Ollie Watkins continued his red-hot form as Aston Villa cruised to a statement 4-1 Europa Conference League win at AZ Alkmaar.
The striker netted his 10th goal of the season and fourth in Europe this season on Thursday.
Leon Bailey and Youri Tielemans – his first for Villa – put them in control in AZ Stadium after less than 25 minutes.
Vangelis Pavlidis wasted the hosts’ best chances but Watkins and John McGinn added more goals after the break in Holland before Ibrahim Sadiq grabbed a consolation.
It was the second time in two games Villa had scored four after their 4-1 Premier League win over West Ham on Sunday.
Unai Emery celebrated a year in charge on Tuesday and victory underlined the progress his side have made, having been floundering in 14th and three points above the relegation zone 12 months ago.
Villa host Alkmaar in two weeks knowing victory would see them take a giant leap to the knock-out stages, especially following an opening 3-2 defeat at Legia Warsaw in September.
After two games in Group E, all four teams were locked on three points but Villa moved to remedy that quickly, opening the scoring just 13 minutes in.
Watkins seized on a loose pass from Yukinari Sugawara and, while Boubacar Kamara’s ball was cut out, it fell for Bailey to control and rifle in low from the edge of the box.
Alkmaar cried handball but the goal stood and 10 minutes later, the hosts were 2-0 down.
Another poor pass, this time from Sven Mijnans, went straight to McGinn and his angled pass found Tielemans to bag his first Villa goal.
Yet, 90 seconds later, the hosts should have pulled a goal back when Pavlidis fired over with just Emi Martinez to beat after Kamara was dispossessed on the edge of the box.
Pavlidis had a goal disallowed for offside soon after but Villa regrouped and extended their lead six minutes after the break.
AZ were picked apart by Watkins, Tielemans and Bailey, who saw his shot saved by Matt Ryan but it fell perfectly for Watkins to tap in the rebound.
Five minutes later McGinn added a fourth when he turned in Bailey’s low cross at the near post.
Sadiq pulled a surprise goal back with 25 minutes left when he latched onto Bruno Martins Indi’s crossfield pass and drilled the ball into the corner from the edge of the box.
Tiago Dantas came close to a second, Tielemans deflecting his drive behind, with a comeback never on the cards.
Aberdeen manager Barry Robson felt his team wasted an opportunity to defeat HJK Helsinki and register their first win in the Europa Conference League.
The Reds dominated the match against their Finnish opponents but they failed to make their possession count as the teams played out a 1-1 draw at Pittodrie.
Robson said: “I am frustrated because we deserved to win the game.
“I am disappointed with the goal we lost because it was their only shot at goal but that was testament to the way we defended and pressed.”
“The frustration comes from having 17 shots and only scoring once. We needed to be a bit more clinical and had we been done so, I think we could have won that game by three of four.”
“That was a good performance.”
“That is five games in a row where we have really performed and we have scored 11 goals but the sucker punch is Helsinki scoring with their one real chance.”
Robson was unimpressed by the standard of refereeing after Duk suffered a nasty head injury following an apparent elbow from Georgios Kanellopoulous in the first half.
Polish referee Daniel Stefanski was not asked by the VAR official to review the incident, which resulted in the Cape Verde international requiring treatment.
Robson said: “I was massively surprised he was not asked to look at it.
“I need to be careful on what I comment on but I think we all know the level of player and the level of game has to be officiated at the correct standard.
“I did not think the standard was correct tonight.
“There were a lot of things that happened out on the pitch that were not right for me.”
Boss Unai Emery insists Aston Villa’s 1-0 win over Zrinjski Mostar proves why their European rivals must be respected.
John McGinn’s added-time header saved Villa’s skins in the Europa Conference League.
Mostar, who beat AZ Alkmaar 4-3 last month, defended heroically and were two minutes away from a battling point at Villa Park.
It leaves Group E delicately poised after Villa lost their opener 3-2 at Legia Warsaw. Their 1-0 defeat at AZ on Thursday leaves all four teams locked on three points.
