Hibernian boss Mixu Paatelainen refused to give up on Intertoto Cup progress despite a 2-0 first-leg defeat to IF Elfsborg at Easter Road.Magnus Haglund's in-form Swedish outfit claimed a sizeable advantage ahead of the return in Boras next Saturday with an assured performance in Sunday's second round, first leg match.

Striker Emir Bajrami broke the deadlock on 16 minutes and the visitors' dominance was illustrated when centre-half Andreas Augustsson grabbed a second away goal in the 64th minute.

Hibernian, playing their first competitive match after a short summer break of barely a month, failed to create clear-cut chances and lacked fitness in comparison to a team currently second in Sweden's top-flight.

Considering Haglund's side have not conceded a goal at home in the league this season, the task facing the Edinburgh team next weekend is formidable.

However, Hibs boss Paatelainen is refusing to give up hope of reaching the third round as his men seek a backdoor entry into the UEFA Cup.

The Finn said: "It was exactly what I had expected. Make no mistake, we're disappointed but we expected this.

"That's why we are in this competition, because we wanted tough, competitive fixtures straight away.

"Now we're getting them, we'll get plenty of positives from this game, we'll learn a lot and analyse the game.

"It was visible today which team was ready to play and we all knew that. Next week we're a little bit better off for match fitness and knowledge.

"We can score over there, absolutely. We'll try our best to turn it around and we'll go there to try and win the game. If we score three goals and don't concede, we go through.

"We want to do as well as we can but it will be tough again. But we'll be better off."

Scotland international Steven Fletcher was Hibernian's main threat but a strong visiting rearguard and an accomplished display from Johan Wiland, Sweden's back-up goalkeeper at Euro 2008, denied him.

Paatelainen continued: "I felt in the first half, the boys surprisingly showed much sharpness. In the second half, yes, we ran out of steam a bit which was expected.

"They are a quality team, there is no doubt about that. We might have scored, but it was 2-0.

"We should have been a bit sharper in front of goal but it comes through match practice."

Haglund, meanwhile, who delivered Elfsborg's first title in 45 years in 2006, was content with the result but felt his team should have scored more.

With Latvian outfit FK Riga or Dublin side Bohemians awaiting the winners, he has cautioned his team against thinking the tie is finished.

He said: "It was a good start to the two matches, 2-0 at Easter Road is a very good result for us.

"Actually, we could have scored even more in the second half but of course I'm happy with this win.

"The first half was close, a tight game. Hibernian had a lot of energy but I expected them to get a little tired in the second half.

"We had a lot of energy and created a lot of chances in the second half.

"But the job is not done yet. We have 90 more minutes to go in Boras and Hibernian are such a good team so they could score a couple and equalise. Then you don't know what happens. It's not over yet."

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