'Braveheart and cauldrons' - How Luzern boss Mario Frick plans to turn Hibs tie on its head
FC Luzern boss Mario Frick is confident that his side can overturn a two-goal deficit to knock Hibs out of the UEFA Europa Conference League at the third qualifying round stage.
Goals from Joe Newell, Dylan Vente, and Jordan Obita gave the Easter Road side a 3-1 victory in the first leg at Easter Road last week, with Ismajl Beka on target for the visitors. But after knocking out Swedish side Djurgårdens in the previous round of qualifiers, the 48-year-old believes his team has what it takes to down Hibs and advance to an eye-catching play-off round encounter with English Premier League side Aston Villa.
Speaking ahead of the clash the former Liechtenstein talisman admitted his side needed to strike a balance between better offensive work with a view to cancelling out Hibs two-goal aggregate lead, while also ensuring they don’t concede on home turf to make their task even more difficult.
"We will play very offensively but finding a balance [with defensive work] is important,” he said, as reported by the Luzerner Zeitung newspaper. “The starting position is complicated after losing 3-1 in the first leg. But if we go out there with the right energy and turn the stadium into a cauldron, we can do it,” he added.
Those in Luzern are hoping Frick and his team can channel William Wallace at the Battle of Bannockburn, or at least the Hollywood version of events, with local journalist Turi Bucher pointing out that the film ‘Braveheart’ featured actor Mel Gibson wearing blue and white face paint – ‘not green and white like Hibs’. Residents of the lakeside city hope it can be a sign of good things to come for the Swiss SuperLeague club, and the majority of those who took part in an off-the-cuff survey carried out by the newspaper this week have faith that the team can turn the tie on its head.
To continue in a similar Braveheartian vein, Frick insists his players are ready for battle, no matter how long it might take. "I can guarantee one thing: my players' tanks will be 100 per cent full again. They will also be ready if the game lasts 120 minutes. I don't want to deal with scenarios of disappointment and elimination. For us, only progress [in the competition] matters.”