Neil: We’ve shown we’re tough enough to win in Denmark
Neil Lennon believes Hibs’ ability to stand up to a physical Brondby outfit shows they have the strength to go to Denmark this week and win.
The Hibees, disparagingly referred to as the ’Spice Boys’ in some quarters last season, go into this week’s Europa League second qualifying round second leg a goal down.
However, Lennon, who was sent to the stand during the first leg after protesting against a decision to disallow a Jason Cummings goal for offside, insists his charges proved they have the mettle to set up a clash with Hertha Berlin.
Rudy Austin – who Lennon tried to sign during his time at Bolton – was part of a Brondby side that threatened to muscle Hibs out of the tie after a 16-second opener.
But Lennon said: “We matched them physically, which surprised me because I thought we were going to run out of steam.
“The will and desire in the team was fantastic.
“They did stand up to Brondby. First of all they were surprised by their approach but once they found their level they thought, ‘ We’ve got to match this’ and they did – they stood up to it.
“I did think we’d wilt under the physical pressure and the game would get stretched.
“But we didn’t. We were the ones trying to put our foot on the pedal and make something happen. That was very pleasing.
“We just needed a bit of quality with the final ball but some of our approach play was excellent.”
Debutant keeper Otso Virtanen’s horrendous error, which led to Kamil Wilczek finding the net, was all that separated the teams at a buzzing Easter Road in midweek. But Lennon believes his men will be a lot sharper in the second leg and have every chance of staying in the tie.
He said: “We got off to a horrendous start with the individual mistake. It was maybe a lack of concentration or we got caught cold but it should have been avoided.
“We’re not here to hang anyone out to dry. We got spooked for five or 10 minutes but after that I thought we were very good. There’s rustiness there and we’re lacking sharpness.
“But some of our build up play was brilliant and we scored a brilliant goal that should have been given.
“The reaction was good but we probably didn’t work the Brondby goalkeeper enough in the second half.”
Lennon reckons that seven days is more than enough time to get his Hibs team in the best possible shape to get the result they need in the away leg.
He said: “We will be better this week. I know from my own experience in these games in pre-season, a week is a massive benefit. It will be the same for Brondby.
“We need to find a goal in the tie, we need to be patient and we need to adapt to their crowd and the environment very quickly, and the pace of the game very quickly as well. The 90 minutes will stand the players in good stead and the belief is there.
“The reaction of the fans was very positive.
“We played a very good team at this stage of the season and I think we had the toughest draw of all the teams in Scotland.”
Once they found their level they thought, ‘We’ve got to match this’ and they did