Emery said: “My message is always you have to respect every team. For them it’s very important to play in Europe, against us, to show their power as well. Their commitment in 90 minutes was amazing. It was not easy to break it.
“In the second half we played very well, we had chances and we scored in the end.
“I knew before the match it was going to be difficult because they are going to defend. That happened in the first half. Hopefully we can build a team with everybody.”
The Prince of Wales was also in the crowd to see Villa’s late show.
Emery added: “It’s the third time I’ve met him, he is welcome for us. He is really feeling emotion with us as well. He met with me, the players and the coaches. We spoke about Aston Villa and his wishes following us this year.”
Mostar threatened early when Antonio Ivancic lobbed over Emi Martinez but lacked any support to follow up and the Villa goalkeeper made a smart save to deny Nemanja Bilbija.
Nicolo Zaniolo saw shots blocked and had an overhead kick saved by the visitors, who were organised and comfortable.
Villa thought they had a penalty early in the second half when Ollie Watkins’ header hit Slobodan Jakovljevic in the face. Referee Urs Schnyder gave the spot-kick for handball but correctly changed his decision after viewing the replays.
Villa then camped in the Mostar half, Diego Carlos, Youri Tielemans and Zaniolo going close before McGinn’s late intervention.
Matty Cash crossed from the right and McGinn glanced in a header from six yards to spare the Premier League side.
Mostar boss Krunoslav Rendulic said: “Aston Villa won deservedly, we gave our maximum.
“We knew we could only put up a good defence in answer to their quality. Unfortunately that effort wasn’t rewarded. If we had defended that goal it would have been a great success.
“I can’t say anything against my players. In the second half we were suffering, we couldn’t go forward. We did defend very well. We couldn’t survive until the end and the final seconds were disastrous for us.”
Aberdeen came from behind to rescue a point against HJK Helsinki in the Europa Conference League at Pittodrie.
Despite creating the best opportunities in a cagey contest, the hosts fell behind just before the hour mark through Bojan Radulovic’s strike.
However, a fine header from Bojan Miovski saw the Dons get off the mark in Group G following their opening-match defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt a fortnight ago.
Aberdeen could have been ahead in the 11th minute when Richard Jensen found space to get on the end of Leighton Clarkson’s corner but he was unable to direct his header on target from 10 yards out.
As the Dons continue to press in the early stages, HJK goalkeeper Jesse Ost came to the visitors’ rescue in the 21st minute. Stefan Gartenmann clipped a precise pass on to the head of Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes, whose glancing effort was well saved by Ost.
Having won their last three matches in all competitions, the home team looked confident and Miovski flashed a header wide from another Gartenmann centre in the 27th minute.
But two lengthy stoppages for nasty head wounds sustained by Duk and Jensen resulted in Barry Robson’s men losing some of their momentum in the run up to half-time, the latter temporarily leaving the field of play so a huge gash above his eye could be stitched up.
Early in the second half, Jamie McGrath was presented with a decent opportunity after Miovski and Clarkson combined but the Irishman, who netted in the Reds’ 3-1 against Rangers at Ibrox last weekend, shot wide from 12 yards.
However, the Finnish side offered threats of their own and Tuomas Ollila delivered an excellent low cross across the six-yard box which ought to have been snapped up by a team-mate.
That served as a warning for the Dons, who fell behind in the 59th minute. Pyry Soiri’s cutback from the right flank was swept high into the net by Radulovic from 10 yards.
Miovski should have levelled in the 71st minute when he was picked out by substitute Connor Barron but his volley down into the ground was turned behind by Ost.
But the North Macedonia international made amends in the 79th minute with a precision header to make it 1-1. Jonny Hayes, who was effective off the bench, saw his cross flicked on by Miro Tenho and Miovski superbly glanced the ball into the bottom corner.
Duk then wasted a great chance to score the winner moments later when he chased down a long punt forward only to see his shot saved by Ost as the teams shared the points.
John McGinn’s last-gasp winner saved Aston Villa from embarrassment as they laboured to an uninspiring 1-0 victory against Zrinjski Mostar.
