Hibernian 0 Malmo 7 (aggregate 0-9): No Sunshine on Leith as Fenlon's feeble forces are slaughtered by Swedes

By Mark Wilson

This was humiliation on a historic scale for Hibernian. On a night of high emotion at Easter Road, they crashed to their worst defeat in 58 years of continental involvement.

Grimmer still, the 9-0 aggregate loss is the heaviest reverse ever suffered by a Scottish side in Europe.

It was brutal to watch such an extraordinary dismantling. Not by a team from England, Spain or Italy, but one from Sweden.

Malmo may already be well into their season and riding high in their domestic league, but meaningful mitigation for the scale of this embarrassment is hard to find.

The Leith faithful had turned out in their numbers to honour the late, great Lawrie Reilly, who was still spearheading the side when Hibs entered the first ever European Cup way back in 1955. What followed was the furthest possible cry from such heady days.

The plain, unpalatable truth is that this could have been even worse for Pat Fenlon's men. Had Malmo displayed a more clinical touch on a few occasions then double figures might have loomed into view.

Already four down by the break, the second half witnessed further capitulation on an evening of Europa League ignominy.

Goalkeeper Ben Williams had kept the score down to 2-0 in last week's first leg in the Swedbank Stadium, but even he became infected by the malaise as he shipped a couple of decidedly sloppy concessions.

This was not, however, a night for singling out individuals. Sadly, Hibs' failure was collective and absolute.

Fenlon already faces a task to raise morale before the start of their domestic season a week on Sunday.

His own abilities will also come under fresh scrutiny by a fanbase left reeling by what they saw here.

It trumped the 6-0 defeat Hibs suffered against AS Roma in the Fairs Cup in the 1960-61 season to become the nadir of their European efforts.

Even then, losing away to one of the powers of Serie A cannot properly compare to being mauled by Malmo in Edinburgh.

It was all the more painful given the huge optimism witnessed before kick-off. A pre-match rendition of Sunshine on Leith seemed to carry that extra bit of fervour as the home fans sought to provide the vocal inspiration the players so badly needed.

It was, of course, also an evening in which this corner of Leith paid tribute to perhaps the greatest ever to grace this stadium in the colours of Hibernian.

Only a small percentage of those present saw Reilly play in the days when the Famous Five delivered back-to-back league titles in the early 1950s.

Yet his passing on Monday at the age of 84 was felt by generations of supporters who had grown up on tales of his remarkable prowess.

As the minute's applause faded just before kick-off, it was replaced by a chant hailing Reilly as 'one of their own'.

The question was whether Fenlon's side could somehow harness this surge of emotion to fuel a positive start that might unsettle their visitors. The answer would be resoundingly negative.

You could argue the tie might have assumed a different complexion had Jordon Forster not headed wide from a Liam Craig corner after 13 minutes. That, though, would be clutching at the thinnest of straws.

Malmo were superior in every department, with a capacity to score almost at will against opponents bamboozled by their movement.

That was perfectly exhibited with the opener after 21 minutes. Emil Forsberg fed Simon Thern - son of former Rangers midfielder Jonas - and he angled a delightful ball for Tokelo Rantie.

The South African is blessed with burning pace, yet required only a brief burst to engineer space and square for Magnus Eriksson to finish.

Rowan Vine thumped the ball into the roof of the net seconds after the restart, only for an offside flag to thwart his celebrations.

That, however, merely fired up Malmo to deliver more misery. Rantie saw a low shot saved by Williams before Eriksson struck the base of the post.

But the inevitable was only delayed until the 26th minute. Forsberg charged forward from deep, combining brilliantly with Thern before sliding an angled finish across Williams and into the far corner of the net.

By now, Hibs captain James McPake had hobbled off to be replaced by Fraser Mullen, further weakening a fragmented defence.

It was 3-0 on the half-hour. Malmo skipper Jiloan Hamad held off feeble attentions inside the area before turning to set up Markus Halsti. The Finn was clinical from 18 yards out.

A fourth arrived five minutes before the interval when right-back Miiko Albornoz cut in onto his left foot and dispatched a low drive that clipped a post on its way in.

Referee Sebastien Delferiere took pity on Hibs after the restart when refusing to award a penalty after Forster toppled Rantie, but another goal soon came along.

Williams was unable to hold a Hamad drive and Rantie tapped in. Hamad got a goal of his own on 65 minutes when his powerful free-kick seemed to fly through Williams and into the net. Malmo were spreading the burden around and they ended the night with seven different scorers when substitute Simon Kroon polished off another fine move with still 13 minutes remaining.

A 7-0 scoreline has long held joyful, historical significance for Hibs in their rivalry with Hearts. This time, it took on a very different meaning.