Hibs striker Owen Elding is hoping his Europa Conference League performances can pave the way to international recognition with the Republic of Ireland. The 20-year-old trained with the squad during the summer but was unable to feature in friendlies against Qatar and Canada due to a delay in receiving his Irish passport.
Born in England, Elding moved to Ireland as a child after his father signed for Sligo Rovers. He joined Hibs from Sligo in January and is now ready to commit to his adopted country. He believes starring in Europe can only help his cause.
International ambitions
Elding said: “Getting that experience in the first-team international set-up is massive. Just being around the boys for the camp, I obviously wasn't able to play the games but I was able to get that taste and see what it's like and it's something I want to be a part of.”
He added: “Performing in Europe is massive for that. The biggest stage you can play in club football is the European stage. Everyone dreams as a kid to play in those competitions and Thursday’s the next step towards where we want to be.”
The passport situation has been a lengthy process, with a citizenship ceremony cancelled at the start of the year. Elding explained: “The passport situation has been going on for so long now but it's coming to the end of that now. I was due to have the citizenship ceremony at the start of the year but it was cancelled. So then that was delayed. It was all just put back so much. We eventually got that done so we're at the end of it now.”
Club form key
Elding is aware that his club performances will determine his international prospects, with a Nations League double header against Kosovo and Israel next month on the horizon. He said: “It's only what I do with club football that will determine if I'm in those squads or not. I need to put in a good performance and keep pushing on.”
He added: “In the summer the manager just told me to go in and be me. Obviously I couldn't play the game for obvious reasons but it was just a chance for me to go in and show the staff and everyone what I could do.”
Elding scored three goals in the second half of last season and opened his account for this campaign in last week’s 4-1 win over Malisheva. He feels his game has improved since joining Hibs, saying: “David and the staff have obviously kicked me on loads in such a short space of time, so I feel like I'm only going to get better. You learn so much from the likes of Martin Boyle too. He's been here so long and a legend at the club. He's still flying and still scoring goals in Europe.”
Front three threat
Elding is part of a front three with Nathan Lowe and Boyle, and he believes they can cause problems. He said: “I think we're getting better all the time. Obviously playing away in Kosovo (against Malisheva) I think it was the first time we played together and it kind of showed a little bit. Then coming back to Easter Road we looked completely different. We really dominated the game and created loads of chances and all three of us got goals as well.”
Hibs boss David Gray has warned his players they will need a complete performance to overcome Shkendija in Thursday’s Conference League third qualifying round first leg at Easter Road. The North Macedonian side progressed from the group stage last season, and Gray expects a step up in quality from the previous round against Malisheva.
Gray said: “It's going to take a complete performance over two legs. It will be a difficult test, I've done a lot of work on them already. I showed the players exactly what we're going to be going into and how we're going to approach the game.”
He added: “It’s a difficult one, it’s a team that's used to playing in Europe for the last few seasons and were successful last season when you look at what they've done. But this is what it's all about for the players.”
Gray also stressed the need for ruthlessness in attack after the opening day defeat to Motherwell, saying: “It's that calmness in the last action with what you're doing. The players are very capable of doing it, we've seen it already. It's that last action and just being as calm and composed as you can and not panicking.”
