Josh O’Connor and Rudi Molotnikov scored the important goals in a performance that was full of courage, commitment and passion from the first whistle to the last.
After conceding early, the Hibees hit back almost instantly through Josh O’Connor, before Rudi Molotnikov’s strike sealed a 2-1 victory at the Stade Marcel-Saupin, and a 3-1 victory on aggregate.
As it happened…
Steve Kean made two changes from the side that beat Nantes a week previous, with Jacob MacIntyre and Rudi Molotnikov rewarded with starts for their impressive performances in the second half at Easter Road. That meant, Josh McCulloch and Malik Zaid started on the bench.
Around 1000 supporters gathered inside the Stade Marcel-Saupin eagerly anticipating what promised to be another exciting European night.
It was the home side who made the better start, enjoying the majority of possession as you would expect in the opening exchanges in a European tie.
Murray Johnson was called into action twice in the opening 10 minutes. The first an easy gather after a tame header from Appuah, before he bravely came out to punch one clear of his six-yard box and won a free-kick for his side to ease some early pressure.
Both side had early sightings at goal - setting the tone for what proved to be a frantic match from start to finish. Murray Johnson watched a shot whistle past his left-hand post, thankfully for Hibs, nobody for the home side could get a vital touch to turn it goal-bound.
At the other end, Kanayo Megwa did well to get on the end of a set piece but the bouncing ball evaded everyone and was safely cleared.
After 17 minutes, it was the home side who opened the scoring. Adel Mahamoud got on the end of Mountsangui’s pinpoint delivery, to head home from 10 yards, smashing his effort in off the crossbar despite Johnson's best efforts. 1-0 to FC Nantes on the night, all square on aggregate.
Their lead didn’t last long however and the Hibees hit back five minutes later with a brilliant team goal. Murray Aiken did brilliant to win the ball back inside his own and with a quick one-two with his central midfield partner Robbie Hamilton, Aiken was away.
The Hibs captain carried the ball from his own half into the Nantes penalty area before laying it off to Ethan Laidlaw who was supporting on the left.
Laidlaw looked poised to shoot but played a very clever switch to Josh O’Connor on the other side of the area. O’Connor made no mistake, expertly controlling the ball and smashing home at the near post. All square on the night, Hibs lead on aggregate.
After a frantic opening half hour, the game began to settle – for a moment at least.
Both sides were giving it everything, flying into tackles and were fully committed to the cause. Jacob Blaney and Appuah were shown yellow cards for an off-the-ball incident as tempers continued to rise at the Stade Marcel-Saupin.
Towards the end of the first half, Johnson was called into action again. The wee Hibees No.1 did well to hold onto a cross-come-shot at his near post that looked to be sneaking in. The final action of the break saw Johnson command his area and hold onto a cross, before the referee called a breath-taking first half to a close.
Half Time: FC Nantes 1-1 Hibs
Whatever Steve Kean said at half-time clearly worked. Within 3 minutes of the game restarting, Hibs took the lead.
This time it was Rudi Molotnikov who applied the finish to another brilliant counter-attack with Josh O’Connor turning provider this time.
Josh found Rudi with a perfectly waited pass in front of Rudi to run onto. The 16-year-old had Ethan Laidlaw alongside him, but he opted to go for goal himself – smashing a left-footed effort into the near post from outside the area to give the Hibees the lead. 2-1 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate.
Hibs nearly had their third a moment later, Aiken was at the heart of the action again. He found Hamilton with a clever reverse ball in to set the midfielder free. Hamilton did well to get his shot away but the Nantes keeper was equal to it and made the save.
As the second half progressed, Nantes naturally began to throw more bodies forward in search of a way back into the game.
A nice bit of skill from Nantes forward Assoumani created a good shooting opportunity for the home side. But the striker dragged his shot wide from close range and failed to take advantage.
Kanayo Megwa was at the heart of everything positive in the Hibs defence. The 18-year won virtually every 50:50 or 1v1 that came his way and was a rock at the back alongside Jacob Blaney and Owen Hastie.
FC Nantes huffed and puffed but lacked any cutting edge in the final third and rarely tested Murray Johnson in the Hibs goal.
Tempers began to boil over as Hibs looked to close the game out and slow the game down. A large scuffle broke out at the clocked ticked over the 90-minute mark, Murray Aiken was down on the ground after a challenge which sparked outrage from the home bench.
Both teams were involved in a bit of pushing and shoving before the referee eventually managed to get everyone under control. Camara was shown a yellow card for Nantes and bizarrely Aiken was also shown a yellow card. Unfortunately, it was Aiken’s second yellow card so Hibs were forced to play out the remainder of the match with 10-men.
The Hibees held on bravely to secure another European win and progress to the next round of the UEFA Youth League.
Up next, the wee Hibees will play in the UEFA Youth League Play-Off Round, where they will meet one of the runners-up from the U19s Champions League Group stage path.
The draw for that takes place on Tuesday 8 November!
Full Time: FC Nantes 1-2 Hibs (FC Nantes 1-3 Hibs on aggregate)
Hibs: Johnson, J. MacIntyre, O. MacIntyre, Megwa, Blaney, Hamilton, Laidlaw, Aiken (C), O'Connor (McCulloch 89'), Molotnikov (Zaid 73'), Hastie.
