The Ecstasy and the Agony
Massive pride in the team offers consolation as Hibs bow out
- Neil Turnbull
EUROPEAN FOOTBALL RETURNED
to Easter Road with a bang last night and in an emotional roller coaster for
all concerned with Hibernian, it was a case of so near and yet so far. No-one
who was there could not have felt immensely proud of the team after this match
and that at least offered consolation for the huge disappointment of exiting
the UEFA Cup at the first hurdle. This morning I feel totally drained and
empty - I can't imagine how bad it must feel for the players.
Hibs were fantastic during regulation time in
this match and gave AEK Athens as heavy a pounding as they will take in a long
time. Hibs came charging at them from all directions and kept the tempo of the
game up despite all the Greeks' attempts to slow the match down and to time
waste. Paco Luna, who was superb throughout and scored two goals, came so very
close to winning the match with the last touch of the ninety. If only that it
gone in. If only.
Hibs v AEK Athens - Jack digs in watched by Luna (sns)
But if the first ninety minutes of this tie
were the ecstasy then extra time was certainly the agony. The contrast between
these two phases of the match was stark. After Tsartas scored AEK's first, we
looked a spent force, and when the second went in it was all over. There was
just nothing left in the tank during that extra thirty minutes and for the
first time, we allowed AEK to look like a football team rather than a punch
bag.
Assessing Hibernian's performance, you have to
say that there were so many positives: the heart shown by the team, the work
rate, the skill level, the leadership all over the park. We deserve to be in
the draw for the next round and it is now so important that firstly we qualify
again and secondly we carry forward the knowledge that we were that close and
the lessons learned into next year's competition.
Assessing AEK's performance I have to say first
of all that I was gobsmacked when I heard the announcer saying that Tsartas, a
quite wonderful footballer, was being left on the bench. The reason quickly
became obvious as AEK set out to stifle and to time waste. Their plan was
clearly to just sit on their lead. Often when you watch European matches and a
team is sitting deep, you can see the danger of losing one on the counter as
they break quickly. This just wasn't the case - up until Hibs first goal, AEK
never threatened at all. Once Tsartas came on and as Hibs chased the
all-important second, they at least started to play a bit, and as I have said
extra time was entirely different.
Three memories of this match will stick with me
forever. Firstly, the Hibs support singing their heart out, even when the game
was lost. Secondly, Luna lying on the ground with his hands over his head as
that last-second header, that would have given us the win we so richly
deserved, went past the post. Thirdly, Matthias Jack sprinting off the pitch
at the end. If anyone pushed Luna for man of the match it was Jack, but he
wanted nothing to do with taking applause. The man was gutted and his hasty
exit struck a chord with me. I am sick to death of glory in defeat. |
