Jordan Smith takes positives from Hibernian’s draw at Midtjylland

Hibernian goalkeeper Jordan Smith felt he and his team-mates had passed a tough test of their mentality after emerging from Denmark with a 1-1 draw.

Hibs have set up an exciting second leg in the Europa League second qualifying round at Easter Road next Thursday after holding Midtjylland.

It could have been an even better night for Hibs but Martin Boyle was denied a second goal by a marginal offside decision following Jamie McGrath’s opener.

Smith dealt well with almost everything the Danish side threw at Hibs, including a series of set-pieces, but was beaten by a moment of class in the 72nd minute when Aral Simsir curled a free-kick into the top corner.

The former Nottingham Forest player told Hibs TV: “It was a tough tie, they asked a lot of questions of us, and ultimately we were probably a bit disappointed that we didn’t win the game having been in that winning position.

“However, there are certainly more positives to take out of the game than negatives – we’re fairly happy going back to Easter Road with it all to play for.

“It was a very mentally testing game for me, but defensively we’ve got a really good understanding of each other at the back. They are a quality side, with quality players – so we knew they were going to ask us questions, but I think we stood up to that task.

“It was nice to make my European debut at the age of 30 as well.

“I’m really proud of the boys. We didn’t let the occasion get to us, we showed the opposition respect without showing them too much respect, and we took the game to them. We showed moments of our own quality and we did the other side of the game really well.

“If you had asked us before the game, we probably would’ve taken that result. It is all to play for next week.”