Stevenson is not taking anything for granted after masterclass from Malmo
IT STILL ranks as the most humiliating result of his career, but watching Emil Forsberg star at the World Cup for Sweden has made Lewis Stevenson feel a little better about Hibernian’s crushing defeat to Malmo five years ago.
Played out of position at right-back for both legs of the Europa League qualifier, Stevenson admits he felt horribly out of his depth trying to keep tabs on the young left winger who simply would not stop running at him over 180 dispiriting minutes of football.
Trailing by two goals from the first leg, Pat Fenlon’s team collapsed in the return leg, with Forsberg netting at Easter Road en route to a 9-0 aggregate score that stands as one of the most humiliating in Scottish football history.
Forsberg, who scored the only goal in Sweden’s last-16 win over Switzerland, went on to move to the Bundesliga with RB Leipzig and has recently been linked with a big-money switch to Arsenal. However, if that night at Easter Road served as a preview to the Swede’s glittering future, it was equally portentous for Hibs who were relegated within a year.
Back in the Premiership last season, Hibs qualified for Europe at the first attempt and have been rewarded with a tie against Runavik of the Faroe Islands.
There is no hint of there being a player to match the skills of Forsberg but, from harsh experience, Stevenson knows not to underestimate unfamiliar opponents.
‘The expectation was on us to go and put on a good show against Malmo but they were a top team,’ he recalled. ‘We lost the first leg 2-0 but it could have been five or six.
‘I actually played against the boy Forsberg. He’s been playing for Sweden and somebody said teams had been offering £50million for him. At the time, I was thinking: “Who is this guy” and kind of doubting myself.
‘I was playing right-back against him too but, to be honest, I’ve been pleased to see him going on to do well, it made me feel a bit better about myself.
‘Hopefully we won’t face that kind of player in this game but you never know. It’s going to be an experience football-wise and, again, you will probably never be there again in your life. We know they can make it hard for us. We played Linlithgow Rose and they made it hard for us.
‘We’ve had some tough ties over the years. Maribor were almost unheard of when we played them but they have gone on to play in the Champions League, as have Malmo.
‘We’ll see what happens this year. It’s a totally different style of play and it can be hard for Scottish teams because we are just coming back from pre-season.’
While Hibs have a troubled recent history with European football, their manager is no stranger to success in the foreign environment.
Neil Lennon experienced the elation of reaching the final of the UEFA Cup as a Celtic player in 2003 and also presided over a win against Barcelona en route to the last 16 of the Champions League as manager.
His first assignment as Hibs boss was also a Europa League qualifier against Brondby, set up by the club’s Scottish Cup win of 2016.
Hibs were still a second-tier team but the tie was only settled in the Danes’ favour after a penalty shoot-out.
‘If we play how we did against Brondby then we’ll have a good chance,’ said Stevenson. ‘We’ve actually played a few European games now and there are some internationalists in the squad too, so we have that experience of different types of play.’
Hibs face Runavik at home in the first leg this Thursday before heading to the islands that unite the Norwegian Sea with the Atlantic Ocean the following week.
All things being equal, they should progress and will face tougher
opponents in Greece’s Asteras Tripolis. From a Scotland debut in Lima through to these European adventures with Hibs, Stevenson is broadening his horizons like never before.
A year on from his testimonial, he admits his career is throwing up adventures he thought might well have passed him by.
Still only 30, Stevenson is a few seasons short of hanging up his boots but for this oneclub man, who remained loyal and consistent during Hibs’ three seasons out of the top tier, an international call-up for the friendly against Peru came as an unimaginable delight. ‘I’ll remember playing for Scotland forever, it’s something I never thought was going to happen,’ he reflected. ‘I would probably never have gone to Peru in my life, so it was nice to experience going to a different country and playing with different players. ‘I gave up on that dream years ago, so it was a great honour to get a wee chance. ‘I think I was one of the oldest in the squad but it was all new to me. I’ve never even had that experience of moving teams and it had been 12 years since I’d been with the Under-21s. It was a strange experience but amazing, too.’ The port of Runavik is not the harbour of too many footballer’s dreams but Stevenson is intrigued at the prospect of travelling north for Hibs’ Europa League qualifier. Stevenson was a key player in Hibs’ impressive first year back in the Premiership and will be leaned on again by Lennon, who hopes to steer a slightly under-staffed squad towards the competition’s group stage. Loan players Scott Allan, Jamie Maclaren and Brandon Barker have all returned to their parent clubs, while playmaker Dylan McGeouch has left for Sunderland under freedom of contract.
Striker Florian Kamberi’s transfer from Grasshoppers was the first incoming deal to be confirmed and goalkeeper Adam Bogdan has been tied up on loan from Liverpool.
Lennon has brough in in exSt Mirren man Stevie Mallan from Barnsley on a four-year deal to add a goal threat to his midfield and has also expressed an interest in Preston winger Daryl Horgan.
If Lennon’s priority is to assemble a squad capable of at least emulating last term’s domestic achievements, there is also a desire to progress in Europe.
‘We’re not resting on our laurels,’ said Stevenson. ‘It’s early doors but the manager wants us to be fitter and better than we were last year. We know every other team is going to strengthen and we want to be better.
‘Last season, we came up from the Championship and I don’t think people expected us to do as well as we did, so we have a bit of expectation on our shoulders this year and that’s something we need to cope with.
‘In terms of Europe, our dream would be to get to the group stage but it’s going to be tough.
‘I don’t know much about Runavik but it’s something different, which is exciting for the fans and the players. In Scotland, you end up going to the same grounds twice a season and, maybe sometimes, it gets a bit boring for the fans.
‘This gets them an extra wee holiday. The Faroes is a hard one to get to but if we get through and the draw opens up, we can get to a nice place with them.’
Our dream is to get through to the group stage but it’s going to be tough