The captain netted in the fourth minute of added time to break battling Mostar hearts.
It looks like Villa’s Europa Conference League campaign would continue to stutter until then after the hosts were left frustrated by their organised and combative opponents, who refused to buckle until stoppage time.
Despite dominating, Villa struggled to break Mostar down and had a penalty call reversed in the second half.
Referee Urs Schnyder changed his decision to award a spot-kick for handball after replays showed Ollie Watkins’ header hit Slobodan Jakovljevic in the face.
Nemanja Bilbija wasted the visitors’ best opening in the first half as the Bosnian champions fell just short in the Group E clash.
Ezri Konsa, unfortunate to be left out of the latest England squad, confessed to having never heard of the visitors. He would not have been the only one.
Boss Krunoslav Rendulic called it the biggest game in the visitors’ history and the club which gave a 17-year-old Luka Modric his professional debut were a nuisance from the start.
Antonio Ivancic briefly threatened first, lobbing the ball over Emi Martinez only to lack support, before the goalkeeper needed to parry Bilbija’s shot after Marijo Cuze’s low cross.
In between, Nicolo Zaniolo twice threatened but it was a chance Mostar should have taken. They had, at least, sapped the energy from Villa Park in the opening 20 minutes and the hosts’ frustrations were underlined when McGinn was booked for an obvious dive.
As a team Villa are still learning to adapt to European football and the opening 3-2 defeat at Legia Warsaw did little to justify their favourites tag in the competition. In the first half at Villa Park, there were even fewer hints.
Mostar fought back from 3-0 down to beat AZ Alkmaar 4-3 last month and were comfortable, Zaniolo’s overhead kick allowing goalkeeper Marko Maric to offer a save for the cameras but there was little else to trouble them.
Unai Emery had seen enough and summoned Watkins, Douglas Luiz and Matty Cash from the bench and their arrival lifted Villa.
Watkins conjured a chance for Diego Carlos, only for the defender to get his header all wrong and the striker thought he had earned a penalty eight minutes into the second half.
Cash’s cross was met by Watkins, whose header cannoned into the face of Jakovljevic – with official Schnyder giving a spot-kick for handball.
It was clear, though, the ball hit the defender in the face and once Schnyder had checked his monitor he correctly overturned the decision.
It did finally light a fire under Villa and Maric saved Diego Costa’s header as
the hosts camped in Mostar’s half for the rest of the game.
Youri Tielemans and Zaniolo went close before McGinn rescued the hosts in stoppage time.
Cash got free on the right and crossed for the midfielder to nod in from six yards.
Aberdeen manager Barry Robson felt his side deserved a point from their Europa Conference League opener against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Dante Polvara stunned the home fans in the Waldstadion by cancelling out an early penalty opener before the Dons succumbed to a 2-1 defeat.
The American midfielder finished off a clinical counter-attack in the 22nd minute to net his first goal for the club and the Dons looked comfortable for the majority of the first half.
The German side stepped up a gear after the break and on-loan Leeds defender Robin Koch headed what proved to be the winner in the 61st minute.
But Frankfurt had to withstand some late pressure and unmarked Aberdeen substitute Ester Sokler missed a good chance in stoppage-time when he volleyed off target from 12 yards.
Quoted on the UEFA website, Robson said: “I am happy with the way we played and the commitment we put in, but I feel we could have deserved even more, had that once chance right before full-time whistle gone in.”
However, the Dons boss was frustrated with the manner they conceded goals.
He told RedTV: “I thought tactically we were very good, we pressed the ball at the right times. We probably could have passed it a wee bit better at times but we grew into the game.
“I am frustrated we lost (goals from) a penalty and set-play.
“That’s top, top players we are playing against, they won the Europa League not long ago and Barcelona lost here not long ago, and different teams.
“The frustration for me is that’s the type of goals we lost, ones that I think could have been avoidable.
“Listen, the players have come here and performed unbelievably well.”
Polvara admitted it was a “bittersweet game”.
“We are happy about the performance but obviously not the result,” he said. “We can take the positives from this game going forward.
