Lewis: Hibs fans give us an edge in Europa tie
Lewis Stevenson is adamant Hibs can draw upon the lessons learned from their narrow defeat to Brondby after conceding they will once again be underdogs when Asteras Tripolis visit Easter Road next week.
Hibs secured a memorable 1-0 win in Copenhagen courtesy of a David Gray goal back in July 2016, wiping out a first leg deficit before crashing out following a nerve-shredding penalty shootout.
In truth, the damage had been done seven days earlier when a woeful error by young Finnish goalkeeper Otso Virtanen, who never played for the club again, let the Danes leave Edinburgh with a 1-0 win.
Nevertheless, it was a result that emboldened Hibs, and Stevenson has no doubt the squad is now far better equipped to mount a charge for the Europa League group phase.
The test of that, however, will come against a very handy Greek side who reached the group stages in 2014 and 2015.
“Brondby were a good team and Asteras Tripolis will be the same,” said Stevenson. “We will be underdogs but we have the nucleus of the squad from the Brondby game and can take a lot from that experience.
“It’s going to be tough but we have played a bit of European football now and want to take every edge we can get – especially from the fans.
“I remember Easter Road was rocking against Brondby, but we lost an early goal which killed the mood a bit, so we want to avoid that.
“This level is always a challenge as it’s not just players you’ve never come across before, but their style of play will be different; their movement, they will pass the ball differently so it’s something you have to get to grips with quickly.”
Hibs teed up the tie against Asteras Tripolis by safely navigating their way beyond Runavik, with their staggering 6-4 win in the Faroe Islands on Thursday night sealing a 12-5 victory on aggregate.
Leading 6-1 from the first leg, Hibs sleepwalked into a 2-0 deficit within the opening five minutes before fighting back to claim a breathless triumph.
“It was a strange place and night in general,” Stevenson said. “We did everything right in terms of our professional approach to the game, but didn’t get the start we expected.
“To be fair, we didn’t crumble and fought back – but we know if we perform like that against Asteras then we are going to have a couple of tough games.”
Amid the chaos of the 10-goal thriller in Toftir, Stevenson scored his maiden European goal for Hibs.
“I’ve scored nine goals overall now,” he added. “My lack of goals used to be a joke, but it’s a respectable tally – maybe I’m getting more adventurous.”