Head coach David Gray says Martin Boyle "constantly delivers" after the forward burst through the 100-goal mark with a double in Hibernian's excellent Conference League qualifying win at 10-man Partizan Belgrade.

Gray challenged his side to embrace a hostile atmosphere in the first leg of their third-round qualifier, and his players passed that assignment with stand-in captain Boyle typifying a fearless European display.

A young Partizan team had eight players aged 22 or under in their XI, but they still posed a formidable test as Serbia's second force, with an intense home crowd backing them.

That did not faze the away side, who started brilliantly and capitalised on Vukasin Durdevic's second bookable offence when Boyle fired in his 100th Hibs goal at the back post.

Gray would have been concerned about his side's wastefulness as Partizan battled well with 10 men, but Boyle stepped up to smash in from the spot with 20 minutes remaining to seal a memorable win and deserved two-goal advantage.

"I've said this for many, many years now, Martin Boyle constantly delivers for this club," the Hibs boss told BBC Scotland.

"That's 101 goals now, to do that shows how much of a threat he is and he demonstrated that again tonight.

"Not just that, I spoke a lot last season about him and the leadership skills, he needed that extra responsibility to take him on to the next level and he's delivering.

"I'm delighted for him on a personal note because he'd been sitting on 99 goals for a while, so he can now start passing to other players now."

Should Hibs seal progression at Easter Road, they will take on Legia Warsaw or AEK Larnaca for a place in the Conference League, with the latter winning the first leg 4-1 in Cyprus.

The level of Hibs' performance. This victory and display will be remembered for a long time.

Some might caveat this win with the fact Partizan played with 10 for an hour, but after the Leith side's showing in the opening 30 minutes, this result looked like it was in the post.

Both Djurdjevic's clear yellow cards were a result of Hibs' intensity.

Prior to the defender's dismissal, evergreen Boyle had come within inches of scoring with an outrageous lob and Jamie McGrath had forced the keeper into a stunning save from a free-kick.

The Hibs duo then came close with two close-range headers after Boyle's opener, before Chris Cadden sliced wide at the back post.

There were some scary moments, and goalkeeper Jordan Smith was called into action a few times.

But Hibs were a constant threat as Kieron Bowie saw an effort tipped over before Boyle's spot kick, which was awarded following a VAR review after Bowie had been wrestled to the ground.

Boyle will take a lot of the plaudits and rightly so.

At the age of 32, the Australia forward does not look like he is slowing down any time soon, and his partnership with the fantastic Bowie has serious potential.

But on a night when Hibs earned an excellent clean sheet, their defence deserve a lot of credit. Gray is benefitting from continuity as back three Warren O'Hora, Rocky Bushiri and Jack Iredale continue to shine.

A potential sliding doors moment in the tie came when Bushiri made a ridiculous goal-line clearance seconds before Partizan were reduced to 10.

It could prove difficult for Scotland's Grant Hanley to get in this side, as well record signing Thibault Klidje.

Both sides are in domestic action on Sunday, with Hibs hosting Kilmarnock (15:00 BST), before next Thursday's second leg at Easter Road (20:00).