David Gray: Win will give Hibernian confidence but we can play better

Hibernian head coach David Gray was keen to focus on the positives after admitting their hard-fought UEFA Conference League first-leg win over Shkendija was far from perfect.

A late Warren O’Hora effort gave the Easter Road club a slender 2-1 lead ahead of next Thursday’s third qualifying round return leg.

Hibs dominated for large spells but could not convert their pressure into goals until Owen Elding gave them the lead in the 73rd minute.

Shkendija levelled through Marko Gjorgjievski three minutes later but O’Hora made sure of the spoils for the hosts.

Gray said: “The players showed character to get back in front again.

“We didn’t play our best but found a way to win the game – we have to take confidence from that.

“I reminded the players about that winning feeling – we won the game.

“Can we play better and did I want us to play better? Yes and I know we will be.

“Winning games of football is difficult. It’s half-time in the tie and the thing that gives me confidence is we can be a lot better than we were tonight. We wanted to maximise being at home.

“The second leg will certainly be very different, the atmosphere and temperature will be different.

“We wanted to take a lead over there, we are doing that and we will learn from this leg.

“They are a good side who are used to being in Europe, you could see that. We know we have to be better and I know we will be better.

“We tried to force it too much and made too many errors tonight, turning the ball over too many times.

“Winning is difficult, especially in Europe. You could feel the frustration in the stadium and the way we were pegged back. We got pulled into trying to score to make sure we were winning in the tie.

“The subs were positive when they came on. We need everyone because we’ll have to change things now with Sunday (against Rangers) in mind.”