“Scoring that goal was a great moment, in front of 55,000 fans. I don’t quite remember how the ball got there, it went through a couple of legs I think and then I saw that it was one of the two chances we expected we’d get before the game and I grabbed it.”
Frankfurt manager Dino Toppmoller was surprised by Aberdeen’s tactics:
“We weren’t expecting them to drop this deep but ultimately that is their choice how to play and we have to deal with it,” he said. “I am pleased with us getting the three points and the mentality we displayed.”
Unai Emery insists Aston Villa must learn how to handle European football and refused to blame his changes after their sloppy 3-2 defeat at Legia Warsaw.
Ernest Muci’s second-half winner clinched a deserved victory for the hosts to ruin Villa’s Europa Conference League debut.
Jhon Duran and Lucas Digne twice levelled for the underwhelming visitors in the first half after Pawel Wszolek and Muci scored for Legia.
It ranked as one of the worst performances in Emery’s 11 months in charge, with the manager making five changes, including giving a debut to Barcelona loanee Clement Lenglet.
He said: “I believe in our squad and our players and we could have lost this game with other players on the pitch.
“Every match away in Europe is difficult and this is a new step where we have to learn.
“We still have the possibility to react again, we are going to play another five matches. It’s not a good result but we have to learn and have to understand how we’re going to face the next matches and this competition.
“We have to build the squad who will play a lot of matches and we will need players in the squad to give them opportunities to play, to use their qualities.
“In the second half we started well but in one click, we concede another opportunity and they score a goal.
“They had a plan, they did good and we couldn’t stop them in some moments.”
Legia struck after just two minutes in the Group E opener when Wszolek converted Patryk Kun’s cross.
Duran levelled four minutes later, though, nodding in after Kacper Tobiasz turned Nicolo Zaniolo’s drive onto the bar.
It should have given Villa a platform but a shoddy, slow, performance continued to undermine their tag as one of the tournament favourites.
Livewire Muci punished them again after 26 minutes when Villa were left floundering on the flanks and he fired in Wszolek’s centre.
But Villa came back, however undeserved, and Digne’s deflected volley ensured they went into the break level.
Parity did not last long, though, when Muci went sent running at Ezri Konsa and Calum Chambers, made fools of them both and found the net off a post.
This time there was no way back and Marc Gual almost added a fourth when Emi Martinez parried Bartosz Slisz’s shot and Chambers cleared.
Jacob Ramsey, Moussa Diaby and Youri Tielemans tried to find an unlikely leveller but victorious Legia held on.
“You should not underestimate the underdogs, Mostar will also be a hot game, a Balkan team with a lot of emotions,” said boss Kosta Runjaic, after Mostar beat AZ Alkmaar 4-3 in the other group game.
“It’s surprise for me but it’s also a surprise we won against Aston Villa, I’m happy about it, this three points in the first game are very important for us. We were lucky in some moments but you need luck.
“We will see how we do in the next game, we will face a very ugly Alkmaar in a couple of weeks.”
Sloppy Aston Villa crashed to a chaotic Europa Conference League defeat at Legia Warsaw.
Ernest Muci’s second-half winner spoiled Villa’s debut in the competition as Legia pulled off a deserved 3-2 victory in Poland.
Pawel Wszolek and Muci had twice given Legia a first-half lead only for Jhon Duran and Lucas Digne to peg them back.
Muci pounced six minutes into the second half and Villa never recovered.
Legia boss Kosta Runjaic had billed it as a David v Goliath tie, with Legia going into the Group E opener with hope rather than expectation. Captain Josue, pointed out the vastly different transfer values between the squads.
Maybe it was reverse psychology but they were far from overwhelmed and picked holes in Villa’s sloppy defence.
Villa are expected to not just qualify from the group with ease but challenge for the title in Athens next May but they will have to significantly improve if that is to be the case.
It look just two minutes for the energetic hosts to unpick their visitors with worrying simplicity.
Muci sent Patryk Kun scampering down the right and he crossed for the onrushing Wszolek to fire in from eight yards.
