Legia boss identifies dangerous Hibs threat ahead of UEFA Conference League clash at Easter Road
Free-scoring Poles wary of Bowie and Boyle attacking duo
Legia have experience on their side. And, if you listen to head coach Edward Iordanescu, he’ll also quote some pretty impressive statistics to back up his team’s claim on European progress at the expense of Hibs.
Yet Iordanescu is wary of facing David Gray’s men. Because, in the home team at Easter Road tomorrow night, he knows he’ll find a dangerous opponent guided by a battle-hardened young coach whose lack of miles on the clock is offset by the tough terrain covered in his first season at the helm.
“For sure there is pressure but this is our job,” said Iordanescu, speaking before tonight’s final pre-match training session at the stadium, the Romanian veteran adding: “Experience always counts - but it doesn’t win you games. We will need to be smart. We are sure it will not be easy.
“In six games in Europe we’ve scored in all of them. This is good. But it guarantees us nothing tomorrow.
“We have an average of 1.5 goals per game and 16 shots per game. So we are a proactive team.
“But we have been punished for our mistakes, which is why we dropped from the Europa League to the Conference League.
“Hibs are a dangerous opponent who can create chances. We must not contribute to those possibilities.
“It is a very important game for all of us, our club and our fans, but at the same time a big challenge because we see in Hibernian a good opponent.
“We saw their games against Midtjylland without losing. And it is not easy to put Partizan Belgrade out of Europe. They have beaten Celtic at home and Rangers in Glasgow so for sure this is a squad with quality and potential.
“They have a good coach, too. They didn’t start good last season but with the correct support and the right ideas and changes he made he turned everything around and what happened was fantastic for the club.
“In play-offs most of the time you cannot speak about favourites, it will be a challenge for both clubs. We will need to be very competitive in these two games to be able to go through.”
Trying hard not to single out any Hibs players special mention, Iordanescu nonetheless cited the twin threat of Kieron Bowie and Martin Boyle as a concern, saying: “I appreciate the game organisation of Hibernian, how they defend together and look to counter-attack quickly. Like every team, they have individual quality but I don’t give names, it is not my style.
“But obviously they have some internationals, current, and some future internationals. The striker Bowie has a great future; Boyle has great experience.”
Legia will have Colombian midfielder Juergen Elitem back from injury to face Hibs, the 26-year-old insisting that he and his team-mates will be ready for anything they face in Edinburgh, explaining: “We know about the, let’s say, British style. We know about Hibernian and we are ready to meet them.
“We are excited to play, the atmosphere will be nice, but we are used to the stadium in Poland. Thank God. It will be a tough game, but we are looking forward to getting through.
“We play this like a final and we are used to going through these ties. I hope for me and the club it is going to be our third year in Europe.”