TheTwinTowers, someflag-burning looniesinAthens andasitter-missing LunaatEasterRoad
TAM McMANUS
RECALLING dates, names and details has never been a really strong point of the McManus make-up.
I always make an exception when it comes to one particular European adventure with Hibs on September 11, 2001.
We had been drawn against AEK Athens and the first leg was scheduled to be played in Greece. We were the underdogs, they had the big names, five of whom would go on and win the European Championships.
The story starts with a car journey with team-mate John O’Neill.
The radio was on and the music was interrupted with a newsflash as we drove to the airport. Planes had crashed into the Twin Towers in New York and when we arrived at Edinburgh to catch our flight, it was chaos. All of the talk as we went through the departure gate was of planes flying into buildings and America was under attack.
I remember sitting on the plane and buckling up for a flight to Athens and I’ll be honest, it was more than a bit alarming.
The engines started to roar and it was going at full pelt along the runway but instead of taking off, the captain slammed on the brakes and there was screeching and all sorts going on as it ground to a halt.
Terrifying, I almost keeked ma breeks.
I eventually let go of John’s hand and we made our way back to the airport to discover the full extent of the atrocity which had occurred in the States.
The game was cancelled and we had to make the trip one week later.
What is implanted in my memory is the one minute’s silence which was observed before that game in Athens. It was inside the old AEK Athens stadium where I remember Rangers played years ago.
It was packed, around 20,000 fans were inside the ground with many of them placed behind large metal fences, madness.
The minute’s silence for the September 11 victims was almost over and I suddenly heard the Greek fans booing and whistling.
I glanced to my left and saw two AEK supporters burning an American flag, I remember
EURO ACTION SO CRUCIAL
The captain slammed on the brakes and there was screeching. I almost keeked ma breeks
looking along the line of my Hibs team-mates and the look of horror on their faces.
Mayhem, chaos, fear and a sense of not knowing what was going to happen next and that was just the way we would go on to defend as we lost 2-0.
AEK were good and when we played them in the return leg in Leith, it would be a night which goes down for many Hibs fans as the greatest atmosphere ever.
I climbed off the bench with 20 minutes left and Paco Luna scored two goals to level the tie.
With the last kick of the ball in normal time, the ball was whipped into the box and all Paco had to do was concentrate from six yards out on hitting the target and we would have been through.
History will tell you he did neither of those two things and we would go on to lose.
It was a travesty as we’d hammered them, Paco should have had a hat-trick and be a Hibs legend.
It would have been one of the most momentous comebacks in Scottish football history. Paco glanced his header wide of a post but ask any Hibs fan who was there and they’ll tell you it was the best atmosphere there has ever been at Easter Road.
That’s a long-winded way of stating how important European football is to a club like Hibs and why this season must be one where the team keeps their foot on the accelerator.
Season after season of domestic football doesn’t trigger the same type of memories that Europe delivers. I don’t always remember what happened a few weeks ago but these European games become landmark occasions, games where fans have total recall.
I assessed Saturday’s win over Hamilton and came away with two conclusions.
Martin Boyle’s return to form has been timed to perfection and that’s five goals from his last four games and it looks like he’s not going to miss. That’s not entirely true, he did miss a penalty against Accies.
The other takeaway was the display of young Josh Doig who was magnificent. Hibs as a club have had plenty of midfielders and strikers of note who’ve gone on to bigger and better things but rarely has that been the case with a defender. Josh can buck that trend. Jack Ross will know Hibs are now into the business end of the campaign, there is everything to play for and confidence should be high. This season can provide a date with destiny.