Hibs ace in 'mental' atmosphere claim as Easter Road side head to Warsaw for UEFA Conference League decider
Partizan were humbled, so why not Legia? Away day hopes for David Gray’s men
Having faced down the “mental” atmosphere generated by 25,000 Gravediggers at the Partizan Stadion, Hibs goal hero Josh Mulligan feels pretty confident that his team-mates won’t be receiving the last rites on their UEFA Conference League campaign in Warsaw next week. At the very least, he backs this group to cope with whatever sound and fury the Legia fans might muster in the second leg of their play-off at the Polish Army Stadium.
Insisting that there’s no chance of his team being shell shocked by a bit of noise and colour, and expressing confidence in their ability to overturn a 2-1 deficit after last night’s painful defeat at Easter Road, Mulligan – whose goal four minutes from time gave Hibs fans just enough hope to believe in a comeback – answered a question about the atmosphere in the Polish capital by pointing out: “Yeah, well, the Partizan away leg was mental. I'm not too sure there'll be anything different to that. We've faced that and we know we can deal with it.
“That's why I came to this club, for these big nights. I didn't quite go our way at home, but there's still another game to play.”
Having scored a screamer at Livingston last weekend, his team’s second in a 2-0 win that put David Gray’s men through to a Premier Sports Cup quarter-final against Rangers at Ibrox, Mulligan’s goal last night wasn’t quite so spectacular. Having stumbled his way to a missed chance in the opening minute of the game, though, he had no hesitation in hailing his late strike as the most important of his career to date.
Former Dundee star squandered early chance
“Yes, I'd say so,” he agreed, adding: “In saying that, I missed the one in the first couple of minutes. I was thinking about it the whole game, so it was nice to get that one at the end and help the boys.
“It's massive. They score a third goal and that could have been it dead, but then we get a goal at the end and now it's 2-1 and it's game on.
“I don't know what I was doing, man (with that early chance). I’ve seen the boy coming across and I thought: ‘He's got to block this, so I need to go past him …’ But I'm in the box. Just shoot, eh?
“So when it fell to me late on, I’ve just shot. It was a good block from the boy and luckily it fell to me again - and I just shot again. I'm happy it went in.”
Home side ‘all over’ Legia in early blitz
That Hibs only scored one on the night is a source of frustration to all. But the number of chances they created at home, allied to their strong away record in Europe so far this season, also fills them with confidence ahead of next week.
“Even the first half, the opening spell of the game, I thought we were all over them,” said Mulligan. “When you don't get that goal, it gives the other team a bit of momentum.
“If we start like we did at home, but get that goal, the whole tie can flip upside down. It's only the first leg of football. We need to go over there. We've done well away from home, so we just need to put in a performance and I'm sure the boys can do it.
“I just think the boys have given everything in every game. Even in the hostile atmospheres, we've stood up to it.
“Obviously, we've got a good shape and a good way of playing. The boys stick to that and have bought into that. We can go over there and give it everything.
“I think all the sides we’ve played in Europe have been good. They're top teams and I think we've stood up to it well.
“If we'd killed that game off at the start, they might not have looked as good as they did at times. But like I say, it's just about sticking to the game plan and going over there and getting a result.
“We've got the quality. I've seen the boys come off the bench. We'll need them again in the second game. They came on and sparked a bit of life into us. We'll need everyone.”