There was no shortage of drama as Hibernian seized the upper hand in their Europa Conference League clash with Santa Coloma courtesy of a Martin Boyle brace and Kevin Nisbet strike.
Boyle scored either side of a 31st minute red card for Joe Newell after the midfielder caught Robert Ramos with a sliding tackle.
With a man advantage, the Andorrans briefly threatened to make it a tricky night for the Leith side.
Hibernian beat Santa Coloma 3-0 in the first leg of their Europa Conference League second qualifying fixture
There was no shortage of drama with Joe Newell sent off for the home side in the 31st minute
But Boyle’s second settled the nerves and Kevin Nisbet added gloss to the scoreline, with the ill-disciplined Andorran side having two men sent off in the second half.
Jack Ross’ side will now head to Estadi Nacional for next Thursday’s second qualifying round second leg confident of reaching the next stage, when they are likely to meet Croatians HNK Rijeka.
There were no surprises in Hibernian’s starting eleven as Ross opted for his tried and tested set-up.
There was a return to competitive starting action in a green jersey - a first since last August - for Scott Allan after heart issues and a subsequent loan spell at Inverness.
His night would only last half an hour, however, as he made way for Kyle Magennis in a tactical substitution following Newell’s dismissal.
As expected, both Josh Doig and Christian Doidge were only deemed fit enough for a place on the bench following their recent battles with Covid-19.
Paul Hanlon, Ryan Porteous, Martin Boyle and Lewis Stevenson were the only survivors of the Hibs team that last ventured into Europe some three years ago.
They were put to the sword that night in Norway in a 3-0 loss to Molde, for whom the irrepressible Erling Haaland - now one of the world’s most coveted strikers - scored twice.
Hibs were awarded a penalty when Miguel Angel Ramos clattered into Kevin Nisbet
Martin Boyle stepped up to cooly slot the ball into the bottom corner to put his side ahead
Thursday's visitors, however, were not of the same calibre and this should have been a more comfortable evening than what transpired.
Santa may be Andorra’s most successful team with 13 league titles in the trophy cabinet, but they are invariably cannon fodder in European football.
Only 4,700 fans were allowed into Easter Road for the game but they made
