Critics all over the continent have tried to explain the rise of a handful of non-fancied teams at EURO 2004 by pointing at their penchant for counter-attacking football which unsettled many a heavyweight.
Hibernians were ranked as underdogs before this Intertoto Cup first round first leg against NK Slaven Belupo, of Croatia - one the 16 finalists in Portugal - but the Paolites' hit-them-on-the-counter approach prevailed yesterday at the Hibs Ground as their 2-1 victory illustrates.
The visitors dominated large swathes of possession but the home team defended stoutly and attacked efficiently to give themselves a fair chance of progressing into the second round of this summer competition.
The Croats will surely approach the return leg next weekend with high optimism of turning the tables on Robert Gatt's troops but another display like yesterday's could see Hibs pulling off another upset.
Having weathered Slaven's initial pressure, Hibs surged ahead in their first telling inroad in their opponents' half. The game was only 13 minutes old when Andrè Schembri delivered an astute pass towards Antoine Zahra, lurking inside the right channel, the speedy winger perfectly served the unmarked Terence Scerri who volleyed the ball first-time past Robert Lisjak.
Slaven, who had threatened to take the initiative as early as the 10th minute had Pero Pejic not mishit his shot after being served by Alen Guc, sought to pile up the pressure in their bid to redress the imbalance but the Hibs' rearguard held firm, also abetted by the woeful finishing of Slaven's attacking personnel.
On the half hour, a swift Hibs breakaway was nearly rewarded with a second goal but Adrian Mifsud's angled attempt, after he had been found in open space by Schembri, was deflected away for a corner by the Slaven goalkeeper.
At the other end, Mario Muscat, the Hibs no.1 reportedly attracting strong interest from champions Sliema Wanderers, pulled off a splendid save when palming away a curling free-kick from Srebrenko Posavec. The rebound squirmed in the direction of Pejic but his stooping header ended high.
Ten minutes from time, Hibs had Aaron Xuereb to thank for keeping their lead intact as the lanky defender slid in to dispossess the goalbound Vrucina inside the penalty area.
Hibs' resistance was broken four minutes from half-time when Slaven won a penalty for Roderick Baldacchino's late challenge on Pejic. Posavec planted the ball past Muscat.
With the home defence, yesterday deprived of the unavailable Cesar Paiber, growing increasingly edgy in the face of Slaven's attacking momentum, the Croats came close to taking the lead on the stroke of half-time but Muscat came out to block Vrunica's attempt.
Although Slaven dictated the tempo for much of the first half, Hibs enjoyed a steadier opening to the second period.
Ten minutes after the restart, Andrew Cohen, thrown in the fray just before the break to replace the injured Zahra, exchanged passes with Mifsud before producing a teasing cross which was headed just over by the energetic Scerri.
The feeling that Hibs were slowly but surely regaining the belief that they could punish their opponents' sluggish defence by charging out of their own half quicker and with more accurate passing, was reinforced 19 minutes into the second half.
Mifsud made headway down the right before floating the ball towards the far post where the young Schembri hit the ball past Lisjak to give Hibs the lead.
Slaven had plenty of time to score an equaliser but their largely weak efforts were repelled by the hosts who held on to victory to extend their positive home record in European competitions to five matches.