That Legia conceded 13 goals while qualifying for the group stage would have given Villa encouragement for any comeback and, sure enough, it took just four minutes to level.
Nicolo Zaniolo’s strike from 25 yards was turned onto the bar by Kacper Tobiasz and Duran reacted quickest to nod in from close range.
Villa managed to steady themselves as game settled after a rapid start, until Legia regained the lead after 26 minutes.
Again the threat came from out wide, this time from the right. Wszolek was given too much time by Digne to cross for Muci to smash in.
Defensively Villa had been weak, switching off when it mattered most, and Ezri Konsa was the next to escape when Muci went down under pressure in the area but referee Evangelos Manouchos was unmoved.
Still Legia found gaps in the Villa backline when Marc Gual tested Emi Martinez and the visitors looked far from tournament favourites.
Duran’s goal had been their only serious chance but Unai Emery’s men levelled against the run of play six minutes before the break.
Leon Bailey tricked his way through, John McGinn’s shot was blocked and fell to Digne on the edge of the box for the left-back’s deflected volley to find the top corner.
Villa had taken their opportunities to redeem themselves and Legia still needed Tobiasz’s leg to deny Duran an undeserved third just before the break.
Yet if they thought they had tamed Legia they were badly mistaken and, like the first half, the hosts wasted little time in the second.
Emery would have despaired at how open his side were when Gual picked out Muci to run at Konsa, he was pushed wide by Calum Chambers but still managed to squeeze his shot across Martinez and in off a post.
Reinforcements were needed and Ollie Watkins, Douglas Luiz and Moussa Diaby arrived but Villa almost fell further behind when Gual just failed to turn in after Martinez parried Bartosz Slisz’s drive.
From then there appeared little way back with Legia comfortable, Tobiasz never tested – even when Jacob Ramsey shot wide.
Outside of their qualifiers, it had been a long 13 years to return to Europe for Villa. It was not worth the wait.
Aberdeen stunned Eintracht Frankfurt by equalising in the Waldstadion before succumbing to a 2-1 Europa Conference League defeat.
Dante Polvara finished off a clinical counter-attack in the 22nd minute to cancel out an early penalty opener and the Dons looked comfortable for the majority of the first half.
The German side stepped up a gear after the break and on-loan Leeds defender Robin Koch headed what proved to be the winner in the 61st minute.
But Frankfurt, third-favourites to win the competition behind Aston Villa and Fiorentina, had to withstand some late pressure and Aberdeen substitute Ester Sokler missed a good chance in stoppage-time.
Barry Robson’s side had only beaten Stirling Albion in their eight previous games this season and it looked like it might be a long night in Germany when Frankfurt took the lead inside 11 minutes.
Jack MacKenzie was caught out by a pass inside him and Dina Ebimbe muscled his way in front of the wing-back. The Frenchman went down amid a tangle of legs and MacKenzie was penalised. Omar Marmoush converted from the spot.
Aberdeen delighted their 2,900 travelling fans by drawing level against the side that beat Rangers in the 2021 Europa League final.
Bojan Miovski collected a loose pass just inside the Eintracht half and was joined by several team-mates in bursting forward. The lone striker played the ball out wide to Nicky Devlin whose low cross found Polvara, who took a touch six yards out and fired high into the net past two home players and the goalkeeper. It was the American’s first goal for Aberdeen.
Some Dons fans took their celebrations too far amid reports that a lit pyrotechnic was thrown into the home end. More missiles followed amid loud jeers from the Frankfurt fans, although they appeared to be plastic cups.
There was only one scare for the visitors before the break when Paxten Aaronson got in behind MacKenzie to meet a lofted pass. Kelle Roos got down well to stop the volley before the offside flag was raised but the VAR decision would have been interesting if the ball had gone in as there was very little in it.
Frankfurt’s winner came after some sustained pressure and Stefan Gartenmann cleared a header off the line just before the corner that made the difference. Koch managed to get away from his marker and guide a free header just inside the far post.
The home side continued to press and Gartenmann was perhaps fortunate to only receive a yellow card for a hefty challenge before Roos stopped a long-range strike from Hugo Larsson and Devlin produced a goal-saving challenge.
