Lennon is sure Hibs can crack Norse code
NEIL LENNON admitted Hibs lacked ‘oomph’ up front in last night’s Molde stalemate — but backed his side to nick a vital away goal in Norway. Stevie Mallan came closest to breaking the deadlock when he struck the bar with a first-half 25-yard shot. Disappointed not to have a lead to take into the second leg next Thursday, Lennon was pleased his team kept a clean sheet and insisted they are capable of going through to the play-off round. ‘We are novices at this level, but I thought we played a mature game tonight,’ said the Northern Irishman. ‘We just lacked that little bit of oomph up front. ‘The only disappointment is that we didn’t take the lead. But we got a clean sheet and their keeper made a few saves. There was not a lot in the game. ‘Yes, we could have done a bit more in the final third at times, but we looked like a team that can score goals. ‘Can we score over there in Norway? Yes I’m confident that we can. ‘We will need to defend well and we will need to
pick our moments. But I don’t want us to go over there and defend all night.’ Lennon was delighted by the performance of former St Mirren midfielder Mallan, who was Hibs’ most consistent threat against the Norwegians. ‘He was brilliant,’ said the Hibernian boss after his team’s first match without John McGinn following the midfielder’s move to Aston Villa. ‘He was so unlucky not to score tonight. He had a tremendous effort that hit the crossbar and his energy and all-round play was great. He’s been a huge source of encouragement for me. ‘From where we are in terms of being at the start of our season, we are still very much in the tie — and I am pleased about that. ‘I do feel that we flagged towards the end of the game, but that’s understandable. ‘And we know that we will certainly be a week fitter for the second leg.’ New signing Emerson Hyndman passed up a great chance to notch a winner at the death, but Lennon was pleased by the American’s debut after joining on loan from Bournemouth just 24 hours earlier. ‘I liked Emerson Hyndman when he was on loan at Rangers a couple of seasons ago,’ said former Celtic boss Lennon. ‘He has creativity, a good goal threat and he’s 18 months down the line and he’s taken a stretch, height-wise. ‘He picks the right pass and he gets into good positions. He was unlucky not to win us the game but I was pleased with his contribution.’