent the striker racing into the box. Ramani then had to dive bravely at the feet of Elding as he tried to get on the end of Adam Mayor’s low delivery from the left before the keeper scrambled away Elding’s shot from the edge of the box. Shkendija cranked up the pressure in the closing stages in a desperate effort to salvage the tie but Hibs’ defence were generally able to keep them at arm’s length as they closed out a 2-1 aggregate victory. Comments Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.