But Aberdeen came back into the game after a triple substitution in the 71st minute when Connor Barron, Jonny Hayes and Ryan Duncan came on.
Richard Jensen headed over from Duncan’s corner before Roos saved from Ansgar Knauff and Aberdeen then forced a series of set-pieces in the final third.
Their chance for a memorable night eventually fell for the unmarked Sokler but he went for power rather than accuracy with his volley and fired off target.
PAOK beat HJK 3-2 in Finland in the other game in Group G.
Aston Villa have been drawn to face AZ Alkmaar, Legia Warsaw and Zrinjski in Group E of the Europa Conference League.
The Premier League club hosted their first European game in 13 years on Thursday night, sealing their place in the group-stage draw with an 8-0 aggregate win over Hibernian in their qualifying play-off.
Aberdeen, the only other British club in the group stage of European football’s third-tier competition, have been drawn in Group G alongside Eintracht Frankfurt, PAOK Athens and Helsinki.
The cinch Premiership side dropped into the Europa Conference League after losing to Swedish champions Hacken 5-3 on aggregate in their Europa League qualifier.
Villa’s Group E opponents Zrinjski are the first team from Bosnia and Herzegovina to reach the group stages of a UEFA club competition.
The 32 teams who featured in the draw, which took place in Monaco after the Europa League group-stage draw, is comprised of the 22 winners in the ECL play-off round along with the 10 losers in the Europa League play-off round.
The clubs were seeded in four pots of eight teams, in accordance with UEFA’s club coefficient rankings. Villa were in pot two, Aberdeen in pot four.
Frankie McAvoy is adamant Hearts are capable of turning around their Europa Conference League play-off against PAOK in Greece next week despite suffering a frustrating 2-1 first-leg defeat at Tynecastle.
Lawrence Shankland’s early penalty gave the Jambos a lead but it was swiftly cancelled out by a spot-kick from Stefan Schwab.
Shankland then had a goal ruled out for offside following a VAR check before a 75th-minute strike against the run of the play from Andrija Zivkovic gave the Greeks a crucial advantage.
Hearts must now pull off a victory in the intimidating Toumba Stadium in Thessaloniki next Thursday if they are to qualify for the group stage, but McAvoy remains optimistic.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game and a tight affair,” said the head coach. “It was disappointing that we scored then they got a penalty so early after it.
“Then we score with Shanks and the elation then turned to a sour note when it got chopped off. Then they score from a corner.
“As for emotions, I’m disappointed with the result but in spells I felt our shape without the ball was really good. They’re a good team and they try to hit on the counter and there were some pleasing moments.
“We know what we’ve got to do now – we’ve got to win the game and I believe it’s possible for us to do that. That’s what we’ve got to look forward to in the next leg.
“We just need to make sure we’re prepared as best we can for going to Greece next week knowing that we’ve got to go and win the game.”
McAvoy believes Hearts showed in Thursday’s first leg that they have enough attacking threats to score in Greece next week.
“I thought when we got into good areas we caused them problems,” he said. “First half their keeper made a fantastic save from Shanks, so we know we’ll create chances.
“I think our wide players could cause them issues. We’ve got a good squad. We’ll deal with Dundee as best we can (in the cinch Premiership on Sunday) then really focus on what we’ve got to do in Greece.
“We’ve come a long way since myself, Steven Naismith and Gordon Forrest came in (as a management team at the end of last season) and the players have great belief in themselves.
“That’s important going forward and we’ll have that at the forefront of our minds when we go to Greece next week.”
Hearts suffered a further setback as they lost Barrie McKay to injury midway through the setback.
“It’s too early to say, he felt something in his knee,” said McAvoy, when asked about the extent of the problem. “The guys have to assess it to find how bad it is but it’s too early at the moment.”
Hearts’ hopes of reaching the Europa Conference League group stage sustained a major dent on Thursday night as they suffered a frustrating 2-1 defeat at home to Greek side PAOK in the first leg of their play-off round tie.
