Miguel Chaiwa scored a stoppage-time own goal as Hibernian suffered Conference League play-off despair for the second year running in a 3-2 home defeat by Gent.
Following a goalless first leg in Belgium last week, the Hibees looked on course to make it to the main phase for the first time after second-half goals from Jason Kerr and Felix Passlack overturned a stunning first-half opener from teenage forward Josue Vergara.
But Christian Burgess equalised in the 84th minute before Hibs midfielder Chaiwa slid the ball into his own net in stoppage time, ensuring another agonising European exit after a 4-3 aggregate defeat by Legia Warsaw at the same stage a year earlier.
Boss David Gray made two enforced changes to the Hibs team that started in Belgium as injured pair Josh Campbell and Owen Elding were replaced by Jamie McGrath and Martin Boyle.
Gent arrived at Easter Road unbeaten in their seven matches this season and they started brightly, with Abdelhak Kadri seeing a shot charged down in the box before Vergara’s header was ruled out for a foul on Raphael Sallinger.
At the other end, Hibs captain Boyle had a shot on the turn deflected over before Josh Mulligan headed wide.
The hosts had a major let-off in the 12th minute when Momodou Sonko’s low delivery across the face of goal just eluded the in-rushing Kadri.
After Gent’s Tibe De Vlieger shot just wide from the edge of the box, Hibs went straight up the park and spurned a great chance when Boyle’s pass released Nathan Lowe in the box but the on-loan Stoke forward blazed over.
The visitors had been knocking on the door and they made the breakthrough in the 39th minute when 19-year-old Vergara produced a sublime touch to control Tiago Araujo’s low delivery from the left and steadied himself before thumping an emphatic finish beyond Sallinger from eight yards out.
Hibs started the second half with far more urgency and Boyle had the ball in the net in the 47th minute but it was ruled out for handball.
The hosts continued to build a head of steam and they levelled in the 56th minute when Kerr rose at the back post to head home Jamie McGrath’s magnificent cross from the left.
Gent almost restored their lead when Christian Burgess headed against the bar.
But it was the Edinburgh side who got themselves in front in the 77th minute when Passlack burst on to Mulligan’s clever pass from the right and rasped a powerful low strike in off the far post from the angle of the six-yard box.
Gent brought the tie level again in the 84th minute, however, when Burgess headed home Laszlo Benes’s corner.
And Hibs’ dream was killed off when the Belgians counter-attacked and Chaiwa could only succeed in knocking the ball into the net from the edge of the six-yard box as he raced back to try to prevent Ibrahima Cisse getting on to El Hadji Seck’s pass across the face of goal.
Chaiwa’s misery was complete when he was then sent off for a second bookable offence.
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