“`html
Hibs head coach David Gray witnessed his side come heartbreakingly close to achieving a historic feat.
The week has seen Scottish football suffer a series of painful blows, each seemingly more devastating than the last.
It was only a few weeks ago that Dundee United and Hibernian delivered memorable away victories in Europe, coinciding with Ballon d’Or nominations for Scott McTominay and Caroline Weir, raising the nation’s spirits.
However, the events of this week stand in stark contrast. In a dismal three-day period, Scottish teams conceded 12 goals while scoring only three in European competitions, as Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen, and Hibs all failed to secure their places in the highest-tier European tournaments.
As the saying goes, a week is a long time in politics. For those returning home from across the continent, three weeks ago now feels like a distant, almost unattainable reality.
The week began with optimism and high expectations.
Celtic were heavily favoured to advance against a perceivedly weaker opponent, Rangers were determined to overcome their deficit, Aberdeen had fought back to level their tie, and Hibs were poised to make history.
But, as they say, the best-laid plans…
Celtic struggled against Kazakh side Kairat Almaty, failing to find the net in a lackluster performance.
Normal time was uneventful, extra time was dull, and the penalty shootout was remarkably unremarkable.
Misses from Adam Idah, Luke McCowan, and Daizen Maeda resulted in one of the most humiliating defeats in the club’s history.
Next, it was Russell Martin’s Rangers turn.
Trailing Club Brugge 3-1 after a disastrous first leg at Ibrox, they were considered underdogs but still had a chance to turn the tie around.
Instead, Brugge found the net six times without reply – five of which came after Rangers were reduced to 10 men – leading many traveling fans to call for the head coach’s dismissal.
The aggregate scoreline of 9-1 led to fans labeling Martin a “coward” with hastily made banners.
A humbling and a hammering, so far.
This video can not be played
‘We have to feel the pain’ – Martin on Rangers humiliation
Now, it was down to Aberdeen and Hibs.
Aberdeen, trailing 2-0 from the first leg against Romanian champions FCSB, fought back at Pittodrie to level the score at 2-2 heading into the second leg.
They were heading into half-time at the Arena Nationala with the score still level, ready to regroup for a crucial second half.
Then, VAR intervened, instructing the referee to review the pitch-side monitor.
Ultimately, Alexander Jensen was shown a second yellow card for handball, and a penalty was awarded to FCSB.
The hosts converted the penalty and went on to secure a comfortable 3-0 victory against a spirited Aberdeen side.
This video can not be played
Highlights: FCSB 3-0 Aberdeen (5-2 agg)
Three boxes ticked: humiliation, hammering, and refereeing controversy.
The most dramatic game, however, was saved for last.
Hibs’ qualification campaign performance was deserving of European football for the rest of the season.
They remained unbeaten away from home against Midtjylland, Partizan Belgrade, and Legia Warsaw. David Gray’s team genuinely competed with some of Europe’s top sides.
In 120 breathless minutes in Warsaw, they found themselves trailing 1-0 and 3-1 on aggregate, but valiantly fought back to lead the tie 4-3, coming agonizingly close to becoming the first Hibs team to reach the main stage of a European competition.
Martin Boyle’s dipping volley from 40 yards rattled the crossbar, which would have lifted the spirits of the entire nation, let alone Leith. It may also have lifted the roof in the away end.
They battled with all their might, but ultimately, after extra time, they are left with only domestic duties this season.
“That’s as good a performance I’ve seen in Europe from a Hibs team in my lifetime,” said Gray. “I’m immensely proud of that. It’s hard to take because of that. We need to make sure we come back stronger.”
In a competitive sense, yes.
While it may take some time for Celtic to adjust, the Europa League should provide them with a good opportunity to reach the knockout stages.
However, the financial disparity compared to the Champions League will undoubtedly be a sore point.
Rangers fans would likely concede that they could have faced several heavy defeats at the top level.
In previous seasons, they have thrived on Europa League Thursdays and have often managed to achieve significant results along the way.
The Conference League awaits Aberdeen, and if they can recover and replicate their spirited performance from Bucharest against other European opponents, there’s no reason why they can’t make Pittodrie a daunting venue for visiting teams and rise to the occasion on their travels.
Clive Lindsay, BBC Sport Scotland
After finishing ninth in Europe in 2022-23 for the second consecutive season – the country’s best since seventh in 1988 – Scotland’s coefficient has fallen so far that it begins the new campaign in 17th place.
Unless this can be improved to 14th – which now appears highly unlikely – Scottish clubs will enter future campaigns in their worst position since 2012.
This would mean a reduction in European representation from five to four clubs in two years’ time.
Future champions would have three Champions League qualifiers instead of one, the runners-up would have three Conference League qualifiers – along with the team finishing third – instead of three in the Champions League, while the Scottish Cup winners would have four Europa League qualifying ties instead of one.
Falling out of the top 12 already means that next season’s Scottish Cup winners will enter the Europa League third qualifying round instead of the play-offs and will not be guaranteed group-stage football.
Meanwhile, the team finishing third in the Premiership will now enter in the Conference League in the second qualifying round instead of the same stage of the Europa League.
“`