The Jambos made the ideal start when they went ahead through Lawrence Shankland’s early penalty, but the visitors equalised with a spot-kick of their own shortly afterwards.
Hearts enjoyed the bulk of the pressure thereafter and Shankland saw a goal ruled out for offside just before Andrija Zivkovic’s superb 75th-minute strike against the run of the play handed the Greeks the initiative.
The cinch Premiership side now face the formidable task of needing a victory at the hostile Toumba Stadium in Thessaloniki next Thursday if they are to prolong their European run into the group stage.
Hearts made four changes to the team that started Sunday’s 4-0 Viaplay Cup victory over Partick Thistle as Odel Offiah, Toby Sibbick, Calem Nieuwenhof and Alex Lowry were replaced by Nathaniel Atkinson, Stephen Kingsley, Cammy Devlin and Liam Boyce.
Backed by another packed Tynecastle crowd, the hosts started on the front foot and there were loud shouts for a penalty in the sixth minute when Kenneth Vargas fell under a challenge from Rafa Soares as he burst into the PAOK box.
Latvian referee Andris Treimanis initially was not convinced but after VAR intervened and following a lengthy check of the pitchside monitor, he pointed to the spot. Three minutes after the foul was committed, Shankland, having kept his composure amid the tension, slotted his kick into the net.
The hosts’ celebrations were short-lived, however. Just two minutes after going ahead, they let the Greeks back into it when Kye Rowles chopped down Serbia forward Zivkovic in the box.
It was a clear penalty and captain Stefan Schwab duly tucked his kick beyond Zander Clark, much to the delight of the partisan 300-strong band of travelling fans.
Hearts almost regained the lead in the 31st minute when Devlin’s cross into the box was glanced towards goal by the head of Shankland but goalkeeper Dominik Kotarski did superbly to claw it out. Vargas and Shankland both had attempts to force the rebound in before Boyce, who looked certain to score from six yards out on the follow-up, saw his shot blocked by Soares.
The Jambos threatened again two minutes into the second half when Kingsley flashed an angled half-volley just beyond the far post after PAOK failed to deal with Alex Cochrane’s free-kick into the box.
The Edinburgh side – who lost Barrie McKay to injury just after the hour – thought they had gone ahead in the 66th minute when Shankland curled a superb finish into the top corner after being played in by Boyce just inside the box but after a VAR check, and following lengthy celebrations from the hosts, the scorer was ruled to be offside.
It proved a pivotal moment as PAOK got themselves ahead in the 75th minute when Zivkovic fired home a ferocious low strike from just outside the box after a corner kick was worked into his path, sparking wild celebrations among the visiting players and supporters.
Lee Johnson claims his Hibernian side were up against an Aston Villa side with “almost superhuman” qualities in their 5-0 Europa Conference League thrashing at Easter Road.
It was the Midlands club’s first European tie in 13 years and the first leg of their qualifying play-off tie was won by the interval thanks to three headers, two by England international Ollie Watkins and one from Jamaica’s Leon Bailey.
Watkins grabbed his hat-trick three minutes after the restart with and Douglas Luiz adding a fifth from the spot in the 74th minute to make next week’s second leg at Villa Park all but academic.
It was Johnson’s 500th competitive game in management and he tried to put the defeat into context as he turned his attention to the visit of Livingston in the Premiership on Saturday.
He said: “I think we have a really good, honest bunch of players. I trust them and they give their all every day.
“There is a difference. Premier League players now are almost superhuman in their athleticism. It’s the super-elite from all over the world and that’s what you get.
“It was a good experience, and I don’t think it will affect confidence going into the Livingston game.
“But the physical recovery is really key for us because we are a team that needs to use our running power and our physicality at our level to maximise our performances.
“I’m still proud of the club for being at this level on this stage. The reality is we have an English League One budget against a fantastic multi-international standard Aston Villa.
“It was clear there was a gulf in class, I can’t deny that.
“At half-time we wanted to salvage some pride and look like we were going to go and win the half. We started it pretty well and got behind them, but that’s the difference – one break, one poor positional error, one quality pass and a great finish.
