The wee Hibees went into Tuesday's nights Home fixture against Dortmund full of hope and ambition following their outstanding results in the two previous qualifying rounds against Molde FK and Nantes.
A crisp Easter Road evening set the scene for one of the biggest games in wee Hibee history, with 7723 home fans spurring the youngsters on.
Steve Kean fielded an incredibly strong lineup, with Scotland U19 international Murray Johnson in between the sticks.
A back three consisting of Owen Hastie, Kanayo Megwa and Jacob Blaney were offered protection by Robbie Hamilton and skipper Murray Aiken, who occupied the middle of the park.
Brothers Oscar and Jacob MacIntyre provided width for the wee Hibees as Malek Zaid played just behind star strikers Ethan Laidlaw and Josh O’Connor.
Borussia Dortmund began the game with bags of confidence, dominating possession and playing crisp passes around midfield.
The wee Hibees rode the early storm and were quickly rewarded with the first opportunity of the game in the 4th minute.
After a turnover of possession in midfield, Ethan Laidlaw carried the ball forwards and looked to find his partner, Josh O’Connor, who had made a darting run towards the front post.
O’Connor made connection but the ball eventually fell to Malek Zaid, however, Zaid could not keep his first-time volley under the bar.
Hibs’ kept their shape well and were incredibly disciplined out of possession, looking to pounce on any mistakes made by the visitors.
Despite the German side dominating possession throughout the opening 20 minutes they struggled to muster up any clear-cut chances, with Faroukou Cisse’s settling for a strike 25 yards out from goal that flew wide off the target.
The wee Hibees remained persistent and broke the deadlock in the 26th minute.
With Armenian referee, Henrick Nalbandyan, awarding the home side a free kick in the final third, it allowed Hibs to flood the box and hope for a perfect delivery.
That delivery came from Robbie Hamilton, who sent in a delicious in-swinging cross with his favoured left foot, allowing Jacob Blaney to rise highest in the box and powerfully direct his header past Silas Ostrzinski.
Easter Road erupted and Hibs were ahead on the night.
Steve Kean instantly reshuffled his side after the opener, reverting to a back four and pushing Jacob MacIntyre into midfield.
The extra energy in the middle of the park allowed Hibs to soak up the added pressure and head into the second half maintaining their lead.
Hibs started the second half in similar fashion to where they left the first - mature, aggressive and incredibly dangerous, creating two glorious chances within the first 12 minutes.
Some bullish work from Ethan Laidlaw inside the penalty box allowed him to find Malek Zaid, but Zaid was unable to find the target with his effort.
Laidlaw was at the heart of things once again when he blocked a Dortmund shot from a low corner, giving the young striker the chance to break into full stride with nothing but green grass in front of him.
Laidlaw looked destined to double the wee Hibee lead as he broke into the Dortmund box but he dragged his shot wide.
The visitors began piling on the pressure and took full advantage of Murray Aiken’s injury in the 68th minute, which left Hibs down to 10 men until Josh McCulloch could replace his captain.
Dortmund fired a shot directly at Murray Johnson, who could not keep a hold of the ball. After a scramble in the box, the referee deemed that a Hibs defender had used his hand, leaving him with no other choice than to point to the penalty spot.
Julian Rijkhoff stepped up for the Germans and cooly sent Johnson in the wrong direction, levelling the tie.
Hibs kept their heads held high and were able to keep Dortmund at bay for a further 20 minutes, but the game ended in the 90th minute with wee Hibee heartbreak.
Paris Brunner found a pocket of space down the left-hand side, driving into it at pace and cutting it back to second-half substitute Hendry Blank, who was able to keep his right-footed shot low, finding the bottom right corner.
Ethan Laidlaw won a final free kick with seconds remaining allowing Jacob Blaney to try his luck from range.
30 yards out from goal, Blaney struck the ball with venom giving Silas Ostrzinski a scare, with the Dortmund keeper fumbling it over the crossbar.
Murray Johnson came up for the resulting corner with Steve Kean giving one last roll of the dice.
Hibs won the initial header and the ball looked to be creeping into the bottom left corner, before a mix of yellow shirts prevented it from crossing the line in what turned out to be the final chance of the game.
We are all incredibly proud of the wee Hibee effort throughout their European campaign with bright futures ahead for all involved.
Hibs: M. Johnson (GK), K. Megwa, J. Blaney, O. Hastie, J. MacIntyre, O. MacIntyre, R. Hamilton, M. Aiken (C), M. Zaid, J. O’Connor, E. Laidlaw
Borussia Dortmund: S. Ostrzinski (GK), N. Collins (C), P. Aning, F. Cisse, V. Walz, J. Rijkhoff, S. Bamba, G. Gurpuz, P. Brunner, F. Mane, A. Kamara
