Boss Neil dusts off his trademark aeroplane celebration as Hibs hit new heights
NEIL LENNON last night relaunched his aeroplane celebration as Hibs reached new heights in Europe.
The Easter Road boss partied with the 1500 travelling fans as full-time blew on a nerveshredding 1-1 Europa League draw against 10-man Asteras.
Lennon hailed a stunning 4-3 aggregate win against the Greek outfit who took the tie to the last seconds after levelling John McGinn’s first-half strike.
And the Northern Irishman believes Hibs deserve all the credit in the world after rising from the Championship to claim a big Euro scalp and earn a third qualifying round showdown with Molde.
He said: “Two years ago we were playing in the second tier in Scottish football. Since then it’s been an upward progression and we’ve just knocked out one of the best teams in Greece.
“I’m very proud of the players. They keep battling away and surprising us.
“I don’t want it to stop. We’ll be stronger and more streetwise in the next tie. My
players have learned a lot about themselves tonight. But we’ve moved in the right direction and I’m very happy.”
It was a backs-to-the-wall second half from Hibs which had Lennon comparing keeper Adam Bodgan to Gordon Banks after he kept Asteras at bay.
He said: “Adam was world class. The save from the header was Gordon Banks-esque – I don’t know how he got that out.
“I’ve admired him for a long time. He’s had a bit of rust but tonight we saw his capabilities.”
Lennon was forced to watch from the stands yet again as he sat out a one-game ban dished out by UEFA for an indiscretion against NSI Runavik in the previous round. And he admits his side made it more nervy than it needed to be.
He said: “It was everything I imagined it to be as I knew it would be a difficult night.
“We made it more difficult for ourselves but we’re good value for the result over both the ties.
“When they scored it was poor defending. We should have been more comfortable with a man extra. Asteras threw everything at us but we prevailed. We are learning and the journey now goes on.”
Hibs will be further boosted by the signing of striker Jamie Maclaren for a second loan spell from German side Darmstadt 98.
Lennon said: “Hopefully we’ll have something over the line by the weekend.”