“Having played against Premier League teams in the past, you cannot make positional errors because they’re punished.
“So I hope this experience is a good one, because your lessons can become your teacher. We can grow from having felt the quality of the athleticism, the touch and the tactical work that Villa did tonight.”
Villa boss Unai Emery was pleased with the way his side approached their biggest away win in Europe.
He said: “If we weren’t competitive and serious we could have had problems.
“We spoke before the match about how we had to respect the opponents and be focused and consistent in our game plan.
“We knew if we weren’t we could have lost. We were focused and disciplined and consistent for 90 minutes. That is the mentality I want to create here.”
Emery revealed he replaced goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez with Robin Olsen for the start of the second half because the World Cup winner “had a small pain and we didn’t want to take a risk with him”.
Former Hibs favourite John McGinn captained Villa and was a powerhouse in midfield to the delight of his boss.
“He is amazing,” said Emery.
“I know you love him here more than me, but I think he is amazing.
“He always wants, from the first minute to the 90th minute, to run and to be competitive.
“I am very happy with him. And not only as a player, as a person as well. His commitment is very high.
“He is always positive, always smiling. In bad moments, in good moments, he always keeps the same mentality. It is fantastic.”
Ollie Watkins grabbed a hat-trick as Aston Villa effectively booked their place in the Europa Conference League with a 5-0 away win over Hibernian.
It was the Midlands club’s first European tie in 13 years and the first leg of their qualifying play-off tie was done and dusted by the interval after three headers, two by England international Watkins and one from Jamaica’s Leon Bailey.
The second half promised more pain for the stunned Premiership outfit and Watkins delivered another blow three minutes after the restart before Douglas Luiz added a fifth from the spot in the 74th minute of a one-sided contest.
It was Lee Johnson’s 500th competitive game in management and the Hibs boss will know the emphatic scoreline could have been worse.
The chasm in quality between the top-flight in Scotland and England was laid bare and it did not make for good viewing for those north of the border.
Heavy favourites or not, Unai Emery was taking the game seriously, making one change to his side which beat Everton 4-0 in the Premier League at the weekend with Matty Cash making way for Diego Carlos.
Former Hibs favourite John McGinn’s returned to Leith as Villa captain and he heard some early boos from the home fans, but they soon had more to worry about.
Johnson had the pace of Martin Boyle, Elie Youan and Dylan Vente in attack but they got little encouragement early on.
David Marshall saved a Lucas Digne header and a deflected strike from Moussa Diaby, but Hibs succumbed in the 17th minute when Digne’s cross from the left was glanced in by Watkins to the cheers of around 1,000 away fans.
Watkins should have doubled that lead three minutes later but – unmarked – he headed a McGinn cross over the bar.
Hibs came back and there was a penalty claim in the 26th minute when Boyle went to ground in the box as he tangled with Villa’s Douglas Luiz but Spanish referee Ricardo de Burgos was unimpressed.
Villa always looked dangerous when driving forward and in the 32nd minute, when Douglas Luiz swung in a corner from the left, Diego Carlos flicked on and Watkins stole in at the back post to head into the roof of the net.
Reality had set in for the home side.
McGinn played his part in Villa’s third, sending the tireless Digne down the left and when his delightful cross floated over Marshall, Bailey nodded in from almost on the line in the 42nd minute.
There was time before the break for Watkins to narrowly miss the target with an angled-drive.
Emery replaced World Cup-winning goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez with Robin Olsen for the start of the second half and the Sweden international soon tipped a shot from Youan over the bar, but Villa survived the corner before extending their lead.
Watkins confidently slid the ball into the net from another Digne delivery after getting away from the Hibs defence. His effort was initially ruled offside only for the VAR to confirm the goal was legal.
Hibs needed to prevent further embarrassment but after defender Lewis Stevenson tripped tricky substitute Bertrand Traore in the box, Douglas Luiz knocked in the penalty.
Villa cruised the rest of the game and the demoralised home side welcomed the final whistle which to all intents and purpose signalled the end of their European hopes this season.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
