Two years ago I dubbed Santa Coloma as the ‘Butchers of Andorra’ after one of the dirtiest performances I’ve ever seen at Easter Road.
But if Hibs fail to make mincemeat of their compatriots Inter Escaldes in Leith on Thursday then I’m afraid it’ll be Lee Johnson and his players on the end of a deserved slaughtering. The manager 's head would be on the chopping block and I’d struggle to see any way he could survive. If they can’t overturn last week’s first leg humiliation - and that is exactly what it was - then this would go down as the most embarrassing two-legged result in Scottish football history. Bar none.
Even worse than Motherwell slipping up against Sligo a year ago. And we know what that led to for Graham Alexander a few days later. It’s win or bust and despite watching last week’s shambles through my fingers I still thoroughly expect Hibs to win. Convincingly.
My only fear is that Johnson’s players get caught up in the ugly stuff the Andorrans will no doubt bring. I was at the Battle of Easter Road two years ago and Santa Coloma played dirty. Rolling about like they’d been hit with a baseball bat every time a Hibs player went near them then leaving the boot in when they were flying into challenges.
It led to Joe Newell getting sent off early on for a nothing tackle before they themselves had to red carded when they lost the plot in the second half. Thankfully Hibs got out of it with a 3-0 win and finished the job 2-1 over in Andorra. But Newell - as well as Martin Boyle and Paul Hanlon who both played that night aswell - will know exactly what to expect on Thursday.
Hibs absolutely have to keep the heid and keep 11 men on the park or it’ll be a long and very difficult night. Escaldes will come looking for any advantage they can get and will waste time from the first whistle.
There’s decisions to make for Johnson and I’ve got to say David Marshall needs taken out of the firing line and replaced by summer signing Jojo Wollacott.
The veteran keeper’s clanger last week has put him under serious pressure after a dodgy end to last season. He’s looking nervy and that’s the last thing you want in the last line of defence. It would be a big call but Wollacott has been brought in and is an experienced international goalkeeper. It’s his time.
It wasn’t just Marshall though, Hibs looked like a team that had never seen each other before. And thank God for Newell’s last gasp strike because that changes the whole complexion of this second leg.
Johnson was right in saying it’s only half-time - even if he was wrong claiming it wasn’t embarrassing. He came under fire too for telling the fans to calm down at full-time as they ran the gauntlet of seething supporters. The fans spent a lot of money to go and watch their side have their pants pulled down. Of course they were furious.
The ‘settle down’ gesture certainly got the opposite response but I actually feel a bit for the manager here because he’s damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t.
If he kept his head down he’d be accused of ignoring them. I remember being in a similar situation as a Dunfermline player coming off at East End Park after a 5-0 horsing from Hamilton as we blew our promotion hopes.
The fans were hanging over the railings giving us both barrells and you could have heated Fife for a week with the fury coming out their mouths. I kept the head down and quickened the stride - and got slaughtered for not looking them in the eye!
The only way for Johnson and Hibs to respond is to go out and give this team a doing on Thursday. Having Martin Boyle on the bench will give everyone a lift. If they need him for the last 30 minutes - when Escaldes’ part-timers will be tiring - then what an injection of pace to bring on.
They’ll have Dylan Vente on board by then too. I don’t know a lot about him but one look at his numbers last season suggests he’s a good striker. After that they’ll still need another number nine. It’s not time to panic. Yet.
Two good wins in Leith against Escaldes and St Mirren in the league opener three days later will bring a bit of sunshine back. But flop on Thursday and the knives will well and truly be out.
